Friday, November 18, 2011

Alex's Process Adjustment

by Carol 

“I think it is important for an actor to do as much homework about their character and their surroundings as they can.”  “I’m not the kind of actor who feels like he has to become his character, 24/7. It’s just helpful to understand what makes your character tick.”  - Alex O’Loughlin - Global TV (Canada), November 2011

 I always enjoy hearing Alex talk about the acting profession. However, there seems to have been a change in his philosophy over the past 2-1/2 years.
  “I’m big on living like the character, so I went up to the river and I actually stayed up here for a week with a swag and not many new pairs of undies, and a fishing rod.” - Alex O’Loughlin - Filmink, June 2005
“I walk in the shoes of the character 24 hours a day.” - Alex O’Loughlin - TV Guide Magazine, April 15, 2009
So what’s going on with this 180 degree turn in Alex’s approach to playing a character?   With no rhyme, reason or priority, here are my speculations.

 This is how he feels today. Deal with it. He changed his mind.

 As his experience has grown, Alex is better at getting into his character when he’s at work and can just be Alex when he’s not working.

 Living the life of his character left no time for his own life and he decided that was not how he wanted to live his own life and consciously changed.

 This is the longest period of time Alex has played the same role. Maybe he’s comfortable with his character’s persona as it is. He doesn’t have to figure out how Steve McGarrett thinks and behaves. Alex knows.

 Or just maybe Alex has been reading Harold Macmillan:
“When the curtain falls, the best thing an actor can do is to go away.”

5 comments:

  1. Cleverly, ironically, with love - it is perfectly written!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I agree with Alex about this :)
    I'm a completely different person at work and at home.
    In the same way Alex should be just Alex and not Steve McGarrett in his personal life.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I think its about time Alex started living for himself and not the part he plays. He is so good in this role that it looks like it comes naturally to him. I hope he finds happines and peace in his personal life. He looks so thin now and may need to concentrate on just being Alex and relax I also hope he finds someone who will love him as he should be loved.

    ReplyDelete
  4. loved the way success finally found Alex. he is so determind and seriously devoted to what he do that he is so deserve to have stability in his life.

    ReplyDelete
  5. But Carol, You have got to be fair with the guy...a lot of men I know won't need any good reason to go ruff it alongside a river, with nobody to answer to and no need for clean undies.
    And the he only talked about being in the characters shoes ... maybe they were just new and he was just walking them in, because he was scared of blisters while filming.
    And at present, I think the people of Hawaii is grateful that his not McGarrett all the time....The butcher might be hanging from a balcony for charging to much for lean meat...Or the greengrocer, thrown in a sharktank for lack of fresh veggies to steam....Or the local gym door blown off with a granade because they didn't want to give him access without a membership card(Oh I forgot, he likes to train in the open air!)

    ReplyDelete