Alex O'Loughlin GQ Australia interview

How does a battler go from labouring on Canberra’s building sites to living the showbiz dream in Hawaii? Hard work, steely resilience and a very Australian sense of humour.

The sun’s final dance of the day melts into the horizon as Alex O’Loughlin straddles his surfboard at the back of a gentle Hawaiian break, chatting to a surfer who recognises him from Hawaii Five-0, the TV series that delivered him to the archipelago 18 months ago.

It’s been six years since this high-school dropout from Canberra arrived in the City Of Angels. The only surfing back then was from couch to couch, crashing with mates until an eventual call-up.

That initial luck fell flat, with his first two shows cancelled. But then came the reboot of an iconic ’70s staple, an updated boys-own adventure that had O’Loughlin taking the baton from Magnum, P.I. in fighting crime — often shirtless — around Honolulu.

We sit down with O’Loughlin back on dry land — with his shirt firmly on.

Is it true you once wanted to fly planes?

Yeah, I was in kindergarten and the teacher asked what we wanted to do when we grew up. I said, “I want to be a fighter pilot.” She stopped in front of my desk and said, “Haven’t you got asthma?”
I said, “Yeah”. She said, “Well, you’ll never be a fighter pilot.”

Wow, that’s harsh.

I was crushed. And I never pursued a career in the skies.

Still, aviation’s loss was acting’s gain. How did you end up going that way?
I did my first play at primary school. I was about 10; I’ll never forget it. When I walked out under the lights and the audience was paying attention, I just got it. But I didn’t really think it was something I could do.

Why not?
I was a working-class kid and I saw acting as a middle-class profession. So I went off and did a lot of other things. I was interested in building, in fact I loved it. I worked on a lot of houses and offices and it was good. It meant I could get my physical thing on and see something emerge. I also worked in hospitality. I once worked for Neil Perry as a barman and a waiter.

So when you decided to try out for NIDA, your main acting experience was from primary school?
I had no technical skills. I didn’t know what I was doing, but when it felt right it came from an instinct and I think people saw that. And passion. If I ever lose that passion I think I’ll change career.

Are you ambitious?
It can be a very ugly word, especially in this business. But I’ve always had a lot of drive. Whether I was working on a building site or auditioning or moving to the US, I’ve always done it with all of my heart. I don’t know how to do it any other way.

Read the full article in GQ Australia's 2011 Men of the Year issue. On sale now.