Alex O’Loughlin Is GQ Australia’s Man Of The Year

Hawaii Five-O star Alex O’Loughlin was named GQ Australia’s Man of the Year! The hunky actor sat down with the magazine to talk about his dreams, his ambitions and his where he gained his acting experience. Here are some highlights…

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.”

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.

More from Alex…

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.