Jorge Garcia, along with producers and a few other stars from the TV show/life-altering experience, Lost, stopped by the annual Comic-Con convention in San Diego this year. Here’s an interview with the actor that portrays Hurley:
Q: Do you think Hurley is the luckiest man in the world, or the unluckiest man in the world?
A: (Laughs) Well, yeah I guess now I’ve got to go with he’s actually quite unlucky. I mean, he won the money but there’s so much bad connected to that money that I don’t know how you can consider that being lucky.
Q: There seems to be a real connection between you and the new cast member Libby played by Cynthia Watros. Is it cool for your character to have a bit of a love interest there.
A: It was. It was very cool, especially because how often does a guy like me get an onscreen kiss?
Q: And then again there was that scene this season with Hurley in the mental institution and Libby sitting across from you. Is all of Lost just a fantasy in Hurley’s mind?
A: Well, you might think that if it was in Hurley’s mind there would be a lot more going his way. Seriously, his girlfriend wouldn’t have been shot.
Q: When you give interviews like this are you told upfront what you can and can’t say?
A: Well, it depends, most times interviewers will contact the show first and then the show gives them a little briefing of what’s been going on up to the point of the interview. Some people get briefed with certain information, but it mainly has to do with when the interview will appear.
Q: Hurley since the beginning of the show has been kind of a happy go lucky guy, and very down to earth. Now we’re learning more and more about him and he’s probably one of the richest characters in the cast when it comes to the back story. How do you feel about the challenges as an actor from all these different sides of your character?
A: I think it’s fantastic. I think the fact that this show just gives me opportunities to show more sides of my talent than I think I might normally be allowed to show. You know, up until this, I’ve played characters that have always been just kind of like the funny guy.
But since this show I’ve been able to get some real emotion and sensitivity like that, and it’s a very cool opportunity.
Q: Lost is a really hard show to categorize. It’s action, adventure, mystery, science fiction, fantasy and soap opera. I mean, what would you call Lost? If you had to describe it to somebody in one or two sentences what would you tell them it was about?
A: If I had to describe it, I’d say it was a character driven drama about survival. But to say that still leaves out the whole mythology and mystery of it. So you’re right, it’s very difficult to categorize. But that’s the best thing I can come up with now, on the spot.
Q: How do fans react to you in public these days, and what’s it like going from relatively unknown to being constantly recognized?
A: It’s interesting, really. You kind of have to think twice about going to the supermarket in cut-off sweats and a stained shirt. I mean, especially in some parts of Hawaii, there’s a lot of people who just happen to have their cameras on them. And they take a lot of pictures. But yeah, it’s cool, it’s kind of nice. Terry O’Quinn (Locke) put it best when he said it really feels good when you can make someone’s day by just showing up.
Q: Before Lost, dramatic TV seemed to be going the way of the dinosaur, especially with reality shows being so prevalent. Do you think Lost revived the drama series for network television?
A: I think it definitely had an impact just by how many pilots the year after Lost (debuted) had Lost type qualities to them. I heard from Sam, who plays Bernard on the show, he was talking about pilot season this year being full of shows that included flashbacks and, well, for me, anything that gets more actors working I think is fantastic. So yeah, I’m glad Lost has had that influence.
It’s also kind of cool that it seems to have put new energy and a little more risk in narrative drama series.
Q: It’s also a really intelligent show too. It doesn’t talk down to the audience. And obviously from the fan reaction, people spend a lot of time thinking about the show and discussing it with their friends.
A: Yeah, the audience doesn’t know the end ahead of time, the fact that it keeps them enough in the dark, and of course it has to keep them in the dark too, because of the whole ‘big picture’ aspect of the show.