Alex O'Loughlin (born 24 August 1976) is an Australian actor, writer, director, and producer, who played Lieutenant Commander

Steve McGarrett Steve McGarrett is a fictional character who is the protagonist of CBS' '' Hawaii Five-O''. McGarrett is a former United States Navy officer and the leader of a special state police task force, which is called Five-O. McGarrett was portrayed by ...

on CBS' remake of the TV series '' Hawaii Five-0'' (2010–2020). He had starring roles in the films '' Oyster Farmer'' (2004) and ''

The Back-up Plan ''The Back-up Plan'' (previously known as ''Plan B'') is a 2010 American romantic comedy film directed by Alan Poul, starring Jennifer Lopez and Alex O'Loughlin.Siegel, Tatiana, and Michael Fleming"Jennifer Lopez going with 'Plan B': CBS Films ...

'' (2010), as well as on such television series as ''

Moonlight Moonlight consists of mostly sunlight (with little earthlight) reflected from the parts of the Moon's surface where the Sun's light strikes. Illumination The intensity of moonlight varies greatly depending on the lunar phase, but even the ful ...

'' (2007-2008) and '' Three Rivers'' (2009-2010).

Early life

O'Loughlin was born on 24 August 1976, in

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

. He is of Irish and Scottish descent. His father is a

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which ...

and

astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, g ...

teacher in Sydney and his mother is a nurse. O'Loughlin suffered from obsessive-compulsive disorder when he was a child. He enrolled at the

National Institute of Dramatic Art The National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) is an Australian educational institution for the performing arts is based in Sydney, New South Wales. Founded in 1958, many of Australia's leading actors and directors trained at NIDA, including Cat ...

(NIDA) in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...

in 1999 and graduated in June 2002 after completing a three-year, full-time Bachelor of Dramatic Art program.

Career

O'Loughlin began working in short films and fringe theatre as a teenager in Sydney. One of his first acting jobs was an extra in a commercial, playing a Marine.Alex O'Loughlin profile/career
, Alexoloughlinrocks.com After graduating from NIDA (National Institute of Dramatic Arts), he began his career in Australian television and film productions. Some of his TV credits include roles in ''BlackJack: Sweet Science'', ''Love Bytes'' and '' White Collar Blue''. In 2004, he landed his first film role, the lead in '' Oyster Farmer''. He later appeared in '' Man-Thing'', '' Feed'', and in the Australian mini-series '' The Incredible Journey of Mary Bryant'', for which he was nominated as Best Lead Actor in Television from the

Australian Film Institute Awards The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards, known as the AACTA Awards, are presented annually by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA). The awards recognise excellence in the film and television industr ...

in 2005 and as Most Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series from the Logie Awards in 2006. O'Loughlin joined the cast of ''

The Shield ''The Shield'' is an American crime drama television series starring Michael Chiklis that premiered on March 12, 2002, on FX in the United States, and concluded on November 25, 2008, after seven seasons. Known for its portrayal of corrupt pol ...

'' in 2007 as Detective

Kevin Hiatt The following is a list of character summaries from the FX Networks television series ''The Shield''. Main characters * Michael Chiklis – Vic Mackey (2002–2008) * Glenn Close – Monica Rawling (2005) * Catherine Dent – Danielle "Da ...

, the newest member of the strike team. In 2005, he screen-tested for the movie role of

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors hav ...

. As he told one interviewer: "I met with irector

Martin Campbell Martin Campbell (born 24 October 1943) is a New Zealand film and television director based in the United Kingdom. He is known for having directed '' The Mask of Zorro'' as well as the James Bond films '' GoldenEye'' and '' Casino Royale''. He ...

here in Los Angeles at his office on the

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

ictureslot and he asked me to fly to London and test and we tested at Pinewood tudios It was the biggest screen test I've ever done. It was very comprehensive. I had tuxedos and suits cut for it and hair cuts." He left ''The Shield'' in 2007 after he won the lead role on the CBS series ''

'', where he played private investigator and

vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mi ...

Mick St. John. The filming of ''Moonlight'' was interrupted by the Hollywood writers strike. There was speculation that the series would be dropped but fan pressure prevailed and the show was given four additional episodes to try to regain its audience share. Despite it being the highest rated show in its Friday evening slot, CBS did not commission a second season. After its cancellation, a fan-based charity campaign to win a second-season renewal for ''Moonlight'' by holding blood drives proved unsuccessful. In August 2008, CBS signed a talent development deal with O'Loughlin as the star of a TV series to be developed by writer Mark Gordon, but it did not materialise. He was cast in the lead role of the CBS hospital drama '' Three Rivers'', developed by producer Carol Barbee, which aired Sunday evenings in the 2009–2010 season. In April 2009, he guest-starred in an episode of ''

Criminal Minds ''Criminal Minds'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series created and produced by Jeff Davis (writer), Jeff Davis. The series premiered on CBS on September 22, 2005, and originally concluded on February 19, 2020; it was r ...

'' in the Season Four episode, "The Big Wheel", as an OCD-ridden serial killer, Vincent Rowlings. In December 2009, CBS pulled ''Three Rivers'' from its schedule. O'Loughlin starred alongside

Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lynn Affleck (' Lopez; born July 24, 1969), also known as J.Lo, is an American singer, actress and dancer. In 1991, she began appearing as a Fly Girl dancer on the sketch comedy television series '' In Living Color'', where she re ...

in the 2010

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typic ...

film ''

''. O'Loughlin was cast in the CBS remake of '' Hawaii Five-0'' portraying Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett, which premiered on 20 September 2010. The show won "Favorite New TV Drama" at the 2010–11

People's Choice Awards The People's Choice Awards is an American awards show, recognizing people in entertainment, voted online by the general public and fans. The show has been held annually since 1975, with the winners originally determined using Gallup Polls until ...

. Subsequently, BuddyTV ranked him # 2 on its "TV's 100 Sexiest Men of 2010" list and # 9 in 2011. On 2 March 2012, CBS announced that O'Loughlin would miss shooting some episodes of '' Hawaii Five-0'' to seek drug treatment related to pain management medication prescribed after a shoulder injury. He was slated to miss at least one episode from the second season. In August 2013, the Los Angeles-based

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

Australians in Film Australians in Film (AiF) is a Los Angeles-based non-profit organization that serves the Australian community working in the film and television industry. It awards the annual Heath Ledger Scholarship to emerging Australian actors, as well as sev ...

announced that O'Loughlin would be honored with a Breakthrough Award at a ceremony held on 24 October 2013 in Los Angeles.

Personal life

O'Loughlin's first child, a son, was born in 1997, to a girlfriend from whom he has since separated. In 2005, he began dating actress/singer

Holly Valance Holly Rachel Candy (; born 11 May 1983), known professionally as Holly Valance, is an Australian actress and singer. Valance began her acting career on the Australian soap opera '' Neighbours'', as Felicity Scully (1999–2002, 2005, 2022). S ...

. They separated in February 2009. He has a son, born in 2012, with model and surfer Malia Jones. O'Loughlin and Jones married in Hawaii on 18 April 2014. He is the current ambassador for Donate Life America. O'Loughlin is an experienced practitioner of

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ; pt, jiu-jitsu brasileiro ) is a self-defence martial art and combat sport based on grappling, ground fighting (ne-waza) and submission holds. BJJ focuses on the skill of taking an opponent to the ground, control ...

, training alongside his Hawaii Five-o co-star Scott Caan and MMA veteran Egan Inoue. At the

2022 ADCC World Championship The 2022 ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship was a two-day no-gi submission grappling event that took place on 17-18 September 2022 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. History The tournament was originally scheduled ...

, O'Loughlin was promoted to black belt in the martial art in front of the crowd in attendance.https://jitsmagazine.com/hawaii-five-0-star-alex-oloughlin-promoted-to-bjj-black-belt/

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:OLoughlin, Alex 1976 births 21st-century Australian male actors Australian expatriate male actors in the United States Australian male film actors Australian male television actors Australian people of Irish descent Australian people of Scottish descent Living people Male actors from Canberra Male actors from Sydney National Institute of Dramatic Art alumni People with obsessive–compulsive disorder