Alex O'Loughlin

Alex O'Loughlin (born 24 August 1976) is an Australian actor. He is known for his portrayal of Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett 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'' (2010), as well as on such television series as ''Moonlight'' (2007–2008) and '' Three Rivers'' (2009–2010).

Early life

O'Loughlin was born on 24 August 1976, in Canberra, Australia. He is of Irish and Scottish descent. His father is a physics and astronomy teacher in Sydney and his mother is a nurse.

O'Loughlin has stated that he had “a bit of OCD” as a child. He enrolled at the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) in Sydney 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, 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 miniseries '' The Incredible Journey of Mary Bryant'', for which he was nominated as Best Lead Actor in Television from the Australian Film Institute Awards 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'' in 2007 as Detective Kevin Hiatt, the newest member of the strike team.

In 2005, he screen-tested for the film role of James Bond. As he told one interviewer: "I met with irectorMartin Campbell here in Los Angeles at his office on the Sony 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 ''Moonlight'', where he played private investigator and vampire 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'' in the season 4 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 in the 2010 romantic comedy film '' The Back-up Plan''.

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. 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 Australians in Film 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 son, Saxon, was born in 1997, to a girlfriend from whom he has since separated. In 2005, he began dating actress/singer Holly Valance. They separated in February 2009.

He has a second son Lion born in 2012 with model and surfer Malia Jones. O'Loughlin and Jones married in Hawaii on 18 April 2014. He became a stepfather to Jones's son Spike from her previous relationship.

He took on the role of ambassador for Donate Life America in 2009.

O'Loughlin is an experienced practitioner of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, training alongside his ''Hawaii Five-0'' co-star Scott Caan and MMA veteran Egan Inoue. At the 2022 ADCC World Championship, O'Loughlin was promoted to black belt in the martial art in front of the crowd in attendance.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards

References

External links

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{{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