[Updated 28-NOV-11]
… Doing His Own Stunts
I really feel like I’m participating in life when I’m strapped into a harness and hanging precariously above the ground.— TV Guide, December 2007
I do all of my own stunts. No, seriously, I do have a stunt double because there are certain things they won’t let me do. They won’t set fire to me and they won’t let me jump off a building. There are some stunts that it’s impossible to get insurance to let me do.— Various web interviews, November 2007
I want to jump off the buildings and like crash the cars. I want to do the big ones, but they’re like ‘Dude, we can’t let you die. Because if you die, there’s no more show.’— Extra, September 2007
It’s sexy. It’s not gratuitously violent, but the action is pretty radical. I’m really surprised they’re letting me do the stunts I’m doing. It’s awesome stuff.— PinkRayGun.com, September 2007
If your head’s clear, you’ve got the best shot at not dying.— KGMB, February 14, 2011
… Acting
I am getting sent for the leading men’s roles but I am just doing my best because there are so many leading men out there.— AAP General News, Australia, June 16, 2005
I love doing what I’m doing and I’m so grateful to be working.— AAP General News, Australia, June 16, 2005
I do not think I’m a great talent. I think I’m a medium talent, but I think I understand the business and enjoy the business. It’s a right-place-at-the-right-time kind of business, but it’s also about perseverance.— News.Com.Au, December 2007
At any given opportunity there’s always aspects of me in my characters, but it’s really important for me to remain separated from my characters as well. I don’t want [Mick] to become Alex.— Voices From Krypton, October 2007
My first question is: ‘Can I shine in this role?’ Do I have a comprehensive understanding of this character? Do I also have an inherent, instinctual understanding of how I’m going play this character, does this character live within me already on some level? Am I going to be able to authentically bring honesty, integrity and life to this character and, defend this character with all my might? And so that’s our job as actors…— Vampires & Slayers, November 2008
I have learned to be able to back yourself up and give yourself what you need. It is such a cut throat industry where you get knocked down so much and get rejected so much. If you do not back yourself up, no one else is going to so you really need to learn to get up, shake the sand off your chest and keep going.— Hollywood the Write Way, October 14, 2008
I love playing different roles, the more variety the better. Once I’ve played a role I don’t want to play it again.— theTVAddict.com, April 29, 2009
Once you’ve done a couple of films, I think the whole idea of being a movie star — well I don’t know about the ’star’ thing — but the idea of working regularly in feature films that’s my dream. To go from one character to the next and get to tell a million different stories, that would be wonderful, I’d love to be able to do that.— theTVAddict.com, April 29, 2009
But the thing about television is that the job security, you cannot beat. I’m a family man and I have to think that way. But I definitely do get scared I’ll get stuck in one character and never find my way out. That other people aren’t going to trust me that I can’t find my way out to find one of their characters. So there is that.— TVAddict.com, April 29, 2009
There have been so many times in my life when I’ll finish a play or a film and a week later I’ll wake up and say, ‘Ah fuck, that’s what I should have done with that scene, that’s the missing element.’ And so in TV you get to live that out and discover so much more it’s great. but it’s definitely a catch 22 situation.— theTVAddict.com, April 29, 2009
I mean, as an artist, you spend a lot of your life maybe not working and training, reading and really trying to further yourself. And the reality is a lot of us never really get to make a living at it. So it brings me great joy to be in demand. It’s a lovely feeling. I’ve worked hard for a long time to be able to choose what I want to do … It’s a lovely feeling.— TV Squad, April 28, 2009
I walk in the shoes of the character 24 hours a day.— TV Guide Magazine, April 15, 2009
I like playing parts that I can disappear in. I enjoy hiding behind my characters.— CBS Watch!, 2008
And I’ve been questioned by younger actors about my motivation, getting this sort of, ‘You should be staying [in Australia]‘. I don’t give a fuck. I’m a human as well. I can tell human stories. I don’t care if it’s in an American accent, an Irish accent or a Lithuanian accent. What difference does it make?— The Cairns Post/The Cairns Sun, August 20, 2005
I let [acting] go for a long time. I didn’t think I was good enough.— The Canberra Times, June 28, 2005
I try to see everything I’m in once, but I’m not comfortable doing it. I find it excruciating.— Cleo, March 2008
I love music and I play music and I write music, and it’s really something that calms me, something that I love. And I’ve always treated accents like I treat music and I’m self-taught. I know how to read music, so I’ve learned everything by ear and I have a way of hearing it, filtering it and then doing something with it.— Australians Hit Hollywood, 2007
It’s been a long journey but I’ve maintained a positive outlook and it has paid off.— The Courier-Mail, October 14, 2009
The last four years, it’s been an upward trek but I’ve had a couple of good gigs and I’ve worked hard.— WHO, October 16, 2009
I suppose you can consider the way I work or elements of the way I work and approach character as method. I absolutely throw myself into every role and try to live and breathe each character I play.— Live Chat with Alex, October 1, 2009
Villains are easier for me to play for some reason.— Live Chat with Alex, October 1, 2009
I often catch myself saying things like “We’re actors! We’re not curing cancer or feeding the hungry.”— MySpace Blog, November 30, 2009
This country has afforded me, my family, work and security. For that I’m forever grateful.— Hollywood News, March 31, 2010
I like my job, and I’m not naive or ignorant to the nature of what happens in this industry, but I didn’t become an actor to get famous. I became an actor because I love the work.— Movieline, April 19, 2010
I think it’s every actor’s dream to work in features. There’s something really magical about working on a film. You have the luxury of time and that luxury that television doesn’t afford you.— indieLondon, May 2010
I think I’ll end up directing one day as well. I don’t feel as though I’m really ready at the moment but I love the process of filmmaking and I love the process of storytelling… I always have and I want to be involved with all of it on a deeper level.— indieLondon, May 2010
To be honest, I think I’ve been really lucky to work at all. It’s hard out there.— Sunday Magazine, May 2, 2010
But I have to maintain perspective, because that’s the only thing that gets me through the gaps of unemployment. I always say to myself, ‘This moment will pass,’ whether it’s good, bad or indifferent.— Sunday Magazine, May 2, 2010
I found [acting] amazing, but I never thought I could do it as a career.— Sunday Magazine, May 2, 2010
Part of me was saying, ‘You can’t go and live in another country when your son is back home.’ But another part was saying, ‘You only have one chance.’— Sunday Magazine, May 2, 2010
I must have done 250 auditions that year. I was like, ‘Why won’t anyone employ me?’ I questioned myself, my talent and my capacity to exist in this industry.— Sunday Magazine, May 2, 2010
I’m not a great talent. I’m a medium talent, but I have a good work ethic. I’ll work because of that.— Sunday Magazine, May 2, 2010
I love my job and life, but if it all goes wrong, I’ll come back to Australia to dig holes while I work out what to do next. Outside of the people I love, nothing else matters. This is just icing on the cake.— Sunday Magazine, May 2, 2010
I’m not very good at playing the hero; I play an anti-hero really well.— The Philippine Star, November 21, 2010
I heard that some people thought I was American. I take that as a great compliment. I try to be as authentic as I can for each role that I take. But once I’m done shooting, I sound like me again. I can’t hide it.— Tribune Media Services, December 1, 2010
Do not take yourself so seriously. All of this stuff is really wonderful, if it all crumbles tomorrow, it is okay. I can go home and do something else. Not that I want to do that but it is about keeping the right perspective.— Hollywood the Write Way, October 14, 2008
None of us are just purely benevolent or malevolent. It’s not possible in human nature, unless you’re Gandhi. The more flaw you bring to a character, or the more balance you give your character, the closer that character moves towards everyman.— Collider, September 19, 2010
Comedy is hard to do. You need timing. You need courage. Jennifer has that in spades. She never cared if she looked like an ass.— CTV News, April 21, 2010
The straighter you play it, the funnier it is.— CTV News, April 21, 2010
Life’s great and perseverance pays off.— Herald Sun, January 19, 2011
I think [Aussies] have a really good work ethic – we don’t sit around and moan that we haven’t got the right flavored candles in our trailers. The things you hear, it’s like, are you kidding? You’re overpaid as it is, just shut up and get on with it.— New Weekly, March 3, 2008
People think it’s a glamorous industry, it’s not. It’s a lot of hard work. But network television at this level, I’ve never experienced anything like it in my career. It’s just like, ‘Oh my God.’ It’s quite astonishing how much of your life it takes.— New Weekly, March 3, 2008
There was a moment there – and I’m sure every artist goes through this – where I was like, ‘You’re a fucking loser. You’re not even very good at what you do. You’re a fool as well for chasing a dream that has no substance.’ It was more an existential crisis than a specific clinical condition.— GQ Style, March 2011
You can either lie there, admit defeat and wallow in it or you can get up and shake the sand out of your chaps and have another shot. And what else are you going to do? I’m not qualified to do anything else. I’ve invested the past 15 years of my life into this. I’m just going to hang on.— GQ Style, March 2011
I’ve done three shows and had a run with each that was less than a year. It’s difficult. You get so heartbroken every time.— Total Film, January 2011
On a feature you’ll do maybe two or three pages a day. On TV we’ll do up to ten to twelve pages. The sheer volume of work can be so overwhelming.— SuperAdrianMe.com, April 8, 2011
I think the hardest thing in network TV is to maintain truth, to maintain integrity in the work and integrity in the characters and the easiest thing is to go to the classic network, ‘Yeah,’ the dishonest, easy approach and I just can’t live with myself to do that. I don’t want to do that. I would rather just do another job.— SuperAdrianMe.com, April 8, 2011
I don’t want to emulate anyone’s career. I want to just be me.— Filmink, June 2005
When you go from Australia to America, you go back to zero. The reality is every day of your life is spent chasing work and flying around the world, refinancing your own career, and it’s been a hard slog.— TV Week, 2008
The biggest misconception is that in the first 20 years you’re making money. People can’t believe it, they’re like, “Dude you must make heaps, did this or that,” but the reality is while people in regular jobs get a pay cheque every week or month, I get one once a year.— Dolly, February 2008
I’m the kind of actor that likes to immerse theirself in what they do. I want to be able to do the surgery.— CBS, October 2009
I’m a purist of drama and its importance has been burned into my frontal lobe.— SFX, June 2009
I’m a boy – I like to see things blow up and I like long fight scenes.— SFX, June 2009
I’ve kind of been obsessed with accents my whole life.— CBS interview, November 2011
If I ever lose that passion I think I’ll change career.— GQ Australia, November 2011
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.— GQ Australia, November 2011
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.— GQ Australia, November 2011
At the end of the day, I’m either an asset or a liability. I’m either making money or I’m not. You can’t take it personally. That’s a mistake a lot of young actors make when they come to Hollywood. They fall into that trap of believing they’re special.— GQ Australia, November 2011
I don’t think I’m massively talented but I have a clear understanding of how it all works. And I work really hard. I work my arse off.— GQ Australia, November 2011
TV scares the shit out of me. With all due respect, it’s a business about numbers and how many people are watching.— GQ Australia, November 2011
I’d never have turned the Five-0 job down because it was too good, but you do stop taking risks after a while – when you say, “I need to get some money in the bank and have a solid home for my family.”— GQ Australia, November 2011
… Love Scenes
It’s fun to watch when you’re not in a scene like that, but there’s nothing fun about doing a scene like that. I had to do a couple of them in my career and it’s like… It’s just weird and sort of icky.— Dish of Salt, Access Hollywood Interview, September 2007
There is nothing intimate about a sex scene at all. You have got 30 people standing around and there is a camera between your legs and there are lights and make-up girls looking at your bum to make sure you haven’t got too much shine. If I never did another one, that would be just fine.— AAP General News, Australia, June 16, 2005
Ohmygod. No, I told them I’m happy to do whatever sex scenes they want. Either with actors or by myself. So they’re getting back to me on that. That may or may not be a reason why they pick up the show. ‘He’s obsessed with sex. No, we’re not gonna pick the show up. Moonlight fucked with him. He’s kinda all weird now.’— EW PopWatch, April 29, 2009
If we didn’t laugh about it, we would have been crying. Now I’ve started worrying because Oyster Farmer is going out on 22 screens internationally in July, and there’ll be my naked bum again.— The Courier Mail, June 23, 2005
It was very exposing, in more ways than one.— The Canberra Times, June 28, 2005
It’s strange for me, too. I don’t know if it’s different for guys than it is for girls. Sometimes people say men can switch up. But, it’s very strange for me, especially knowing Jennifer’s married. I made friends with Marc, at the same time I made friends with Jennifer. He’s a great guy. There’s so many reasons why it is weird. You just plow through it, try to make it as honest as possible, and then apologize profusely and get on with the rest.— IESB, April 4, 2010
It’s quite disturbing, especially when you watch it back and you go, ‘Oh, that’s what I look like!’— Filmink, June 2005
… The Back-up Plan
It’s very funny. It’s very moving. It’s a terrific little film.— EW PopWatch, April 29, 2009
I think we’re gonna be really good onscreen together.— EW PopWatch, April 29, 2009
I think we might just have a decent little film on our hands!— MySpace Blog, July 30, 2009
I think it’s going to be a really funny movie. Kate Angelo wrote a really well-balanced and funny script.— CBS “We’re Not Doctors” unused footage, July/August 2009
My co-stars were fantastic. Jennifer is amazing. I am very lucky.— TV SOAP, November 2009
It has a lot of physical comedy and it has some really touching dramatic moments too. I can’t wait to see it. What I shot felt great.— TV SOAP, November 2009
A lot of people think chemistry is strictly sexual and it’s not the case. I have chemistry with my mates, you know? It’s about two people who have a common interest in one another, who get each other, who understand each other’s rhythms, who can riff each other, who can make each other laugh — all that sort of stuff. And so we had that right away; we were laughing and the talk was easy.— Film Journal International, March 16, 2010
The script was floating around, various drafts of it, for a while. I read it while they were still doing rewrites of it, but it read well. I was shooting a pilot in Pittsburgh for ‘Three Rivers,’ and I got a call saying [Poul] wanted to sit and talk with me. He was in New York, and so he flew in and we met at the Pittsburgh airport at one of the hotels.— Film Journal International, March 16, 2010
It’s slightly naughty and raunchy, with humor on a base level — which tells you about my level of intellect! The film has a really good balance: not too lovey-dovey, but the romance in there is based in real drama.— American Way, April 1, 2010
My favorite films are the ones where everyone gets together and it’s a real collaboration with no attitudes or divas, and that’s exactly what this was.— American Way, April 1, 2010
I call her Jen. But I also call her — I don’t know how she feels about this, because she would usually look at me sideways — but I call her J. from the B.— American Way, April 1, 2010
Working with Jennifer was great. Most of the time I just forgot that I was working with J.Lo.— American Way, April 1, 2010
I’ve never done anything like this. I’ve played more villains than anything else. I love playing villains because I can just be evil and do whatever I want and they’re like, “That’s genius!,” but it’s not really. So, this was the beginning of a new stretch that I’m really interested in, in my own career.— IESB, April 4, 2010
We understood that we could spend a bunch of time together and not want to kill each other. That’s, essentially, what it was about. That freed us up.— IESB, April 4, 2010
To have a friend and a comrade as your co-star, especially in a romantic comedy, is really important. It’s easier to give yourself and the other person permission to play. That’s what it’s all about. So, I actually learned a lot about the art of comedy, and romantic comedy, from Jennifer, in this process.— IESB, April 4, 2010
The two golden rules are to never work with kids or animals. When I read this script I was like, ‘Oh, boy!’— IESB, April 4, 2010
But really, that scene of the water birth, when Stan comes in and goes, ‘Oh, my god!,’ that’s what was happening inside of me. I really think that’s what happens inside every man, when he witnesses childbirth. It’s just like, ‘Please don’t faint. Dear lord, what’s happening?’ So, that was pretty funny. That was just an expression of my inner self, when I actually was there.— IESB, April 4, 2010
Our producer offered me a trainer and I was like, ‘No, I’m okay,’ but he was like, ‘Take the trainer,’ so I took the trainer and he’s still with me. It’s a lot of what Jennifer was just saying she went through, after the birth of her children. I felt like I had just given birth. He was like, ‘You can’t eat anything but this. You’ve got to do what I say.’— IESB, April 4, 2010
So, along with doing the film, I did this disciplined work-out regimen because every cheese farmer is ripped and buff, and I wanted to be true to character because I’m method. But, it took a lot of hard work to get there. You can rest assured in the fact that it’s all gone now.— IESB, April 4, 2010
Comedy is hard to do. You need timing. You need courage. Jennifer has that in spades. She never cared if she looked like an ass.— CTV News, April 21, 2010
The straighter you play it, the funnier it is.— CTV News, April 21, 2010
… Three Rivers
Ohmygod. No, I told them I’m happy to do whatever sex scenes they want. Either with actors or by myself. So they’re getting back to me on that. That may or may not be a reason why they pick up the show. ‘He’s obsessed with sex. No, we’re not gonna pick the show up. Moonlight fucked with him. He’s kinda all weird now.’— EW PopWatch, April 29, 2009
It is very different than ‘Moonlight.’ It is not about vampires, but there are equal amounts of blood as my last show.— ETonline, April 29, 2009
The show is really well-written and smart and sensitive. It’s a beautiful little hour of TV.— TVGuide.com, April 29, 2009
I plead with my ‘Moonlight’ fans to give this show a chance if they let me give it a chance.— TVGuide.com, April 29, 2009
It’s really smart, it’s grown-up, it’s clever, it’s funny and sensitive, it’s got everything.— TV Squad, April 29, 2009
It’s a well-written piece that I foresee a longevity with that I didn’t with the other pilots that I read. I see three years ahead, you know what I mean? I see the fifth season. I see where the characters are going to go, the potential.— EW PopWatch, April 29, 2009
This role, the guy I’m playing, is so important, that a part of me was like, you can’t do that, you can’t play that role, it’s too important, you’ll never know enough to be able to play that role. But they accepted me and it’s been such a privilege.— E! Online, May 20, 2009
The only time I’d get a little queasy is when I smelled the burning flesh. That was like, ‘Oh, that’s nasty!’ But I couldn’t take my eyes off it.— TV Guide Magazine, August 2009
Andy — there’s more to him. He’s got some history and you’ll find out. But the core of the story is something unique and something that hasn’t been explored before, and that’s the meat and potatoes of our show. And that’s what’s going to give us a longer shelf life.— TVGuide.com, October 2, 2009
After I spent my first 10 hours in an operating room watching a man being brought back to life, I sat in my hotel room for three hours and felt this deep sense of regret that I was watching my calling (medicine) before me and that I’d taken the wrong direction (acting) in my career.— The Courier-Mail, October 14, 2009
I want you all to know that as always, I humbly appreciate all the support I constantly receive and that I am fighting hard to bring you a show I hope we can all be proud of.— MySpace Blog, October 16, 2009
When I first read the pilot I wasn’t sure if I could pull it off. If I could in fact breathe any life whatsoever into this surgeon guy, Andy Yablonski.— MySpace Blog, October 16, 2009
I collaborate with everyone on the show to make it better for you on Sunday, and now we are on the air pushing through to what we hope will be a ‘back nine’ pickup, meaning Three Rivers will live to see a full season.— MySpace Blog, October 16, 2009
For me, whenever I play a role I try to immerse myself in it but this seemed so immense to get to any sort of level of honesty and truth. I didn’t think I could pull it off.— The Courier-Mail, October 14, 2009
My relationship with CBS had gotten to a point where they knew they wanted to continue with me and I felt the same. We looked at a bunch of projects and Three Rivers made perfect sense. It’s a great story about something really important.— Greg in Hollywood, October 4, 2009
It’s why I took this job. It challenges us and it looks at the human condition in a way that many shows haven’t.— Greg in Hollywood, October 4, 2009
When I first read the script, one of the initial things that came to me was the obvious potential for community service, and this sort of philanthropic idea of maybe being involved with Donate Life America or any company that would come onboard with us.— TVGuide.com, October 2, 2009
Mum is thrilled because before now I’ve done a lot of stuff she doesn’t want to watch.— T.connectv/Daily Telegraph, October 14, 2009
My role is based on him. I did his rounds with him and picked his brain. I was with him all day and all night and spent a lot of time in the operating room. I realized how desperately obsessed I would become with medicine at that level.— Boston Herald, October 1, 2009
The things it had in common with ‘Moonlight’ were the potential for wonderful storytelling, the epic nature of the stories, the incredible character development and all the really important things when it comes to drama.— Boston Herald, October 1, 2009
I don’t have any training in medicine. And there’s so much to learn, even just to get off the ground and be convincing when you say the words.— Boston Herald, October 1, 2009
I read a bunch of scripts, and this was amazing. And it was very different to what I’d come off. You can’t go looking for the same thing. I was looking for something antithetical from that role in a lot of ways because I’m an actor. That’s my job. I don’t want to play the same role.— Boston Herald, October 1, 2009
The emotional journey is immense.— TV SOAP, November 2009
TV keeps going and going, and that’s the magic of TV.— iFMagazine.com, November 27, 2009
I was so nervous, because if you take it seriously at all, it’s such an enormous journey.— iFMagazine.com, November 27, 2009
I was hesitant to engage in another show at all, even when Three Rivers was proposed, but I realized immediately how important this story was and would be.— MySpace Blog, November 30, 2009
Already in this short time I have received so many beautiful letters of support and gratitude from so many of you who have lost loved ones, and also shared the gift of life with others as a result of those tragedies.— MySpace Blog, November 30, 2009
When you walk into a room and see a human being’s chest open, and all the organs doing their thing, your faith and notions of mortality all come into question. The world that opened up to me is incredible.— CBS Watch! Magazine, October 2009
With Three Rivers, I still don’t understand what happened. We had great actors, great guest actors, great scripts and it was something that hadn’t been done on TV before.— American Way, April 1, 2010
I’m the kind of actor that likes to immerse theirself in what they do. I want to be able to do the surgery.— CBS, October 2009
… Dr. Andy Yablonski
He’s a bit cheeky, too. He’s like a lovable scallywag.— EW PopWatch, April 29, 2009
And what I realize is, I play a very, very important person. It’s completely changed my life.— TV Guide Magazine, April 15, 2009
I loved the character. I’ve sat in on five open-heart surgeries now. I realized how important a story like this was before I did that stuff, but the deeper I’ve gone into it, the more mesmerized I am.— EW PopWatch, April 29, 2009
… Whiteout
Essentially, I play the villain in that as well. A rogue-ish, rugged, Australian pilot who’s a bit of a smartass. It’s like Wow, what a stretch.— EW PopWatch, April 29, 2009
I play an Aussie pilot in the movie. I’m okay in it. I don’t really love anything that I’ve ever done, and this is no exception to that. But, it’s a fun movie, and it’s worth going to see.— IESB.net, September 9, 2009
… Criminal Minds
As I’m moving into this leading-man phase of my career, you don’t even get to read roles like this very much and you don’t get offered guest-star parts like this. I’m an actor – I didn’t go to leading-man school, I went to acting school.— Boston Herald, April 29, 2009
It’s not often that I get to play character roles. You kinda leave drama school and you head off into a direction and that’s the direction you take. You’re either on the character actor route or the leading man route. It was a delight for me to play a role like this.— EW PopWatch, April 29, 2009
My main preparation with this character was the obsessive compulsive stuff because that’s the thing that rules his life and keeps him doing what he does time and time again. His OCD is at the core of his physical being.— TVAddict.com, April 29, 2009
I didn’t go to leading man school. I went to drama school. I don’t want to play the same role, every role I get.— ETonline, April 29, 2009
I hadn’t worked for like 10 months, so I thought it would be a great way to blow out the cobwebs and get ready for the pilot, and they were like, well, we’ve got your back! So I did it. I’m really glad I did it!— MyTakeOnTV, April 29, 2009
I think the spirit of the man himself is beyond salvation and that’s what I as the actor went for, you know?— MyTakeOnTV, April 29, 2009
It was terrific. It was almost like being a fan of these guys and this show, and then finding myself on set going, hey! Coolest show!— MyTakeOnTV, April 29, 2009
Maybe it’s because I know Simon so well, I understood exactly what he meant with the character, and I hope that I conveyed it through my performance, and if I haven’t, I apologize in advance, but I understood Vincent’s anguish, and I understood the desire for salvation, and I think before the end, he rests assured of himself. He’s not all bad.— MyTakeOnTV, April 29, 2009
Also, thank you so much to all the people who tuned into my Criminal Minds episode the other night. It was a fun show to be a part of.— MySpace Blog, May 2, 2009
I totally underestimated my own creepiness. On the E-Trade ad, they totally underestimated the creepiness of Bobo the Clown. Thank you for helping me tap into it.— iFMagazine.com, April 7, 2010
I thought it was a well-earned breather between roles.— ETonline, April 29, 2009
… Moonlight
It was a tough show for everybody in a sense that it was a high maintenance girlfriend. You love her, she’s great in bed but it takes so much of your time to appease her that you’re left going, ‘Okay, is this worth the end result?’— theTVAddict.com, April 29, 2009
I look back at it with a broken heart for the most part. I put every part of me into that show. I was fighting for it from every angle and I was there from the very beginning.— Boston Herald, April 29, 2009
Joel Silver called me right before Christmas. ‘Alex, we’re making the movie. You in?’ ‘Well, sure.’ He hung up, and I haven’t heard from him since. I don’t know what the answer to that is. I don’t know.— Boston Herald, April 29, 2009
It feels to me that ‘Moonlight’s’ disappearing out of my grasp. It’s sad, but I’m so glad to have been a part of it.— Boston Herald, April 29, 2009
I can’t do ‘Moonlight’ again — it’s finished. The bottom line is that my true fans will follow me where I go.— TVGuide.com, April 29, 2009
Yeah, I didn’t work for like 10 months. I went back to Australia for a minute, and then I went and sat in a forest for a couple months and got my thoughts together. I did a bunch of writing…. Essentially, I went into a bit of a tailspin and left the country, to Mexico, out of phone range. I was kind of upset.— TVGuide.com, April 29, 2009
Initially, I was concerned about CBS being the snooze station. They’re renowned for putting boring shit on TV. It’s true! I’m talking about the last ten years of CBS. But now Les Moonves is there and things are changing.— PinkRayGun.com, September 2007
It’s sexy. It’s not gratuitously violent, but the action is pretty radical. I’m really surprised they’re letting me do the stunts I’m doing. It’s awesome stuff.— PinkRayGun.com, September 2007
I myself get very nude and kill people in every episode and have absolutely no issue.— PinkRayGun.com, September 2007
It was wonderful to fight for something and keep it alive for longer than it otherwise would have been. It’s great to be a part of a success, even if it was for only a season.— SFX Vampire Special, June 2009
The workload and the pressure are quite challenging. I’ve come to the conclusion that I will never work harder than this as an actor – unless I’m doing a war film for Oliver Stone somewhere in the Vietnamese jungle, it’s boot camp and he’s making me sleep in the trees and not allowing me to eat at all.— Starlog, March 2008
Moonlight will always be the best.— TV Guide Magazine, August 2009
Genre fans are renowned for their passion, enthusiasm and dedication… and voice, which I really love. I never really think anything I do is going to be that special or affect anybody that much and so I was surprised.— Entertainment Weekly, September 2009
That’s a Joel Silver question, but as far as I know, no. It’s done. It’s over. Mick St. John has been laid to rest.— TVGuide.com, October 2, 2009
I didn’t have a gray hair when I started ‘Moonlight,’ now I’m on the Clooney train.— ET, October 24, 2009
You have no idea the stuff that went on. I can’t believe [Moonlight] lasted as long as it did.— Boston Herald, October 1, 2009
‘Moonlight’ is not coming back and I’m probably never going to play another vampire.— CBS “We’re Not Doctors” unused footage, July/August 2009
I love Mick St. John more than anybody.— TV SOAP, November 2009
After Moonlight was canceled I needed to go away and regroup for a while.— MySpace Blog, November 30, 2009
The most unnerved I’ve been in this whole process was when I was at Carnegie Hall by myself on stage. There was the cast of ‘Cane,’ like 10 people on stage, and the cast of ‘The Big Bang Theory,’ and I kind of waddled out there by myself and I was like, ‘Please watch “Moonlight.” Bye.’And I felt like a [jerk] ’cause I didn’t know what was coming. I had lost my entire cast.— LA Times, October 31, 2007
For the most part, I do about 75% of my stuff. I have my own harnesses and pads and I’m trained in stunt work so I love it. The other thing is they don’t have to shoot around a stunt double, they can just shoot me doing my thing. It makes the show better, until I slip my sciatic nerve and have to work in a back brace… that’s the downside.— Various web interviews, November 2007
I’m proud of that show. I worked really hard on it, like, 20-hour days. I didn’t have one gray hair before Moonlight!— InStyle, April 2011
It’s funny: The pilot was originally called Twilight, but they reshot it and said, ‘We have to call it something else because there’s this other thing coming out using that title.’— InStyle, April 2011
You hear all sorts of horror stories in Hollywood. But I’m working today, and as long as I’m working and can pay the rent, I’m happy.— Sunday Telegraph, October 14, 2007
… Mick St. John
I had never seen a group of people fall so deeply in love with a character I’d been a part of.— TV Guide, April 2009
I think he’s wonderful, I love him. I feel really sorry for him sometimes because he can’t quite bust out of this loneliness that he still lives with, he just can’t accept his lonely life.— Voices From Krypton, October 2007
So I mean the situations this guy gets himself into. I read the scripts and I go ‘Oh, Mick for God’s sake, will you just go on holiday. Can’t you just sit in a hut somewhere for a week?’— Various web interviews, November 2007
Mick is the loneliest man in the world. Even though he’s surrounded by people, he’s isolated and cut off from his own humanity. Mentally, he’s one of the most damaged characters I have ever played. He’s not in a lot of physical jeopardy, but emotionally, he’s a wreck. I try to reach inside of him and find the humanity at his heart.— CBS Watch!, 2008
What saving [Beth] signifies to him was so enormous and now that she’s come of age and he’s starting to find himself attracted to her… oh man… he wants her to call him Dad and he wants her to call him Baby… it’s all messed up.— Sydney Morning Herald, December 2007
If it’s not about that one great love, then who gives a fuck?— Various web interviews, November 2007
Mick has a dark sense of humor, too, which I really like. But beyond that, he and I are quite different. Mick is tougher than I am, and probably a little smarter, too. I’m just a guy who’s lucky enough to do what he enjoys for a living.— Starlog, March 2008
He’s enormously conflicted. He’s a monster who is terrified of the monster within himself.— Starlog, March 2008
My favorite thing about him I think is his ability to overcome extreme drama and duress and not lose sight of the lighter side of life, which essentially stems back to the humanity that he desperately clings to, which is fundamentally extended in his heart. So I think without sounding sanctimonious or sentimental, my favorite thing about this character is his heart.— Various web interviews, November 2007
But I’ll tell you, mate, once I put those teeth and eyes in, it’s like I’m wearing a mask. It completely shifts me away from who I am. Mick St. John as a normal guy, before he vamps, is one character, but Mick St. John in full vamp is another beast altogether!— Starlog, March 2008
The fact that Mick is 90 years old and that he’s still ruggedly handsome, the fact that he’s still youthful and his eyes are still bright is something that he struggles with.— SciFiNow, Issue 10, 2007
I loved Mick more than anybody. I had to live in his skin every day and every night for a long time.— Boston Herald, October 1, 2009
I love Mick St. John more than anybody.— TV SOAP, November 2009
… The Turning Scene with Jason Dohring
It was intense. You’ve got to get over weird, when you shoot a show like this. As an actor, you have to get over yourself … so you don’t judge the characters you play or the scenarios you find yourself in. I’m forever finding my mouth on men’s necks or wrists, and yes, it is bizarre, but I am used to it.— Inside TV, AOL, April 2008
… that little line, ‘My Beth’… that was actually an improv line. ‘My Beth’ just came out of me being in the moment in the scene, living in Mick there for a moment. I don’t remember it happening, but when we were shooting I was just thinking how much I loved this woman.— Daybreak USA, May 2008
… The Shield
Like when I did THE SHIELD, I couldn’t believe it, I was like, ‘Holy Shit, I’m on THE SHIELD. Oh my god!’— MyTakeOnTV, April 29, 2009
This will probably be the thing that gets me recognised. It’s a big deal. The role was highly coveted over here and I’m really happy.— Daily Telegraph/Sydney Confidential, May 2006
It’s a really scary transition. I’ve never worked on something like this. It’s tough! It’s like there’s film acting, there’s TV acting and then there’s The Shield. That’s kind of how I describe it.— IGN.com, June 2006
I’ve been doing a lot of reading and spending a lot of time with the LAPD guys. I’ve been doing that and going out shooting lots of guns and sort of rolling with these cops and just talking to them and just doing as much research stuff as I can.— IGN.com, June 2006
… August Rush
I read that script and I knew I had to be a part of it. I know that sounds corny, but I was like, ‘I’ll kick down doors to get something in this,’ because it was such a wonderful script.— Cleo, March 2008
It was tricky, because I had to accept a local hire which is a kind of contract with Warner Brothers where I had to find my own accommodation and being in New York for four months, you do the maths, you don’t end up making money doing a film like that, but to have it on your resume, these are the sacrifices you make.— Cleo, March 2008
I lived in New York with Jonathan Rhys Meyers while making the movie August Rush — in which I play a Dubliner — and it was helpful that Jonathan is Irish. I kept that accent for four months. That can be quite confrontational for people around me.— Woman’s Day, December 2007
The main thing was that I had a lot of work to do on the accent. I was hanging out with other Irish guys and we played a lot of music together.— Dolly, February 2008
I lived with Johnny and the other guys in the band for four months. We had to learn all the music that we perform in the film so we developed relationships.— Dolly, February 2008
… The James Bond Audition for Casino Royale
The reality is I may not get the role, which is the conundrum for all actors, but at the end of the day, I’m incredibly grateful just to be considered. People’s ears prick up and they do take me a lot more seriously here now.— Various web articles, August 2005
Picture it! Picture it! It’s James Bond, need I say more?— Various web articles, August 2005
It was the biggest screen test I’ve ever done. It was very comprehensive. They had tuxedos and suits made for me, and they cut my hair.— Media Blvd Magazine, November 6, 2007
I think I was a bit young, to be honest. I think in five years I’ll be a good Bond.— Media Blvd Magazine, November 6, 2007
But I’m afraid it killed my mother. She always thought I’d be a great Bond.— Copley News Service, April 25, 2008
How gutted was I? I didn’t think I was going to get it. It was a fucking fantastic experience. I’ve held the gun!— Australian magazine, 2007
I flew to London and screen-tested for it — and obviously didn’t get it. But at least I got to be Bond for a day!— Woman’s Day, December 2007
One of my favorite things in interviews is when people bring up the biggest audition I’ve ever gone for and the biggest audition that I didn’t get.— Sunrise, November 2010
It was a nice dream for a week.— Sunday Telegraph, October 14, 2007
I’m spinning out of my brain about it! I flew to London, stayed on Piccadilly and was looked after beautifully. [I was] fitted out at Hugo Boss for a tuxedo, had my hair cut and filmed two scenes.— The Daily Telegraph, August 8, 2005
… Oyster Farmer
There is nothing intimate about a sex scene at all. You have got 30 people standing around and there is a camera between your legs and there are lights and make-up girls looking at your bum to make sure you haven’t got too much shine. If I never did another one, that would be just fine.— AAP General News, Australia, June 16, 2005
If we didn’t laugh about it, we would have been crying. Now I’ve started worrying because Oyster Farmer is going out on 22 screens internationally in July, and there’ll be my naked bum again.— The Courier Mail, June 23, 2005
It was very exposing, in more ways than one.— The Canberra Times, June 28, 2005
When I read the script, I was drawn to Jack’s character and I really wanted to tell his story.— Nationwide News, June 14, 2005
When I looked around the set at the amazing actors I was working with – Jack Thompson, Kerry Armstrong, Jim Norton, David Field – it sometimes didn’t feel quite real. I feel very fortunate to have had the experience, every moment I listened intently and watched what they were doing. I had so much to learn and they were all so willing to teach….I felt blessed.— “Oyster Farmer” Production Notes, 2005
The script looks at what it is like to be a man in this society. Jack is an Aussie bloke, he’s a little bit ostentatious, a little bit obnoxious, a little bit cheeky, but he’s sensitive as well. Jack is really a city kid who ends up in the scrub for the first time in his life and, unexpectedly, finds a community and love.— “Oyster Farmer” Production Notes, 2005
We hired a boat, found a little beach somewhere up the river and rolled out our swags. We went fishing, ate fresh fish, talked about the script…..it was great. It is so peaceful on the river, the air is clean, there’s wildlife and trees. It has its own little sub-climate and that has an interesting effect on you.— “Oyster Farmer” Production Notes, 2005
I opened up the script and started reading it, and I couldn’t put it down. It’s fantastic, the writing is so powerful and the characters are so strong and full, and it’s such a beautiful story and such an important story, I think, for us, because of the way things are in the world at the moment. It’s about love; it’s about hope; and it’s about family. I just went back to [my agent's] office and said, ‘I’ve got to do this; get me this job!’— FilmStew.com, September 16, 2004
I’m big on living like the character, so I went up to the river and I actually stayed up there for a week with a swag and not many new pairs of undies, and a fishing rod.— Filmink, June 2005
Shooting up there was a pain the arse. We got stuck in the mud for like six hours one day… it was fucked. Then there’s the fog – you can disappear in that and never be seen again.— Filmink, June 2005
See also: Alex on…, Alex on Hawaii and Hawaii Five-0, Others on Alex and About Alex