Anyone who has ever been lucky enough to see Alex O’Loughlin in the flesh knows that the very first time is a special experience. Imagine the effect when he’s sitting just 25 ft. away, right in front of you…

Yesterday was the first day of my trip to LA and what a day it was! Approaching the CBS TV studios via Fairfax for the taping of the Late Late Show, we saw various posters for Whiteout as well as a couple of billboards for Three Rivers.

As the show only has seats for 108 people in the audience, the studio proper is surprisingly small and intimate. The segments aren’t taped in the order that they’re aired. And yesterday, the producers saved the best for last!

When Alex was introduced by Craig and walked in, we stood up and applauded very loudly. I’m not sure he could see us with the spotlights on him, but you can see in the video his cute double take that resulted in a huge smile when it dawned on him.

What you may not see is that Mr. O’Loughlin still gets nervous. There was lots of thumb activity going on, especially in the first minute and he was tapping his right foot to a rhythm that only he could hear. You can see the toe of his boot bobbing up and down on the screen

Unfortunately, not everything that was taped for the show was actually aired, so here’s a summary of what you missed:

• At one point, Alex mentions the tight scrubs in the original pilot for Three Rivers, that he calls “Star Trek-esque” and “uncomfortable”.
• He also joked about his growing collection of gray hair, mentioning that he was like George Clooney in that context. “The show gave me gray hairs,” he said in reference to Moonlight.
• While joking about a blood clause in his current contract (he’s referred to it before in other interviews), Craig calls him a real vampire, and then asks for confirmation, “Are you still a vampire?” Alex retorts, “I don’t know, ask the ladies,” indicating his fans in the audience.

He remained seated to chat with Craig when the interview was over. When they were done, Alex stood up, hugged Craig goodbye, and turned and walked off, but not before giving us a two-handed wave first and blowing us a kiss!

I had already been warned by Deb that Alex O’Loughlin is even more enchanting in the flesh.

Truer words were never spoken.

[tags]alex o’loughlin, alex o’lachlan, craig ferguson, late late show, cbs[/tags]