"Lost" in Pasadena With Hurley

You really can't miss fun actor Jorge Garcia in a room. He's a big, friendly guy. The Cuban/Chilean actor is usually smiling and he has no problem discussing all things Hurley. Jovial Jorge won our hearts initially and then surprised us as we've followed the "Lost" castaways for several seasons. We thought he was comic relief until he faced heartbreak (girlfriend Libby's death) and we learned that his past was far from a laugh riot. We "get" Hurley. He's one of us.

So, wazzup for Hurley in the new "Lost" season, launching in February? We cornered the actor at the ABC TV press day in Pasadena recently and got the scoop.

TeenTelevision: What makes Hurley so popular?

Jorge: I think he has a everyman quality to him. In many ways, he's the moment where the audience can relax for a minute. Everything is so intense and scary and Hurley is more day by day and a little more easy going. How can you ever really know what people are going to respond to? I'm really glad they respond to Hurley.

TeenTelevision: Any big Hurley stories coming up?

Jorge. Very much I'd say. The fourth episode in on February 28th is really Hurley-centric. You haven't really seen him grieve since Libby died so we kind of come back to that and it deals with Hurley and his dad and has someone playing Hurley as a young boy. In many ways, Hurley and I are cut of the same cloth. Hurley was written for me. When I went in, they really didn't have anything for me to read so they were like 'well, just read Sawyer for now and we'll figure it out'. It wasn't until I tested that they actually had Hurley sides to even audition with.

TeenTelevision: What was it like working with Cheech Marin?

Jorge: It was a blast. We had a lot of time to just hang out and talk and tell stories. I'd been a fan of his, just of the stuff that he did on stages, for a long time. There were good stories to tell. It was a good time.

TeenTelevision: Do you make Hawaii home and did you ever learn to surf?

Jorge: I live in Hawaii but I never learned how to surf and I bought a board. I kind of wanted one just to paddle around on and the guy talked me into getting a board that I would eventually be able to surf on. After a while you get bored with paddling and really want to get up.

TeenTelevision: Do you ever go back to Borders where you used to work and say hello to people?

Jorge: I like going during the Christmas season because that's the hairiest time. I like to go and know that I can leave at any point. I don't want to go because I'm going to gloat, I want to go and really be looking for something when I go so I have an excuse, 'yeah, I need to pick up the new...whatever'. But, I didn't have an excuse this time so I kind of chickened out.

TeenTelevision: What shows do you like to watch?

Jorge: "Studio 60". I just got caught up. I love the show. Really impressive stuff. I love watching "Heroes". When I was in New York promoting the "Lost" figures, I got to hang out with Greg Grunberg ["Alias" and "Heroes"]. We hang out with people on the other J.J. [Abrams] shows so we knew the "Alias" guys and everybody. It was just fun to hang out in New York for a while.

TeenTelevision: Those "Lost" figures are amazing. They look like tiny versions of you.. accurate.

Jorge: Yeah. They scanned our faces. It's pretty surreal. It's definitely a great status symbol for me because figures were a big part of my growing up. The pop culture I was into had figures. Really sweet.

TeenTelevision: So were the Hurley figures a big part of Christmas giving for you?

Jorge: [laughs] Way easy. It was easy but it got a little hard to find them, or so people said. I bought a whole bunch. I knew New York Toys 'R Us had them when I did the promotion and I went around and bought some. They had a whole bin of Jacks, whole bin of Charlies and the Hurley bin wasn't as full as the other ones only because I was the only one there signing. Because I was there, they bought a lot of Hurleys. I just took the whole bin and wheeled it up to the counter and said 'I'll take 'um all'. Then I bought a couple of everybody's else's and shipped them to Hawaii directly.

TeenTelevision: Do any teens ever come up to you and say you are their role model or ask how you got into the business? If so, what do you say to them?

Jorge: Yeah. I gauge how they ask the question. Some kids say 'I'm an aspiring actor' and I say, 'well, the first thing you do is take 'aspiring' out of it. If you're an actor, be an actor. Doesn't matter if you've getting a job, just be an actor'. I tell them things like 'Listen, this kind of thing is something you have to choose every day'. You have to want it that bad. You can kind of tell when people talk about it that they are 'I don't know'. I'm like 'okay, you don't sound like [you really want it]'. It has to be something where you just can't do anything else because, if not, it's too damn hard to put up with the struggle of it. I never see the stuff before I did "Becker". "Becker" was the first time I knew that, when my car broke down, it wasn't going to be an issue anymore. Although, there were times I had trouble paying the rent, I never really saw it as a struggle because I was doing what I wanted and there was something in the back of my head. It's like that line that Jack Nicholson has in Batman. 'Just wait until they get a load of me'! That kept me going and being able to get up every morning and hustle. It's not gonna be handed to you. Go out and get it and don't put a time limit on it.

TeenTelevision: What do fans want to know most about Hurley?

Jorge: Most of the information about our own characters, we don't even have. But lately, fans ask 'when are you guys coming back?' That's been the biggest deal. They always try to tell me that they like me or like the show.

TeenTelevision: Are they ever going to pay off that Hurley won the lottery and what those numbers really mean?

Jorge: We're looking for meanings. They did a little bit with the numbers in that alternate reality game "The Lost Experience" that was done outside. They introduced the new equation that adds more complications to try to figure out. I follow it just enough to get more confused.

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Lynn Barker is a Hollywood-based journalist and produced screenwriter.