Sauntering into the room, wearing a sharp suit, a distressed t-shirt and wielding a can of Sprite along with a fair amount of stubble, actor Matthew Fox turned just a few heads. For the record, that was an understatement. The star of the hit TV series Lost and Party of Five was in Budapest – for the first time ever – and took some time out to talk about B-town, his film ambitions and why he’ll never take up golf…
How are you?
I’m good, I got some sleep last night after a lot of travelling, so I’m good!
What do you think about Budapest?
Beautiful. I wish I had more time to spend here. I love to travel, but there’s never much time when I’m doing publicity. From what I see, the city is very, very pretty. I grew up in wide, open spaces with farmland so it’s great being somewhere so beautiful. The people are wonderful. It’s very peaceful, too.
Is it true that you are the only one in the cast who knows how Lost will end?
Uh, I don’t know. That’s the rumor, I know what the final image of the show will be. When we sit down and talk about Jack (his character in Lost) we obviously talk a lot, and we talk about the story, too. The final image will be beautiful and sad and redemptive. I’m very excited for next year. We’ve been working very hard for five years to get to this point. I don’t know if I’m the only one who knows as I’m not privy to the other conversations they have with other cast members.
When is the last day of shooting?
Some time in April of next year. We’re doing 18 hours, as the premiere will be two hours and the finale will be two hours. There’ll be sixteen episodes, so this will take a little longer. So, I’d say the middle of April next year.
On screen you play a very good person – is it hard for you to live up to that in real life?
Well, I don’t think Jack is necessarily a very good character… we wanted to set him up as a hero, wanted the audience to believe he was going to be very heroic, wanted people on the island to look to him for leadership. Then we wanted to destroy him, actually. At the end of the fourth season, we see him involved with alcohol and drugs, standing on a bridge asking for forgiveness before he kills himself, so to have him turn a corner and redeem himself was something very interesting for us. Jack is a flawed man. You’ll find out more soon.
What do you remember about working with Romanian actress, Monica Elena Bîrlădeanu, in season two?
Um, I don’t remember her… I’m so bad with names. Who did she play?
(He is shown a large poster of him posing with the very attractive actress)
Very good. A good experience. Amazing, I was watching a montage you put together last night (at an AXN party)… what a long season. There were a lot of good people in the show, so many good supporting actors. I think it’s a good show to work on. The crew in Hawaii are a bunch of really good people. They are very passionate about doing the best they can with what they have. I think that people who come and go on the show have a good experience.
Would you like to experience something similar to Lost in real-life?
No (Long pause)
Why?
You know, on some level I’ve spent the last five years of my life imagining what that would be like… I wouldn’t want to have to deal with the reality of that, I’m very happy with my life. There are people who are incredibly important to me who I wouldn’t want to be away from.
The people on the island in Lost play golf. What is your opinion on the sport?
I’m sorry to say that I don’t really play golf. I’ve played it a few times but for me, I can’t justify six hours of hitting a ball around.
After playing Jack, are you afraid of being typecast?
No. People asked me that same question after doing Party of Five. I’ve also done four films over the last few years, so feel like I’m on my way to establishing myself in the film world. No, I’m not concerned about that. Jack’s changed so much, he’s done so many different things on the show it’s not like he’s just done one basic thing. I think if he was like a hero, the knight in shining armor all the time, then that might be a bit of a problem. So, I’m not worried about it at all. No.
Do you have a say in how the script is edited?
We do yes, in small ways. I’ve always been so happy with the scripts that come in. I look forward to seeing the script very much, finding out what’s going to happen. They are very open to the idea that there are certain lines, small things, which can be tweaked. It’s very collaborative in that respect, yes.
What would you like to do after Lost – movies or television?
I’m not going to do television again. I’ve spent the last 12 years doing television. For me, I just want more control over my life, more control over when I’m working and when I’m not. With films I can work solidly for three months and devote all my energy to a project. Afterwards I can choose to do something new right away or have six months off and spend time with my family and friends. There’s more flexibility with movies. That’s very important to me.
To watch Lost in Budapest you’ll have to tune into the AXN channel. Find out more at www.AXN.hu.
Transcript by Joanna Singleton