Having won hearts and laughs as Hurley on Lost, actor Jorge Garcia returned to primetime
on season four of Hawaii Five-0, playing conspiracy theorist Jerry Ortega. He was bumped up to
series regular status two seasons later, and his character became an official part of the
task force in season 7.
"You earned it, Jer."
"Alright, buddy!"
But the season 10 premiere of Hawaii Five-0, which aired in September 2019, saw the character's
fortunes change. Though Ortega had recovered from the gunshot wound he sustained on the
season 9 finale, his near-death experience prompted a reevaluation. He ultimately quit
the life of major-crime-solving to return to his true love: conspiracy theories, specifically
one involving the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Titanic disaster. In real life, Garcia
announced that he wouldn't be back for the rest of season 10, telling TVLine that he
was "grateful" for his time on Hawaii Five-0 but indicating he wouldn't be back any time
soon.
Hawaii Five-0 had its own near-death experience a few months later, and it didn't come out
so well. Turns out Hawaii Five-0's run came to an end before an eleventh season, and it
looks like Garcia got out of a sinking ship ahead of everyone else. But why did he leave
Hawaii Five-0 in the first place?
Bidding farewell to Jerry Ortega was a sad moment for Jorge Garcia and Hawaii Five-0
fans — but, fittingly for a series set in the sunny island state, the actor didn't leave
under a cloud. In an interview published the same day his last episode of Hawaii Five-0
aired, Garcia told TVLine that he was thankful for his time on the show, especially since
it allowed him to head back to the place where he filmed Lost. He shared:
"I loved getting to return to the islands, and creating a character that connected with
so many people. Playing Jerry was a blast, and I look forward to popping in again to
play with my TV ohana."
With no one yet aware that none of the cast would be coming back for a dreamt-about Hawaii
Five-0 season 11, showrunner Peter M. Lenkov relayed to TVLine,
"There will always be a place for Jorge and Jerry on Hawaii Five-0, and while we obviously
wish Jorge the very best, we will sincerely miss him very much."
Proving there really wasn't backstage drama behind his departure, Garcia has already returned
to the Lenkov universe — a family of shows masterminded by Lenkov that overlaps with
the NCIS universe. On February 18, 2020, fellow Lost alumnus and current MacGyver actor Henry
Ian Cusick tweeted a selfie of himself and Garcia on the set of MacGyver, a reboot of
the 1985 series of the same name, with the caption, "Look who came out to play!"
The official MacGyver Twitter account retweeted the image and announced that Garcia would
appear as Ortega on a future episode of the show. You don't just walk away from the island
life, apparently.
Although we don't know when Garcia's MacGyver appearance will air, his fans can catch him
in a few other projects in the meantime.
He's one of many famous actors to have a cameo in The Wrong Missy, the Adam Sandler-produced
Netflix comedy that involves a case of mistaken identity and another trip to Hawaii. It's
not just the setting that's familiar: Garcia plays yet another guy on a plane in the film.
"Smells good. You eat dog s--- this morning?"
His next big role is a total departure from airplanes — but not islands. The drama pic
Nobody Knows I'm Here hits Netflix on June 24, and stars Garcia as a shy singer whose
attempt to hide from the world on a remote Chilean island is ruined when a video of him
singing goes viral on YouTube. The movie was part of the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival. In
an Instagram post, Garcia wrote,
"I'm really proud of this movie. I hope you all check it out."
Even when he's not on our screens, Garcia is providing quality entertainment to the
masses. Those missing Garcia's voice as much as they miss his face can check out his biweekly
podcast, Kaiju Podcast, in which he and co-host Ralph Apel discuss giant monsters in movies.
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