Alex O'Loughlin is an Australian actor, currently playing Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett
on CBS' remade TV series of Hawaii Five-0.
He had starring roles in the films Oyster Farmer and The Back-up Plan, as well as on
such television series as Moonlight and Three Rivers.
Early life O'Loughlin was reportedly born on 24 August
1976, although other years have also been cited, in Canberra, Australia, of Irish and
Scottish descent.
His father is a physics and astronomy teacher in Sydney and his mother is a nurse.
O'Loughlin suffered from asthma, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and obsessive
compulsive disorder when he was a child, making school a continuous struggle, and he left
at age 14, after which he began working in various fields.
He enrolled at the National Institute of Dramatic Art in Sydney, Australia, in 1999 and graduated
in June 2002 after completing a three-year, full-time Bachelor of Dramatic Art program.
Career O'Loughlin was already working in short film
and fringe theater as a teenager in Sydney.
One of his first acting jobs was an extra in a commercial, playing a marine.
After graduating from NIDA, he began his career in Australian television and film productions
and some of his TV credits include roles in BlackJack: Sweet Science, Love Bytes and White
Collar Blue.
His film career started off in 2004 when he landed his first lead role in Oyster Farmer.
He later appeared in Man-Thing, Feed, and in the Australian mini-series The Incredible
Journey of Mary Bryant, for which he was nominated as Best Lead Actor in Television from the
Australian Film Institute Awards in 2005 and as Most Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series
from the Logie Awards in 2006.
O'Loughlin joined the cast of The Shield in 2007 as Detective Kevin Hiatt, the newest
member of the strike team.
In 2005, he screen-tested for the movie role of James Bond.
As he told one interviewer: "I met with [director] Martin Campbell here in Los Angeles at his
office on the Sony [Pictures] lot and he asked me to fly to London and test and we tested
at Pinewood [Studios].
It was the biggest screen test I've ever done.
It was very comprehensive.
I had tuxedos and suits cut for it and hair cuts."
He left The Shield after he won the lead role on the CBS series Moonlight, where he played
private investigator and vampire Mick St. John.
The filming of Moonlight was interrupted by the Hollywood writers strike.
There was speculation that the series would be dropped but fan pressure prevailed and
the show was given four additional episodes to try to regain its audience share.
Despite being the highest rated show in its Friday evening slot CBS did not commission
a second season.
After its cancellation, a fan-based charity campaign to win a second-season renewal for
Moonlight by holding blood drives proved unsuccessful.
In August 2008, it was announced that CBS had signed a talent development deal with
O'Loughlin as the star of a TV series to be developed by writer Mark Gordon, but it never
materialised.
However, he was subsequently cast in the lead role of the CBS hospital drama Three Rivers,
developed by producer Carol Barbee, which aired Sunday evenings in the 2009–2010 season.
In April 2009, he guest-starred in an episode of Criminal Minds, most notably in the Season
Four episode, "The Big Wheel", as an OCD-ridden serial killer, Vincent Rowlings who sends
the BAU a videotape, asking them for help in stopping him from killing people.
In December 2009 CBS pulled Three Rivers from its schedule.
O'Loughlin starred alongside Jennifer Lopez in the 2010 romantic comedy film The Back-up
Plan.
O'Loughlin was cast in the CBS remake of Hawaii Five-0 portraying Lieutenant Commander Steve
McGarrett, which premiered on 20 September 2010.
The show won "Favorite New TV Drama" at the 2010–11 People's Choice Awards.
Subsequently, BuddyTV ranked him # 2 on its "TV's 100 Sexiest Men of 2010" list and # 9
in 2011.
On 2 March 2012, CBS announced that O'Loughlin would miss shooting some episodes of Hawaii
Five-0 to seek drug treatment related to pain management medication prescribed after a shoulder
injury.
He was slated to miss at least one episode from the second season.
In August 2013, the Los Angeles based non-profit Australians in Film announced that O'Loughlin
will be honored with a Breakthrough Award at an exclusive ceremony held on 24 October
2013 in Los Angeles.
Personal life O'Loughlin's first child, Saxon, was born
to a girlfriend with whom he has since separated.
He separated from his long-time girlfriend, Australian actress/singer Holly Valance in
February 2009.
O'Loughlin and his girlfriend Malia Jones have a son, Lion O'Loughlin.
O'Loughlin married his girlfriend Malia Jones in Hawaii, on 18 April 2014.
O'Loughlin, Jones, and their three sons live in Hawaii where he films Hawaii Five-0.
He is the current ambassador for Donate Life Americaand takes a large interest in the fight
against ALS, a cause which has deep meaning to his family.
Filmography Awards
External links Alex O'Loughlin at the Internet Movie Database
References