LOST Media Mentions - DarkUFO

Scots actor Henry Ian Cusick was about to quit acting when he landed a role on hit US show Lost.

After years of struggling to get work he decided to go to America as a last throw of the dice and won the part as the mysterious Desmond Hume.

Even then, he thought it was only going to be for a few episodes.

But he became a favourite with fans and now Ian, as he prefers to be known, ranks up there with Matthew Fox and Josh Holloway as one of the show's sexiest stars.

He said: "Lost changed my life. Pretty much nothing was happening for me in the UK - I was in my mid 30s and it was very tough.

"I couldn't get into auditions and I decided I would go to Los Angeles to give it one last shot.

But if it didn't work I had nothing. There was no fall-back position."

So he gave himself two months, packed his bags and went to stay with his mate and fellow Scot, actor Brian Cox.

Ian had struggled in Britain - where he had popped up in TV shows Two Thousand Acres of Sky, The Book Group and Midsomer Murders, and played Jesus Christ in The Gospel Of John.

So he was stunned to find himself with an agent and an audition - for 24 - almost as soon as he landed.

He said: "I couldn't believe it - 24 was one of my favourite shows and they offered me nine episodes. I couldn't do it because my visa hadn't come through but that didn't matter because I'd been offered a job."

Luckily, 24 came knocking again a few months later and he played German spy Theo Stoller. A TV movie and an independent film quickly followed then his agent said they wanted him in Hawaii for three episodes of Lost.

He laughed: "I'd never heard of it but I wasn't doing anything else at the time.

"I liked the script and it was already a hit."

Lost is about a group of aircrash survivors trapped on an idyllic but deadly paradise island and Ian, 40, joined at the start of season two. His character, Desmond, was discovered manning a hatch deep in the jungle while inputting a series of numbers into a computer, supposedly to stop the end of the world.

When Desmond escaped the hatch and raced off into the jungle it should have been thank you and goodnight for the actor.

But by then fans were hooked on his character and Ian was offered a contract as a series regular.

He said: "It was a great opportunity and I grabbed it with both hands. I might get killed halfway through, you never know. But you can't live your life worrying about that."

Lost meant moving his theatre director wife Annie and their three sons Elias, Lucas and Esau to start a new life.

But Ian is used to adapting to far-flung new homes. He was born in Peru where his Scottish minister dad was working and had met his mum.

Next they went to Trinidad before the family moved back to his father's hometown of Paisley when Ian was 15.

But it wasn't a happy homecoming for Ian and his younger brother.

He said: "We arrived in Scotland in 1981 in October in shorts, T-shirts and flip flops.

"We were very dark skinned with bleached blonde hair and very thick Trinny accents. School in Paisley was very scary and I became a bit of a chameleon.

"My accent now is not very Scottish. It's always been a bit of a mish-mash but I can put it on."

He fell in love with acting watching 1980s TV shows and movies at Glasgow Film Theatre.

His family were shocked when he was accepted at the prestigious Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow.

But he was thrown out for skiving lessons and went to work in theatre. He met his wife while working as an extra at Glasgow's Citizens' Theatre where Annie was an assistant director.

He said: "We'd been living a happy life together for 14 years and talked about marriage every now and then but never got round to it.

"Lost made us decide we had to do it so Annie and the boys could come to Hawaii. Now we wake up every morning and look at a beach."

He now has a choice of projects lined up and recently starred alongside Dougray Scott and Timothy Olyphant in the movie Hitman.

But Ian hasn't forgotten his Scottish roots.

Eagle-eyed viewers may have spotted a cheeky reference to his background during a flashback scene in series three when Desmond was told by his disgruntled former fiancee that the closest he had previously come to a religious experience was Celtic winning the cup.

He is later seen swigging a bottle of wine and singing The Celtic Song.

He said: "They gave me the tune with different words and I said, 'You can't do that'. So they said 'OK, do The Celtic Song'.

"My father and brother are Celtic fans so I know it quite well. I enjoyed singing it and I was hoping the people in Scotland would get a kick out of it."

Lost returns on Sky One next Sunday at 9pm.

Going to school in Paisley was very scary and I became a bit of a chameleon.. my accent is a real mish-mash

Source: Sunday Mail

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