Lost: Up close with the Lost souls

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After what's seemed like an eternity, TV's most intriguing drama series is back. We caught up with five of the show's stars to find out what it's like to be part of the Lost story

Lost

Elizabeth Mitchell plays Juliet Burke

Your character is shady to say the least. Do you know if she is good or bad?
She's getting a lot meaner, which I like. She's a survivor. She's very single-minded. Her motivation has always been to get off the island and get back to her sister.

Do the producers tell you what's going to happen next?
To a degree, but some things they don't share - for my character particularly. It's still up in the air as to who she might end up being.

Who do you want to die? Ben?
Juliet certainly does, but I don't, because Michael Emerson, who plays him, is so amazing. He's so creepy. It's wonderful. His eyes just pin you down.

What's been your most intense experience on the show?
I did an episode centred on Juliet where I was filming at four in the morning with the rain pouring down, getting shaken by Jack.

Was it really raining?
No, they turned it on. They use these sprinklers. All of a sudden we were sitting there drenched. It's great. It makes it a lot more fun to have the physical element as well as the psychological.

If you were on an island and you were lost, would you act like your character?
I don't know that I'd have done everything that Juliet did; her moral fibre is somewhat in question. I would continue to try to survive, but would want to be able to live with myself as well. I wouldn't want to leave and think that I hadn't been the person I would like to be in life.


Henry Ian Cusick plays Desmond Hume

What was it like filming those scenes with Dominic Monaghan when Charlie met his watery end?
It was scary. We were in the sea, diving between about 15 and 20 metres, and I wouldn't say I'm a particularly strong swimmer.

With all the freighter people coming into the show, you must feel like an old-timer now.
I think I'll always be considered a new character. I joined at the beginning of the second series, so I missed out on what it must be like to do a pilot and then be this phenomenal success. I think that's bonded the original cast members.

How do you like living in Hawaii?
I grew up on an island, and now my family is having that enjoyment. I was born in Peru, but I grew up in Trinidad, and then moved to Scotland when I was 15 years old.


Naveen Andrews plays Sayid Jarrah

Is it still fun for you being one of the original cast members?
Occasionally. That's how I feel about acting in general. Between action and cut, yeah, there are still some good moments. I guess that's what keeps you going - and the money probably.

Have you ever been concerned about the size of the cast?
Of course, you can't help it. But the ground on which you stand is constantly being rearranged by the writers and you just have to accept that.

You once said that if this had happened to you 10 years ago you would have gone mad. What did you mean by that?
Ten years ago I was still drinking and taking drugs. I have been sober for five years now, so this really has more to do with me and how I handle pressure rather than anything to do with Lost.


Evangeline Lilly plays Kate Austen

Thanks to the flash-forward, we now know that Kate makes it off the island. But will she be with Sawyer?
It could go to a million different places. The reality of it is that two people came together in extraordinary circumstances and made love. They weren't thinking it through, and it is going to be complicated.

What's it like kissing Josh Holloway?
Josh is a Southern gentleman and he makes me feel comfortable, but I honestly feel like I don't know what it's like to kiss him. You go into character, so I feel like I'm experiencing it through Kate.

How are you handling being a star?
It's easier now. But there is nothing normal about the life of an actor in a high-profile show. I've never been interested in fame. I wouldn't be caught dead at half the parties I get invited to.


Josh Holloway plays James 'Sawyer' Ford

Sawyer never seems to have it easy, does he?
No. They have put him through everything from captivity to love to murder. But that's fine by me. I enjoy getting out of the gate running hard.
Will Sawyer be one of the lucky ones who escape the island?
I don't think Sawyer should leave. He should die bloody. Maybe his final thing should be some kind of redemption and he should die by saving somebody.

How fit do you stay for all those shirt-off scenes?
Staying in shape is part of playing Sawyer. But they would give me three days' notice and I was, like, 'Come on, guys, I'm not 25 years old any more. You have to give me at least six days'. Now I have my moles in the production team who call me and go 'Dude, shirt-off coming up'.


This week's new arrivals
Three more people from the mysterious freighter disembark on the island this week: academic Charlotte Lewis (Rebecca Mader), wounded crew member Frank Lapidus (Jeff Fahey) and brilliant mathematician Miles Straume (Ken Leung). Jack's faith in them as potential rescuers is called into question, however, when Miles holds him at gunpoint.

Source: TV And Satellite Week