Eric Lange has gone psycho

Thanks to Lisa for the heads up.

Eric Lange has gone psycho.Again. On national TV.

This time, as "Lost" mad scientist Stuart Radzinsky, he beat Sawyer (star Josh Holloway) bloody on Wednesday's episode.

Then, he arbitrarily declared himself leader of the Dharma Initiative group, which controls part of the mysterious Pacific island that's home for the Oceanic Air crash victims.

"I was just whaling on the poor guy," says Lange, 36, a Fairfield High School and Miami University graduate, about his breakthrough TV role after 14 years in Hollywood.

"America's just going to shred me, because I was beating up the pretty boy. Radzinsky's such a raging lunatic. I just hope he's one of those characters that people love to hate," says Lange, whose parents, Eric and Vivian, live in Liberty Township.

For those who don't follow ABC's mystery - or got lost and gave up - Radzinsky is an iconic character in "Lost" lore. His suicide was mentioned in the second season (2005-06), when someone pointed to the blood-splattered ceiling of the room where he blew his brains out.

Three years passed before viewers saw Radzinsky, played by Lange as a frustrated control freak. He first appeared March 18 in Dharma camp scenes set in 1977, which was 27 years before the plane crash that left the main survivors on the island. (Don't ask me to explain the confusing "Lost" time travel.)

The last of his seven episodes air as the two-hour "Lost" season finale Wednesday (9 p.m., Channels 9, 22).

Casting directors were attracted to Lange because of his scraggily beard, Drew Carey-style glasses and long black hair draped from his balding head.

His new look has been profitable for Lange since he grew the beard and long hair to play an eccentric billionaire California surfer last summer in "26 Miles," a miniseries that has yet to air. Before that, his clean-cut look landed him roles on "ER," "Boston Legal," "The West Wing," "JAG" and some 25 commercials.

"I decided to keep this look, and job after job kept coming," says Lange by phone from Los Angeles. He shot guest roles last fall for "Criminal Minds," "Bones," "Numb3rs" and "My Name Is Earl" before getting "Lost" in November.
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Originally "Lost" producers hired him to play "Marty Jankowski." That turned out to be a ruse so Internet chat boards wouldn't know that viewers would soon see Radzinsky, the Dharma research director who built the model for the Swan hatch station.

At the Swan, a Dharma staffer pushes a button every 108 minutes to control the island's electromagnetic fluctuations. (Don't ask. Trust me.)

Radzinsky's erratic behavior in previous episodes led up to Sawyer's pummeling last week. On his March debut, he wanted to shoot Sayid (Naveen Andrews), because, he said, Sayid he was a spy.

On another show Radzinsky was out in Grid 334 in "hostile" territory, off limits to Dharma folks.

Lange says the balding head and big black glasses are his own. Only Radzinksy's attitude is an act.

"It just proves what a good actor he is. Anyone who knows him would know what a sweetie he is. He's the nicest guy in the world," says Jim Davis, retired Fairfield High School drama teacher.

Lange had hoped that his "Lost" exposure would find him many Hollywood offers. So far, that hasn't happened, in part because of the Screen Actors Guild's year-old labor dispute with studios.

"I got back from Hawaii on top of the world last month, and there's no work to be had," Lange says.

Could he return to "Lost" next year? Lange won't know until production resumes in August. All he knows is that the creators and producers have to resolve many story lines next year, the final "Lost" season.

"They've got a lot of loose ends to tie up. If they include me, that would be fantstistc," he says. "I think 'Lost' is televison at its best. I'm very proud to be part of it."

Source: Cincinnati News