Jorge Garcia of 'Lost' Contemplates Life After Hurley

This is the last year of 'Lost.' Are you sad about it?
Not yet. We're still having fun and very appreciative. I don't think I'll get sad till we shoot the finale. Will I cry? Oh yeah, I'm sure I will.

If you had a dollar for every time someone asks you what the ending will be would you have more money than Hurley won?
No, not yet. Hurley made a lot of money in the lottery. More than people asking me how it's going to end, they don't believe that we have no idea.

Is it because the writers don't trust the actors?
I think there is a circle of people who know exactly how it's going to end. I don't know if it's that they don't trust us. We don't even ask. We've gotten used to working on the show in the dark and that's kind of how the show goes. For me it's been a fun acting game to do it that way.

If you couldn't say "dude" on the show, what word would you use instead?
I already substitute "man" instead of dude a lot.

Have you started sucking up to J.J. Abrams so he'll cast you in his next project?
No I haven't, but I know he's reused people in the past. He's definitely a good friend to have. I wouldn't call it sucking up, but I really do admire his talent and ability to multi-task and work on so many different projects.

What was it like shooting the pilot?
When we started shooting that first summer before it aired we were kind of excited because we knew we were doing a show that wasn't like anything else. We were like, "Yeah no one's doing a show that's half in Korean in one episode." We were crossing our fingers and hoping the audience would respond to it. We knew our pilot was pretty strong and then we waited to see if what we liked to watch would be the same thing that the country liked to watch.

When you were told you'd be filming in Hawaii were you like, "Oh my God!"
Yeah. Living in Hawaii had always been a dream of mine even before 'Lost' so when I booked the show to shoot the pilot there wasn't even a script for me to read yet. All I knew was that it was a J.J. Abrams show and it was shooting in Hawaii, and that was really all I needed to know.

In real life who's your best friend from the show?
Lately I've been hanging out with Ken [Leung] a lot because he lives the closest. There's been times when he's babysat my dog and we've carpooled a couple of times.

Do you think in ten years you'll be doing 'Lost' conventions?
It's possible. I hope that I'm busy enough that I'll miss a lot of them. But 'Lost' has given me opportunities to see parts of the world I've never been to, going to Rome was pretty huge for me, and I've even done some conventions in foreign countries. Really just any excuse to go traveling is good enough for me.

Have you told your friends you won't be picking up the check at lunch anymore?
No, I'm pretty sure I can pick it up for a little while longer.

Are you worried career wise?
No, in fact I feel pretty confident because I feel a sense of power in a way because I don't need to jump onto the next job now. I have enough of a cushion to figure out what the next choice should be as opposed to before like how do I make rent.

When you got cast in 'Lost' were you worried about your rent?
My last job before 'Lost' ended right before Christmas so I'd been coasting already for a couple of months. I was still OK but there definitely started to be, "Boy, I sure don't want to go back to work at the bookstore again." I used to work at Borders.

What did you do there?
I started out as a music seller.

So, a lot of Celine Dion?
Oh yeah. It was right around, 'Because You Loved Me.' Tons of Kenny G Christmas albums. Andrea Bocelli. Eventually I became an assistant manager. I trained new employees but then I started getting busier outside of work with auditions and commercial jobs

Sounds like you've got a job waiting for you at Borders if the whole acting thing doesn't work out.
I think I'm done with a life in retail.

Filed under:
• TV News
-
• Interviews
-
• Exclusives