Wait, How Did Aussie Five-0 Star Alex O’Loughlin Not Land on NCIS: Sydney…? (And Might He Eventually Show Up?)
Don’t get us wrong, the Australia-set NCIS: Sydney, premiering Stateside this Tuesday on CBS, boasts a terrific cast, and one that is 66% Australian (plus two Brits).
But Sydney native and CBS procedural vet Alex O’Loughlin was right there, people. (Well, somewhere. I’m not entirely sure what he is up to these days, three-and-a-half years after the Hawaii Five-0 reboot said aloha.)
As such, “Where the hell is Alex?” is a question I may have directly asked NCIS: Sydney creator Morgan O’Neill during our recent, in-depth convo.
O’Neill and I shared in a chuckle, after which he said, “Look, we haven’t written off the possibility of him popping up.
“Alex is a fantastic actor, as you would well know,” the Aussie EP added, before launching into a celebration of the land Down Under’s countless, fine contributions to the U.S. television scene. (Think Chuck‘s Yvonne Strahovski, House‘s Jesse Spencer, The Mentalist‘s Simon Baker, Damages‘ Rose Byrne, Fringe‘s Anna Torv and John Noble, Brotherhood‘s Jason Clarke…. The list goes on, and on.)
“I don’t know what it is in the water down here, but Australians have a tendency to kind of bat a bit out of our weight category when it comes to producing actors and creative people,” O’Neill proudly observed. “So, I’m pretty sure Alex will pop up somewhere. He’s a fantastic actor and a good guy.”
In NCIS: Sydney, U.S. NCIS Agents and members of the Australian Federal Police (AFP) are grafted into a “multi-national task force, to keep naval crimes in check in the most contested patch of ocean on the planet.” Olivia Swann (Legends of Tomorrow) and Todd Lasance (Spartacus: War of the Damned) lead the cast as, respectively, NCIS Special Agent Michelle Mackey and her 2IC AFP counterpart, Sergeant Jim “JD” Dempsey. Rounding out the merged team are Sean Sagar (Fate: The Winx Saga) as NCIS Special Agent DeShawn Jackson, Tuuli Narkle (Bad Behaviour) as AFP liaison officer Constable Evie Cooper, Mavournee Hazel (Neighbours) as AFP forensic scientist Bluebird “Blue” Gleeson, and William McInnes (Blue Heelers) as AFP forensic pathologist Dr. Roy Penrose.
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Is it me or didn’t NCIS world cross over with Hawaii 5-0? Wouldn’t it be a big continuity issue if he shows up as someone other than Steve McGarrett? Yes I know it was NCIS:LA, still in the same tv world.
Yeah, they are in the same universe but there are dozens (I think!) of actors who’ve been in JAG, the many flavours of NCIS, MacGyver, 5-0, Scorpion or First Monday (apologies if I’ve missed anything out!) as multiple characters.
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Zoe McLellan for example was a regular on JAG, and then many years later a regular on NCIS: NO as a different character.
Mcgee actor was in 6 JAG episodes as 2 different chatacter before getting on NCIS.
Yep, Sean Murray. Also realised I left Magnum, PI off the list of shows in the universe.
This is true but I think Alex is so well known as McGarret’s Hawaii 5-0, the lead role, that he couldn’t really play another part in an NCIS or adjacent universe show even if it’s been a few years.
Magnum PI was a fictional TV show on Hawaii Five-0 yet the new version crossed over with it years later.
Alex is an actor so he portrayes many different roles. And he is fantastic and very versatile. I have watched several of his roles and he changes his appearance and acting style all the time. He would definitelly an asset to any production. I don´t see why his career should be over only because he worked on Hawaii 5 O. He can do a lot more than this.
Agree, after Moonlight (was that the right name?) he played the baddie of the week on Criminal Minds before starting 5-O and I was so unsure if it was Alex as his appearance and posture where so different, that I had to go check out his IMDB page as it was driving me batty lol!
I doubt he would want to talk on a very physical roll again though, but could always play the lab nerd roll I guess :p
His Criminal Minds episode is one of the all time greatest though. It’s such a solid episode.
Hawaii 5-0 had a big continuity issue with that awful Magnum reboot… par for the course.
Assuming it’s just a guest appearance, that’d be less jarring than Katrina Law starring in NCIS as Jessica Knight after starring in H50 for a season as Quinn.
Since NCSI: Sydney was intended for Aussie TV, its budget may be Aussie-sized as well and O’Loughlin’s rate may be too high for the show to afford?
Not tryig to be rude but why don´t we just let them find out and talk to him? Maybe Alex O`Loughlin is interested and they can make a deal. I would LOVE to see him again on tv in a new role and NCIS Sydney would certainly be perfect for an Aussie like him who grew up in Sydney.
But he lives in Hawaii too far from his house. He may be doing guests appearances but that is it I guess.
This is likely the reason. What series regulars make in Australia, a much smaller country, where advertising fees and subscription bases are smaller, must not be close to what they pay in Hollywood.
Not a problem for me. Would rather see LA or NOLA team members show up since they were core franchise members.
AOL was a x-over character, at best.
I understand he has residence opportunity, but still not core franchise. Just my take.
Watching it this week, but it has to stand 1on its own before bringing big guest stars. Also, would the Hawaii chacter even be remembered?
Never really been into the NCIS’s, but I’ll watch if Alex O’Loughlin is in it.
I miss Alex so much. Nothing would make me happier than to see him guest-star
on NCIS Sydney.
I would so love to see Alex O`Loughlin on a new project. And better sooner than later. His fans miss him dearly. And yes, he is a fantastic actor (and director) and a good guy. Nice to read this finally honored.
Sure he made enough in 10 years of 5-0 to retire comfortably.
Since he presumably lives in the US now a guest role would be a major trip. In fact the show is already using Australian actors to play American roles (Lewis Fitz-Gerald who was in Crownies with Todd Lasance is the one giving the NCIS guys orders.)
He is 47.Why should he retire? There are still a lot of roles he can do. And yes, he lives in the US/Hawaii but most of his family live in Australia. And travelling is pretty normal for actors who want to work. So as an Aussie who lives in the States he could either play an Aussie or an American. He would be perfect and believable in either.
He may have chosen to take some time away though, it’s common knowledge that he suffered several injuries during the making of 5-0 and also had some painkiller addiction issues as a result. Plus he has a young son.
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Cameron Diaz and Rick Moranis (for example) have both taken long periods away from acting, so it’s not unheard of, I’m sure there are plenty of other examples.
Maybe he wants to stay in Hawaii with his family. But he got himself a new manager about a year ago after being without manager for some time. So it seem, he is ready to work again. He will certainly tell what he wants if they ask him. And since the majority of his family lives in Australia he might be ready to move his family there. But that´s up to him.
About the injuries: He was dedicated to do as much of his stunts as he could and got badly injured. Because he wanted to keep on working he took strong pain killers which make those who take them almost immediatelly addicted. This was because he wanted to do a great job which in my book is admirable. He got over his addiction and even though he suffered some more injuries on Hawaii 5 O he achieved his black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu about a year ago. He is fit today.
How do u know he got himself a new manager?
Because it was written in an article.
On 5-0 every once in a while his Australian accent would slip through. If he shows up on the new NCIS, I hope he’s Australian.
It might ne a little jarring (at least at first) for me to hear Alex speak only with his full Australian accent after knowing him for so long only as McGarrett, as I’ve never seen him in anything else
If you can get your hands on the Australian film “Oyster Farmer” I´d recommend to watch it. I`m from Germany so English is not my first language and I had “fun” trying to understand what they were talking about. But you get used to it. And btw.: the film is awesome. Nice Australian atmosphere.and a compelling story. And watching young Alex is awesome, too. He was already pretty good.
He was the lead in a show a few years back where he played a vampire. I believe the show was called Moonlight. You could check his IMDB page I am sure they have it listed.
The group needs to travel to New Zealand and have a crossover with Wellington Paranormal! That would be fun!
Maybe he wants to stay in Hawaii with his family. But he got himself a new manager about a year ago after being without manager for some time. So it seem, he is ready to work again. He will certainly tell what he wants if they ask him. And since the majority of his family lives in Australia he might be ready to move his family there. But that´s up to him.
About the injuries: He was dedicated to do as much of his stunts as he could and got badly injured. Because he wanted to keep on working he took strong pain killers which make those who take them almost immediatelly addicted. This was because he wanted to do a great job which in my book is admirable. He got over his addiction and even though he suffered some more injuries on Hawaii 5 O he achieved his black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu about a year ago. He IS fit today.
What if he joined NCIS: Hawaii and they crossed over with a case bridging the two?
That could be nice. But I think, they had to revive Hawaii 5 O in order to do that and I can´t see that happen for several reasons. Besides: I don´t think, Alex would want to revive his old role. From several interviews I think, he is done with McGarrett and wanted to move on. And I personally would love to see him in a new role – if he still wants to be an actor that is.
Sorry, I just reread your coimment and realised I didn´t read thoroughly enough. You were talking about NCIS Hawaii not Hawaii 5 O. My fault.
Yes, I agree. Letting him join NCIS Hawaii and then do a crossover maybe with the opportunity of his character going to Sydney in the future would be awesome.
Don’t forget Robert Taylor (Longmire) sure he’d like to stay at home to work
Alex lives in Hawaii, but goes home to Australia to see family. I would love to see
him take a role in NCIS Sydney, even playing a villain. He’s such a great actor. He
could use his natural voice. It would be a hoot to have people who had never heard any of his interviews, say ‘Wow, Alex does a great Aussie accent!!’
Please, producers of NCIS Sydney, MAKE THIS HAPPEN !!!
why does he need to be in the show? just because he’s Australian? and what role would he be playing? McGarrett or a totally new one and wouldn’t his fans then expect him to recur when they should be paying attention to the new cast of the new show. I say give the current cast a chance to establish themselves before bringing in stunt casting. It’s not like they are launching the series with a backdoor pilot like the other NCIS series were.
Sorry, I don´t mean to be picky: You wrote “why does he need to be in the show?” – well, why not? He is an actor and actors do portray all kind of characters. And if I am right, the show already wrapped it´s first season so they will have time to establish the cast. For me and probably other people, there is no reason to watch another NCIS spinoff at all, esp. since I´m disappointed with NCIS Hawaii. So I will not watch NCIS Sydney if they don´t give me a valid reason. But on the other hand I watched other shows because I liked an actor or a storyline and realised after some time that the show and it´s entire cast and storylines had grown on me and that I was watching that show now because I liked it.
And yes: If Alex O`Loughlin appeares in a guest role we fans would of course hope for more. But that´s not up to us. We would just be happy to see him again in a new role at all.
I don’t watch any of the NCIS universe. I didn’t care for the one in Hawaii. I’ll
give this Sydney venture a few episodes to capture my interest. If Alex
shows up, it would be a definite must-see for me, and will remain on my
DVR. I hope it happens. Alex has been gone way too long.
I hope that Alex does show up on your show I miss him.
Will there be any crossover from NCIS or NCIS Hawaii? Or from the now-defunct but best of all NCIS spinoffs NCIS La?
Hello from Montana USA. Sorry folks but this ole gal was confused as to what was going in the entire episode, who was who, and the storyline? You definitely need Alex Oloughlin H5O and Robert Taylor ( Longmire) to bring this show to life. I’m a huge NCIS and NOLA fan. So bring life into this new show down under as Sydney has been my dream travel destination. Good luck’