Alex O'Loughlin Biography

Birth Name: Alexander O'Lachlan

Birth Place: Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia

Date of Birth / Zodiac Sign: 08/24/1976, Virgo

Profession: Actor

Alex on the "Hawaii Five-0" panel at the TCA Summer Press Tour, July 28, 2010.

Alex O’Loughlin (35) was born in the Australian capital of Canberra on Tuesday, August 24, 1976 as Alexander O’Lachlan. He is a Virgo, born in the Year of the Dragon.

He enjoys the outdoors and loves mountain climbing, hiking, running, and riding his motorcycle (a customized Harley-Davidson Evolution Sportster, a.k.a. an “Evo Sporty”, and he also owns a Triumph Thruxton). Since living in Hawaii, surfing has become a passion for him. “I have a bunch of boards – all of which I ride badly.” A claim that is contradicted by long-time surfer and Hawaii Five-0 co-star Scott Caan, who says that Alex’s surfing skills are improving “on a very advanced level.”

Acting held the biggest appeal and O'Loughlin was already working in short film and fringe theater as a teenager in Sydney. One of the first acting jobs he recalls is being an extra in a commercial, playing a marine. After graduating from NIDA, he began his career in Australian television and film productions and some of his TV credits include roles in BlackJack: Sweet Science, Love Bytes and White Collar Blue.

His film career started off in 2004 when he landed his first lead role in Oyster Farmer. Continuing his career O'Loughlin appeared in Man-Thing, Feed, and in the Australian mini-series The Incredible Journey of Mary Bryant for which he received a nomination as the Best Lead Actor in Television from the Australian Film Institute Awards in 2005 and as Most Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series from the Logie Awards in 2006. O'Loughlin joined the cast of The Shield in 2007 as Detective Kevin Hiatt, the newest member of the strike team.

In 2005, he screen-tested for the movie role of James Bond. As he told one interviewer: "I met with Martin Campbell here in Los Angeles at his office on the Sony [Pictures] lot and he asked me to fly to London and test and we tested at Pinewood [Studios]. It was the biggest screen test I've ever done. It was very comprehensive. I had tuxedos and suits cut for it and hair cuts." Alex also performed alongside actor Justin Chatwin in the 2007 film The Invisible. He portrayed Marcus, the boyfriend and partner in crime of Annie Newton, boosting and stealing cars.

He left The Shield after he won the lead role on the CBS series Moonlight, where he played private investigator and vampire Mick St. John. The filming of Moonlight was interrupted by the Hollywood writers strike. There was speculation that the series would be dropped but fan pressure prevailed and the show was given four additional episodes to try to regain its audience share. Despite being the highest rated show in its Friday evening slot (consistently achieving over 7 million viewers), CBS did not commission a second season. After its cancellation, a fan-based charity campaign to win a second-season renewal for Moonlight by holding blood drives proved unsuccessful.

In August 2008, it was announced that CBS had signed a talent development deal with O'Loughlin as the star of a TV series to be developed by writer Mark Gordon, but it never materialised. However, he was subsequently cast in the lead role of the new CBS hospital drama Three Rivers, developed by producer Carol Barbee, which aired Sunday evenings in the 2009–2010 season. In April 2009, he guest-starred in an episode of Criminal Minds as a serial killer who asks the BAU for help. In December 2009 CBS pulled Three Rivers from its schedule. O'Loughlin recently starred alongside Jennifer Lopez in the 2010 romantic comedy film The Back-up Plan.

In February 2010, it was announced that O'Loughlin was cast in the CBS remake of Hawaii Five-0 portraying Lieutenant Commander (LCDR) Steve McGarrett, which premièred on 20 September 2010, and has been one of CBS's most successful new shows of the 2010–2011 season. Hawaii Five-0 won "Favorite New TV Drama" at the 2010–11 People's Choice Awards.