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Exclusive: 'MOONLIGHT' STAR ALEX O'LOUGHLIN WANTS TO BE A KINDER GENTLER VAMPIRE - iFMagazine.com Send to a friend
© (c) 2007 CBS MOONLIGHT- Alex O'Loughlin

INTERVIEW:

Exclusive: 'MOONLIGHT' STAR ALEX O'LOUGHLIN WANTS TO BE A KINDER GENTLER VAMPIRE

CBS' new vamp with a soul talks about the pilot that never was and the way the series is now

By SEAN ELLIOTT, Senior Editor
Published 10/5/2007



Premiering last week the new CBS vampire drama MOONLIGHT took a cue from Joss Whedon and David Greenwalt’s BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER spin-off series ANGEL, about a vampire detective with a soul fighting the good fight in Los Angeles. The series, originally called TWILIGHT from producer Joel Silver never actually had a full pilot filmed initially, and instead presented the network with selected scenes to get a green light.
 
Alex O’Loughlin plays our new leading vamp named Mick St. John, a Los Angeles detective who has sympathy for human kind. He gets his blood from a fellow vamp at the local morgue and generally tries to do something positive with his immortal gifts. His greatest temptation is the love of his afterlife, Beth, played by British actress Sophia Myles. O’Loughlin took a few minutes out of fighting the good fight to fill iF Magazine in on the series that never was, and what we can expect from a new breed of undead hero.
 
iF MAGAZINE: You’ve said you are a big Anne Rice fan. Will that blend of blood, sex, lust, love and everything in be incorporated into the vampires on MOONLIGHT?
 
ALEX O’LOUGHLIN: Yeah, I’m a big Anne Rice fan. We’re on CBS network TV and there’s only so much we can show and only so much we can do in front of the cameras. We can incorporate anything emotionally behind the characters and how they work. I don’t think the world of MOONLIGHT is quite as erotic as the world of Anne Rice, but the levels of mysticism and the depth of character and the romanticism in her books is definitely there. All of those things are especially present in my character.

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iF: How much changed from the original pilot to the current way the series is?
 
O’LOUGHLIN: There are some fundamental differences. There is a lighter touch. The original pilot wasn’t really a pilot, it was a pilot presentation. It was like a pilot with all of the extraneous exposition taken out and it was just fiery scenes back to back. It was two hundred hours we shot in twelve days of really intense highly emotional scenes and we tied all these big storylines together in one thirty minute episode. So, what we’ve done now is brought those big storylines and spread them across the first three episodes; it’s diluted six to one essentially. The magic of the story hasn’t been diluted and the cast hasn’t been diluted. We’ve just spread out these pinnacles of storytelling that we’re going to go into.
 
iF: So did your character change then?
 
O’LOUGHLIN: No not really. Not too much. Actually, you know what, no. Essentially what has happened for me is I am now able to be lighter which is great. It’s what I really wanted. He’s a pretty dark dude, but he was a dark and brooding dude before when I did the pilot. Essentially, it was just the way he came together and how it was cut together; like a lot of the smiles were cut from the original presentation. It was really dark before and that’s not the most interesting way to spend a Friday night, if you know what I mean. We want people to let this guy into their living rooms every week.
 
iF: So the vampire can be dark but he also has to be charming and appealing?
 
O’LOUGHLIN: Yeah, absolutely. As an actor I approach this character, as a guy who just happens to be a vampire. He just happens to have this curse that he didn’t want and didn’t ask for and now it just so happens he has to live off of human blood. Other than that; he’s just a normal guy.

Reader Comments

Janet from California sez....
Alex is major eye candy, sexy, goregous, and talented. I would love to meet him, have a couple glasses of wine and being seduce by him and take from there (like get a room someplace.) CBS made a a big mistake of cancelling Moonlight, whoever made that decision ought to be fired.
5/23/2008 10:35:06 AM

Fil from Qld, Australia sez....
I love Alex O'Loughlin! Yay, about time we produced a hot aussie actor! Way to go, we're very proud of you!Alex will go far
1/17/2008 6:22:53 AM

KATIE from OHIO sez....
I LOVE ALEX AND THE SHOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
1/12/2008 9:19:15 AM

Kathryn from OHIO sez....
what is it about a vampire that makes them so hot? I love alex so much!
1/12/2008 9:17:05 AM

Taylor from ohio sez....
ilove Alex!
1/12/2008 9:13:08 AM

JAYJAY from ILLINOIS sez....
ALEX IS A HOTTIE AND I LOVE THE SHOW ALSO !
12/22/2007 4:32:09 PM

Amelia Zwecher from Long Island, NY sez....
love it more than life...i love the show and Alex.
11/24/2007 6:26:59 AM

Claudia from Argentina sez....
AMAZING!!! I love the show, the actors just perfect for their role. Alex you are great!!!!
11/22/2007 3:09:55 AM

Caro from Georgia sez....
This show bets better every week. The actors have FOUND their characters & bring so much to the table. The chemistry is wonderful & being beautiful to look at day in & day out and NIGHTIME......Alex has it all! Fingers crossed this great show gets renewed!
11/21/2007 5:46:03 PM

Beatrice from Virginia sez....
I like this show "mmonlight" very much. Alex O'Loughin is a great actor and he seems to be a spiritual good man. God Bless you Alex. Wishing you are my big brother, cuz we have the same last name, but I'm Irish_American_Cambodian_French.
11/12/2007 5:23:44 PM

Denise from California sez....
I just LOVE this show! And I hope they keep it on the air! Love the romantic chemistry between Mick and Beth big time! Alex O'Loughlin brings much to his Character...gentle,strong,funny and so hunky! I love the scene when he was first kissed. WOW!
11/9/2007 2:31:56 PM

Lisa from Montreal, Quebec, Canada sez....
ALEX.....WILL YOU MARRY ME?
10/25/2007 6:05:57 AM

Amanda from South Carolina sez....
I'm not going to lie, the show wasn't exactly what I thought it was going to be, but I still LOVE it!! Alex O'Loughlin is so HOT!! He makes being a vampire seem so sexy. Like jamie from New York said, he can suck my blood any day!
10/11/2007 5:35:47 PM

jamie from NEW YORK sez....
I love the show so far and love, love Alex O'loughlin. He is the perfect Vampire, one who could suck my blood anyday.
10/9/2007 7:54:34 AM

Z from Arizona sez....
I love the show! I love Alex too, but that's not the only reason I love the show... It's got great plotlines, and a humor (if you can catch it) that is well delivered and sharp. I can't wait to see where this show goes!
10/8/2007 4:43:49 PM

Margaret from California sez....
My girlfriend has flipped over Alex O'Loughlin! Oh, yes, she loves the show, too! I also love Alex and the show having been introduced to vampires by my said "flipped" girlfriend! I wish everyone the very best of success with this new take on the "vampire genre". Oh, did I mention that Alex is a Gorgeous Aussie! ;o)
10/7/2007 3:20:17 PM

Bonnie from California sez....
Alex O'Loughlin as Mick St. John is absolutely delicious!! Storylines are great, and this show has the potential of being a CBS knockout hit, if they promote it and Alex. He is definitely a star-in-the-making:) Gorgeous, talented, funny, did I say Gorgeous:)
10/7/2007 11:51:32 AM

Beth from New Jersey sez....
I happen to ADORE Alex O'Loughlin and think he is perfect for this part. I like the fact that his character is essentially a "normal" guy, just with a quirk. For lack of a better term. He wants to do good, but has to suffer the consequences of something he has to work around. :o)
10/7/2007 8:10:37 AM

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