Far from paradise

By David Hiltbrand
Knight Ridder News Service

Matthew Fox plays surgeon Jack Sheppard in ABC's hit show "Lost," in which survivors of a plane crash must ward off monsters — and each other — on a deserted island. The show is filmed in Hawai'i. Photos by Mario Perez • ABC 'Lost' 7 p.m. Wednesdays ABC

Then came the pilot.

"The first day, we shot the jungle scene where Jack, Kate and Charlie are running from the Big It," says the actor who plays heroic surgeon Jack Sheppard. The Big It is the ferocious, tree-shaking behemoth, as yet unseen, that is stalking him and other survivors of a plane crash on a deserted tropical island.

"We were freezing, and they were dousing us with fire hoses to thicken the rain. The three of us were up to our shins in mud, shivering. I remember thinking, 'This is the furthest thing from what I assumed shooting in Hawai'i would be like.' "

At this point, Fox, 38, has come to expect the unexpected from the hit series. Each week, the scripts introduce new shockers about the characters (Sayid served in Saddam Hussein's Republican Guard in Tikrit?) and about the island (how many South Pacific atolls have polar bears roaming around?).

Even the success of "Lost" — it trails only "Desperate Housewives" as the season's highest-rated new show, averaging more than 17 million viewers — is something of a surprise, considering that its creators, J.J. Abrams and Damon Lindelof, went against most of the network notions about what audiences want.

Lindelof ticks off the TV truisms:

"People prefer franchise dramas like 'CSI' or 'Law & Order,' shows where the audience knows what they'll get, shows that they don't have to watch every week. What they don't want are serialized stories, character-based shows or horror elements."

"Lost," of course, embraces all those taboos.

Yes, it's a mystery and a monster story, but according to Fox, it's also a chance to explore some heavy themes.

"When people are stripped of all of society's rules, how will their true nature manifest itself?" he muses. "How will they get along when survival is at stake, when the fight-or-flee instinct overcomes their wish to be kind?"

Casting Fox in the lead entailed a considerable twist of fate. He came in to audition for the role of the conniving Sawyer, a part that eventually went to Josh Holloway.

The script was the most closely guarded document of last year's pilot season. Auditioning actors were given only three- or four-page excerpts to work with. Until Fox showed up.

"Lost" trails only "Desperate Housewives" as the season's highest-rated new show, averaging more than 17 million viewers.

Originally, Jack didn't make it through the first episode. But an executive at Touchstone Television convinced Abrams and Lindelof that killing him off would be too wrenching for the audience. Fox read the revised script in which Jack survived.

"He came back in and just killed it," Lindelof says. "I really believed he had just been in a plane crash. There was no other guy considered for Jack from that moment on."

Viewers who recall Fox as Charlie Salinger, the petulant elder sibling on the long-running melodrama "Party of Five," may be startled by his flinty, Gary Cooper-style turn in "Lost." Even industry pros are surprised at the transformation.

"He's much more of a leading man," says Hollywood casting agent Danny Goldman, "much stronger than I remember him being on 'Party of Five.' "

The Fox network's Salinger saga provided the actor with a steady paycheck from 1994 to 2000, though he rarely looked forward to reporting for work.

"I was always very frustrated. I felt the show was at times sappy and trite. The premise meant you always had to feel this family was in danger. As soon as it was safely run by Charlie, all the conflict went away. So they always had to keep him in a place where you really didn't think he could get the job done."

The actor feels far more enthusiastic about his current role.

"Jack Sheppard's life and the responsibility he takes for the situation he's in comes from a dark, complex and twisted relationship with his father that is wonderful to explore."

Meanwhile, he's working hard to foster a sense of community on O'ahu.

Lindelof says, "His house has become a mecca for all the other actors. He opens the door for everyone to come over on Sundays to barbecue right on the beach."