Biography & Filmography

Alex was born as Alexander O'Lachlan in Canberra, Australia on Aug. 24, 1976 - which makes him a Virgo.

His birth name O'Lachlan was used in some of his first films, such as the film "Oyster farmer", so don't be surprised if you read that name on any DVD cover or in film credits - it's not a misprint.

Alex moved to Sydney later where he attended NIDA - the renowned "National Institute of Dramatic Art". He graduated in 2002 after completing the three-year 'Bachelor of Dramatic Art' program.

By the way, I'm not going to write anything about his private or family life because I respect his wish to keep it private to protect his sons. I usually focus exclusively on his work and public appearances - I make exceptions to this rule only when Alex himself speaks about his family in interviews, or when photos are shown in public with his consent - such as the photos of his baby-son on the Ellen DeGeneres Show. I think he only shared those because babies change (their looks) very rapidly, anyway, and I actually think Lion looked different on just those two photos.

I'm also sure that it's o.k. to mention Alex's hobbies: He loves different kinds of outdoor sports from running to surfing (though he claims that he's not very good at surfing...), and has repeatedly called himself "naturally athletic" - When you see him do all the action-packed scenes in "Hawaii Five-0", you can tell that this attribute describes him perfectly.
He also likes riding his motorbike, playing his guitar, reading and "fixing stuff in his house" :-)

And he obviously loves doggies - so here's a cute picture with his dog Dusty...

Please note that for any films or series marked in blue, you will find further information - such as promo trailers, short video clips, pictures or summaries - on my other fan pages about Alex.

After his graduation from NIDA, Alex started his acting career in Australia with roles in the television series 'Black Jack: Sweet Science' and 'Love Bytes'.

And he gave a stunning performance as Will Bryant in the acclaimed mini-series 'The Incredible Journey of Mary Bryant'. He was actually nominated as Best Lead Actor for this role by the Australian Film Institute and was also nominated for the Silver Logie award.

Another major feature film of his was 'Oyster Farmer' - a truly beautiful film shot at the scenic Hawkesbury River in New South Wales.

After playing in the action/horror film 'Man-Thing', he co-produced the movie 'Feed' in which he also played the leading role of Michael Carter who force-feeds obese women. I only just added it to my fabulous Alex O'Loughlin DVD collection recently because I had seen video clips of it before that looked a bit disturbing so I was very hesitant at buying it. Well, after finally watching it, I can't really say that I liked it very much although the first two-thirds of it are o.k. and even a bit funny and "nice" at times (I'm referring to the interaction between Alex as Michael and Deirdre, the woman he is feeding) but the film gets more and more disgusting over time and reminded me a bit of "Seven". As usual, Alex's acting is excellent but that's not going to make this film a favorite of mine - I just like to be honest and, to me, being a fan of Alex does not mean that I have to like all his films - Sorry, I know some fans disagree with me on this :-)

In 2005 Alex decided to move to Los Angeles - the global center of film industry - where he expected or hoped for better job opportunities for an actor.

He landed his first tiny role as the male part of the kissing couple at the beginning of the film 'The Holiday'.
He then played Marcus Bohem in the feature film 'The Invisible'.

In 2007, he took on the role of Det. Kevin Hiatt in the crime series 'The Shield' (7 episodes of Season 6).

That same year he played Marshall Connelly, the brother of Jonathan Rhys Myer's character, in the movie 'August Rush'. The movie is somewhat like a beautiful fairytale about the power of music (Marshall and his brother are musicians) but the role of Alex is very, very small - to my disappointment, although I really like the movie.

In 2007 he finally landed his great leading role as Mick St. John in the TV series 'Moonlight' in which he plays a not-too-happy vampire and private investigator. I actually love this show although I was anything but fond of vampires before I watched it.

In 2009 he impressively played the serial killer Vincent on the TV crime series 'Criminal Minds' (Season 4 / Ep. 22 'The Big Wheel').

Also in 2009, he won the leading role of Dr. Andy Yablonski, a cardiothoracic surgeon specializing in transplantations, in the very realistic and, therefore, excellent medical series 'Three Rivers' about a fictional transplant hospital in Pittsburgh.
The role was very special to him and he was obviously fascinated by the issue of organ transplantation and repeatedly stated that his work on the show changed his life. As a matter of fact, he's been an ambassador and spokesperson for organ donation organizations since then.

On the picture below you see him at an event where he received his award as Donate Life Hollywood person of the year 2010 for his commitment and his support of organ donation (Photo credit: Sabine Atkins).

In 2009, the feature film 'Whiteout' with Alex as Russell Haden was released (Shooting had actually taken place in 2007).

That same year, he starred opposite Jennifer Lopez in the romantic comedy 'The Backup Plan' in which he plays cheese farmer Stan who falls in love with Zoe (played by Jennifer) after bumping into each other in a cab. Actually Zoe had gotten artificially inseminated (successfully) that very same day because she wanted to have a baby so badly and just hadn't found the right guy until then - of course, Stan is that guy but he's just a little too late to be the biological daddy of the baby...

In 2010, he landed his greatest role so far as Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett on the reboot of the crime series 'Hawaii Five-0' for which he shot the pilot right before he went on the promotional tour for 'The Backup Plan'. This was remarkably good timing because on the promo tour for the film, he also got to say a few words about his new role on 'Hawaii Five-0'.

'Hawaii Five-0' has lasted for 10 seasons. The 10th season premiered on CBS on Sept. 27, 2019.

Grand series finale (Ep. 10.22) of "Hawaii Five-0": April 3, 2020 (CBS)

Well, so much about Alex's career so far... Hopefully, we'll get to enjoy much more of his work in the future. It remains to be seen if he'll continue to work in front of the camera or if he'll choose to work as a director and/or producer or anything else...

The perfect way to finish this page is the following slide-show which gives a good impression of Alex's work by showing pictures of him in all his roles so far, from the very beginning to the present:
A journey through Alex's career as an actor

And here's a another fan-video from Aug. 2013 by Dori of the (now closed) German chat forum http://www.alex-oloughlins-rooms.com/forum
This is a great compilation of scenes from all of Alex's movies and shows from 2003 to 2013. I think Alex's performance is outstanding in that scene from "Mary Bryant" - so sad and yet absolutely fantastic.
Enjoy another journey through Alex's career:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6VJIJj_z5Q
 

Designed, created & owned by: Angela Gerstner

Last update: 2020