Josh Holloway: 20Q

Lost’s number one badass channels his inner Sawyer, explains why everyone on the show gets speeding tickets, relives his days as a skinny male model and tells what may happen next on TV’s favorite island

Q1

PLAYBOY: You’re heading into your fifth season on the hit TV show Lost, playing hot-tempered con man James “Sawyer” Ford, who hoards stolen guns and medicines and harbors a lot of secrets. When are you most Sawyer-like in real life?

HOLLOWAY: If someone cuts me off in traffic, Sawyer pops right out. When I was 17 I fell asleep at the wheel one morning. The car was destroyed going end over end, and all I got was a cut on the back of my neck from hitting the roof multiple times. Since then I’ve slowed down a lot, so people cut me off because I’m kind of a cruiser. But everybody has a Sawyer inside him.

Q2

PLAYBOY: You film Lost on the island of Oahu in Hawaii, where four cast members have been arrested for car-related incidents and five others have been cited. When the police nabbed you for speeding last year, was your inner Sawyer at the wheel?
HOLLOWAY: It’s an island, very easily patrolled, and we are the only big celebrities who stay there all the time. I was going around 50 in a 35 zone, and that’s embarrassing. I should have been going faster.

Q3

PLAYBOY: Because you play such a badass on the show, how do actual badasses respond to you?
HOLLOWAY: I get a lot of letters from prisons and the military. I had to film in a prison one day, and all the inmates were going, “Sawyer! Sawyer!” I asked the guards what I should do, and they said, “Be totally normal. Don’t be scared, or they’ll laugh.” That was an eye-opener. I don’t ever want to go to prison.

Q4

PLAYBOY: Women dig bad boys. What kind of response do you get from female fans?
HOLLOWAY: That’s another thing that shocks me. I’ve been with the same woman for 10 years. We’re married, and we’ve been very public about our relationship. Young, attractive girls won’t give you the time of day, but you have to watch the older tourist ladies loose in Hawaii who have had a few cocktails and come over and are suddenly like, “Aww, give me a hug.” Even if you give a respectful hug, you can get in trouble.

Q5

PLAYBOY: Did fame come into play when you and your wife were victims of a homeinvasion robbery three years ago in Oahu?
HOLLOWAY: It still gets me. The guy was a crackhead who had hit 22 people in two and a half weeks. He took an 80-year-old couple and duct-taped them up. He also attempted to murder another guy. I had a nightmare about it last night.

Q6

PLAYBOY: How did that incident change your life?
HOLLOWAY: Having a gun held to our heads when we’re naked in our bedroom at four in the morning is never going to happen to my wife and me again. I took the FBI training course. I have home protection. I accept that we live in a gun society, especially in America. Of course, there’s also the statistic that owning a gun increases your chances of being shot by 300 percent.

Q7

PLAYBOY: What will happen on Lost this season, especially considering the rumors that a major character or two—maybe even yours—won’t make it to season six?
HOLLOWAY: I don’t know shit. In last season’s finale some characters are trying to get back to the island. I have a feeling— this is just my projection—we’re going to get deeper into the lore of the island and where the people on the island will end up. I love that Sawyer is still on the island and not back in society, where he’s such a bastard. He has evolved a bit, but I don’t know how he fits into society anymore.

Q8

PLAYBOY: What would you miss least about the show if your character were killed off?
HOLLOWAY: I wouldn’t miss wondering if I’ll have to take my shirt off each week. Normally, the guy who takes off his shirt is 25, but I’m 39. The producers have already told me this season, “You can’t find your shirt in the first episode—at least.” I’m trying to become a better actor. If I can get really good, I won’t have to be that shirtless guy all the time.

Q9

PLAYBOY: You and Evangeline Lilly throw off serious heat together on the show. What do you find sexiest about her?
HOLLOWAY: Evie’s most attractive quality is her willingness to just throw herself into shit. She’s a pretty girl who’s unafraid to take a big handful of dirt, shove it in her hair and wipe it across her face. She’s always saying, “We’re not dirty enough.”

Q10

PLAYBOY: What does winning so much fame for your looks and physique do to your head?
HOLLOWAY: Honestly? It makes me insecure. I get nervous. When people look at me, I’m like, Have I got a booger? We’ve been living in Hawaii, which is a blessing because the local people are so chill. When they see you, they just give you a nod. I’m superhappy to work, but the fame thing is not cool.