Alex O'Loughlin
Photo from CBS Films

If you saw the movie The Back-Up Plan this past weekend, you might be wondering, Wow, who's that really hot guy starring in it? Well, that really hot guy is Alex O'Loughlin, an Australian actor who, before hitting the big screen, had starred in the TV series Moonlight and The Shield. I sat down with Alex to talk about his movie and his upcoming projects ... and, yes, he's that hot in real life.

You've played a detective in The Shield, a vampire in Moonlight ... all of these serious roles. Was it difficult to go from drama to comedy? Which is your favorite genre to work in?

I think I'm more comfortable being in dramatic roles, but I like both. Comedy is more challenging. With drama you work with the director and other actors, and you work your way to the point you need to get to. With comedy, you have to go at it full-steam and be ready to fall on your face. You gotta be ready to fall gloriously. 

What was it like working with Jennifer Lopez? Did the chemistry come naturally between you two?

Oh, she's great, she's a great actor, great person, very grounded presence on the set. After I was offered the role, we met at her house on Long Island to see how we liked each other, and before long, we were laughing together, and it just sort of made sense, so we went with it. The chemistry was definitely there from the beginning.

She seems like such a great mom. Have you met her twins? Did she ever bring them on set? 

Yeah, she did! It was great, it was really lovely having that family vibe on the set. Essentially, a set is like an adults' playground, it's not that often that you turn around and see kids. It was a really lovely change from the norm for everyone.

What is it about "Stan" that you can most relate to?

He reminds me of myself a few years ago. He's at a point in his life where he feels like something is missing, but he's not really sure what it is. He's going back to school, but it's not making sense, and then he meets Zoe and he realizes that maybe love is what's missing. And he goes for it. And when we're younger, I think at some point we all wonder, What am I doing with my life, I don't feel fulfilled, and yeah, I've been there.

The whole situation in The Back-Up Plan is pretty nontraditional. If this happened to you in real life, what would you do? Stay or run like hell the other way?

For Stan, I think it's different because there's no ex-husband or biological father around the corner. He can step up and be like, "I can be the father to these kids and they won't be confused, it'll just be me." If this identical situation happened to me ... I don't know. I haven't met that woman yet, I haven't met that one woman who's my soul mate. I don't think ... at least not that I know of! I'd like to think I'd do what he did. Essentially in life, love is everything, whether it's love for a woman, or love for your kids, your family ... at the end of the day, that's the stuff that's the most important.

You seem to have quite the fan base built up ... what's the craziest thing you've seen a fan do?

I think the craziest stuff is when girls send photos of themselves in lingerie with their address written on it saying,  "Come bite my neck." [laughs] I'm like "Wow, these girls are ballsy."

Your next TV series project, Hawaii 5.0, is based on a 1970s series ... how different is it from the original?

It's very different. It's the same in that it's in Hawaii, it's a task force, and they catch bad guys. But that's where the similarities end. The characters have different backgrounds, and it's really action-packed ... it's going to be good.

Have you seen The Back-Up Plan yet? Do you hope to see more of Alex in leading roles?