I pretty much only know Alex O’Loughlin from the film The Backup Plan, where he played the love interest of preggo Jennifer Lopez. By the way, even though that’s not even close to being a good film, I came out of it liking Alex a great deal. He has an enormous amount of on-screen charm, and the man is totally gorgeous. Anyway, he’s currently on Hawaii Five-0, which is probably pretty stunt-heavy work. Alex had a shoulder injury recently, and as such, he began taking prescription medication, likely some heavy-duty painkillers. And much like Gerard Butler’s official excuse, Alex’s representation is now announcing that Alex is seeking treatment for issues involving his abuse of prescription pain medication.

Alex O’Loughlin, who plays Steve McGarrett on CBS’s reboot of Hawaii Five-0, is expected to miss filming for at least one episode while he undergoes treatment.

The Australian-born actor, 35, is to “receive supervised treatment for prescription pain medication due to a recent shoulder injury,” his rep says.

The popular police show has already shot 19 episodes for the season with production said to be ahead of schedule.

“We respect and support Alex’s decision,” CBS TV Studios says in a statement.

“Everyone at CBS Television Studios and Hawaii Five-0 wishes him well and we look forward to his return.”

[From People]

Now, Alex is no Gerard Butler. For one thing, he’s not as famous as Gerard, which may be why we’ve never heard a whiff of scandal about Alex. Or it could be that this story should be accepted as face value, that Alex never had a problem with anything until a few months ago, when he got hooked on Vicodin or whatever. I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt, just because there doesn’t seem to be any other scandal around him, and because he seems to be taking his treatment seriously, and he’s coming clean with the world. Good luck to Alex, and I hope he gets clean and stays clean.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

I’ve only seen one or two episodes of Hawaii Five-O and I remember thinking how hot Alex O’Loughlin was. I guess I also know him from The Back Up Plan, with Jennifer Lopez, which I saw ten minutes of before flipping the channel. Alex’s hotness is confirmed with his new spread in Men’s Fitness. They put him in a clingy t-shirt on the cover and he’s only shirtless inside the magazine (some of those photos below). He’s one solid, good-looking guy and he also seems to be single from what’s implied by the article. He does talk about his 13 year-old son, but his son’s mom lives in Australia, where Alex is from, and they make it sound like he’s no longer with her. Alex stays in Hawaii while he’s filming and he loves to go surfing and exercise outdoors.

Since this is Men’s Fitness Alex of course talks about his meal and exercise plan, and he’s very regimented about it all. He also mentions his friendship with co-star Scott Caan.

On Scott Caan
We have great respect for each other. We are completely comfortable working together and going for each other’s throats without worrying that we’ve crossed a line. Alex is a natural leader. He takes control and makes things happen on set – and in his personal life too. He’s The General, and I think that comes across in this role.

On his diet/nutrition plan
If you look at your open hand, the size of your palm is the amount of protein you should take – about two-thirds of a chicken breast. Your splayed four fingers equal the amount of space you should have for vegetables. And the triangular area between your index finger and thumb is for carbohydrates – brown rice or whole meal pasta. The key is to have a very low sodium diet and understand that 80% [of the process] happens in the kitchen, not the gym.

On his exercise plan
I like to circuit train. If you do one exercise after another without breaking, you bump your metabolic rate up to such a place that you create what’s called a ‘furnace effect’ – your metabolism is firing at such a high rate that you can go to sleep and you’ll burn calories through the night. That’s my ideal place to be.

On having ADD
It went undiagnosed and I managed to keep it hidden, but it caused me a lot of frustration. When I stopped being cerebral and became physical, my mind cleared. That’s probably why I like to be so active [today]. It’s a huge part of the balance of who I am.

On exercising outside
I much prefer being in the canyons or the hills or the ocean – being outside and using the resistance of the earth and gravity and my own body weight. I’d rather hang from trees and do pull-ups than be in a gym surrounded by people in spandex.

On his 13 year-old son
My son is not only the greatest thing that ever happened to me, but he’s also my greatest success, my greatest inspiration. I’m getting to pass on all the good things I’ve learned in life to another human soul.

[From Men's Fitness, print edition, August, 2011]

That was so sweet what he said about his son! I also like how he explained his diet plan, which sounds pretty sensible, and how 80% of any exercise and nutrition plan is in the kitchen. Don’t I know it. He sounds like a good guy. It’s nice to read such decent quotes from someone who is also incredibly attractive. Plus he’s Australian. That accent does it for me every time.

Photos are courtesy of Men’s Fitness print edition, where there are more

We’ve been so busy covering every aspect of Jennifer Lopez’s alleged film comeback as she excessively promotes The Back-Up Plan, we’ve failed to notice the certified hottie she’s costarring with. I give you the lovely Alex O’Loughlin! He’s Australian (which I just found out), he’s a Virgo (me too!), he’s 33 years old, and he’s totally gorgeous. I was just glancing through his IMDB page, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen him in anything, although it seems like he’s been working steadily in television and films for the past six years or so.

I just heard him speak in his natural Aussie accent last night on E!, and I was overcome. Usually it’s the English accents that do that for me (or the Scottish… or the Irish… sigh), but Alex’s accent is not so overdone that Americans can’t understand him. Oh, and he’s going to work on the Hawaii 5-O rebooted television show, with Daniel Dae Kim from Lost…aw, that sounds kind of good. Plus, he’s clean-cut and he’s starring in a J.Lo movie! Moms will embrace him, trust me. Oh, and he’s single…someone’s getting on People’s Sexiest Man Alive list this year!

Let’s see how he comes across in interviews:

On his chemistry with Jennifer Lopez: “I flew to New York, I was in Pittsburgh at the time, I flew up and I spent the night in New York and I went out with Alan Poul, the director, and I went out to her and Marc’s [Anthony] family house in Long Island. I met with her and I met with Marc and the kids and we hung out and then I sat with her for a while and we had a cup of tea and just got to know each other. It was good, we really clicked. We kind of got each other’s sense of humor. We just got each other. We realized that we were kind of each other’s people so we got along well and the rest is history. We had a great time on set.”

What is Jennifer Lopez’s house like? “There was no Snuggie or anything, but there was a cannonball sitting in the middle of the table. I thought that was interesting. Marc [Anthony] collects a lot of ancient artifacts, so he’s got a lot of stuff from Greece that was fascinating. I actually started talking to him, hanging out with him when I should have been in the meeting with Jennifer.”

What kind of guy is he in relationships? “I’m very independent and I find it difficult to find trust in the fact that I might be able to make something work for one person. Times are different now, you know? In my grandfather and grandmother’s generation, forever meant forever. It doesn’t seem like forever exists anymore. It seems like people are sort of fickle in love and in marriage and so many marriages end up in divorce, so it was nice to play a guy who was so clear in his resolve. For the most part, he was like, “Hey listen, this is how I feel, I love you, I’m going to show up, and I’m going to participate and I’m not going to go anywhere and I need you to do the same if this is going to work.” I guess it’s the kind of guy I’d like to be.”

On sex scenes: “You just do the scene with the utmost respect and courtesy to get the job done. Really it’s awful and anyone who thinks filming sex scenes is hot would be wrong. Even if it was with someone you were attracted to, there are 50 people standing around. I’d be happy to never do another one again.”

Would he be as understanding as his character if and when he’s dealing with a wife/girlfriend’s pregnancy? “I don’t know. It would entirely depend on the woman. I haven’t met the woman that I’m going to spend my life with … as far as I know. So I don’t know what it’s like when that situation crops up, but I think if it’s the great love, it’s the great love.”

On his fan base of women: “Yeah, I do have a great fanbase, and they’re wonderful. They’ve been very supportive of my career and very understanding of my life and the fact that I’m not very good at blogging or Twittering or anything like that. I’m deeply appreciative of my fans and I try to express that whenever possible, and I certainly like to express that in my work. This movie needs to make some money — it’s important to Jennifer and it’s important to me, and it’s important that people enjoy it. I think it’s a good film. I’ve seen it, and I enjoyed it.”

On his fame: “I don’t really act like I’m famous. I just do my thing. I’m not that famous, dude. [Laughs] Sometimes I get pointed out or some people shuffle up and ask for an autograph or a photograph, but I’m not at a point where I can’t leave the house, thank God. I think the downsides would be losing your anonymity and not being able to trust people, to tell whether people want to be with you and get to know you because of your celebrity or because of who you are. I just try to carry the sense of integrity and authenticity I had in the beginning of my career, because I think that’s what makes people interested in you in the first place. It’s important not to lose that.”

[From The New York Post, Movieline & She Knows]

Okay, I could totally spend the whole day looking up Alex’s interviews – there are a ton, and I can’t believe this is the first time I’m actually reading about him and learning about him. At times he comes across as a really nice, sweet guy, and other times you can tell he’s still a “dude” you know? Like, he’s not even committing to the idea of fatherhood, much less fatherhood itself. Oh, but in the Movieline interview, he did get cute when he was talking about J. Lo and her family, and he referred to Max and Emme as “my own little mates.” Swoon away.

Alex promoting The Back Up Plan, credit: Pacific Coast News.