To find out what the quartet had to spill at the LOST Season 2 DVD Launch Party, continue reading!
Yunjin Kim Interview:
August 29, 2006 - When Yunjin Kim originally auditioned for Lost, she was looking to play Kate, the troubled fugitive stuck in a love triangle between hero Jack and roguish anti-hero Sawyer. The producers didn't feel like she was right for the part, but they liked her nonetheless, and decided to write a role especially for her: Sun, the optimistic but put-upon wife of Korean businessman Jin (Daniel Dae Kim). Soon enough, their relationship began to change, creating myriad opportunities for Kim to flex her acting muscles; and before long, hers became one of the most compelling stories on the show.
IGN DVD: Your storyline was very compelling in Season Two. Where do you hope to take it in Season Three?
Yunjin Kim: Season Three? With Sun and Jin's relationship, you mean? I'm sure they're going to mess us up again. Now we're sort of a happy couple - you know, she's pregnant, she's a little unsure but he thinks that it's definitely his baby. But who knows? I'm sure the writers will go at it and divide us up again because you need conflict and drama.
IGN: How do you think she became pregnant?
Kim: I don't think - I like the theory, and this is only mine, I like her to be sort of like the Virgin Mary, that it wasn't a guy who made her pregnant. It just happened, sort of like the island did it. The monster did it (laughs).
IGN: Divine Intervention?
Kim: That would be weird, her giving labor to like black smoke. See her come out of the tent with black smoke going 'whew! Glad that's over'. That would be really dramatic, wouldn't it?
IGN: What would have liked to have seen happen last season that didn't?
Kim: Definitely more romance. That's sort of what drives drama, love. Definitely Libby and Hurley - I would like to see it have somewhat of a closure for Season Three, but definitely more romance all around. And we have some new cast members and hopefully they'll bring some conflict among us.
IGN: Do you know what kind of role they'll be playing?
Kim: I don't know. I haven't gotten the second script, so I guess I'll find out soon.
IGN: Last season a lot of time was spent introducing the characters. How much do you feel the writers have incorporated your personality into Sun?
Kim: I know Season One, they asked me a lot of questions, especially me playing a Korean character. I was born in Korea, came over when I was 10, but then went back and lived in Korea for 7 years to work out there. So they ask a lot of typical questions, like even Sun and Jin, their names. It's very rare to have one syllable names, let's say, and for a couple to have them, that doesn't make any sense, so we made Jin to have, his full name into Jin - little stuff like that, little details that they asked me. So I email them back and forth and try and find answers and as far as translation goes, we do have a translator but a lot of time we have to make it conversational, not a direct translation of English lines like how a normal Korean would sound. So I write them back like this is how we would sound like, and stuff like that, so I feel like I creatively in little details, I do put a lot of my own ideas into it.
IGN: The development of your character this season was very compelling. How much more do you think there is in terms of the backgrounds of these two characters do we need to see to understand them better in the present time?
Kim: In my mind, I'm sure Sun did something wrong. I mean, she is stranded on this island and obviously every character obviously has done something wrong in their past life and that's sort of the reason why they're here. I don't think she went and killed someone, I mean, that's really unlike Sun, but I know there has got to be something underneath that had to happen for her to be there on the island so hopefully we'll see more dark side of Sun because she's no nice and I don't know - if you're that nice, you wouldn't be there, so…
IGN: The show has current story and flashbacks - do you prefer one over the other when you're working and in a larger sense, would you like to see the show go straight to what's happening on the island now and not deal with the flashbacks?
Kim: I think flashbacks are important. I mean, each episode - that's what I love about watching Lost is every episode, you have your new favorite character. We take turns and that's where we get to look a little different, show different sides to that character. It's like peeling an onion. So I find flashbacks really useful, really crucial to the show. I hope that doesn't ever go away.
IGN: Who is your favorite character?
Kim: I have to say Locke. He's a weird one. The fact that he was crippled and the fact that now he now can walk, he has such a traumatic past life with his father, with his loved one. He seems to have such an interesting essence that's very different from any other character that I've ever seen on television so I'd have to say it's Terry's character.
Terry O'Quinn Interview:
August 25, 2006 - As Locke on the hit series Lost, Terry O'Quinn is certainly one of the cast's venerated elders, dispensing common sense and philosophy in almost equal measures. But off screen, the actor is equally experienced - and after more than 25 years as an actor, he should be. His previous roles include turns in such films as Heaven's Gate, Silver Bullet, Young Guns, and The Stepfather, where he played the malevolent paterfamilias not once but twice.
IGN DVD: What is the one thing you wish you could have found in the hatch besides the tires for your car?
Terry O'Quinn: Obviously Locke wished he could have found the meaning of his life in the hatch. That's what he was looking for - his job, his destiny, his task, his meaning, and it turned out to be pushing a button and he found that very disappointing.
IGN: Have you ever been a button pusher in real life?
O'Quinn: A button-pusher? No. Never. I've been doing this since I was in college and before that I did nothing. The button pushing was a whole new experience for me and I found it very dissatisfying and I was unhappy for Locke. Locke was unhappy and I was very sympathetic.
IGN: Do you think Locke was frustrated because of his isolation of just pressing a button all the time?
O'Quinn: I think he was frustrated because he thought getting into the hatch and finding [what was in it] was going to give him some definition and was going to maybe be the answer to his life's work. It was kind of like the old man and the mountain: if he got up there he was going to get the answer and he was going to find some peace of mind and some meaning - something that would drive him forward. But it didn't.
IGN: Do you think he does next season?
O'Quinn: I don't know if he finds it, but I think he continues to seek it. I think he has to. I think he's driven and often to his detriment to hurt himself and hurt others simply to find 'why are we here?' only on a personal level. You know - he's asking that question: why am I here?
IGN: It seems everyone on the island is guilty of something and maybe that's why they're there. What is Locke guilty of?
O'Quinn: I don't know. Of a specific crime, I don't know. He's guilty of being a sucker, being too easy and wearing his heart on his sleeve. Of falling for anybody who comes along and anything. He's guilty of being too trusting, but on the other hand, it makes him innocent of everything because he wants to believe, he wants there to be magic, he wants things to be good.
IGN: Overall, how would you characterize your experience of working on Season Two compared to Season One?
O'Quinn: Season Two seemed to go by much more quickly in a way because the experience wasn't as varied. Season One was discovering this character and discovering all these little things - he knew so much and he was willing to relate things to people. And Season Two, he went down this hole and started pushing this button, and the magic seemed to go away. So Season Two seems to me like one long episode. In Season One were very specific talks and talking with people; I remember scenes, I remember talking with Jack about his leadership, talking to Sawyer about my sister, talking to Charlie about the drugs. I remember all of that very clearly. Season Two was all about pushing the button, I'm frustrated, I'm mad at this and I'm mad at Jack, Henry Gale is twisting my arm. It was the hatch, basically.
IGN: How much do you feel you've had some influence or inspiration to the writers in terms in contributing some of your own personality or some of your frustrations with what you would interpret into playing that character?
O'Quinn: I think plenty. I think the writers respond to what they see in the cast big time, not necessarily in terms of story points but certainly in terms of performance points and where they take the character. If they're going from point A to point B, they might let the character decide what B and C are, I mean the actor, to a certain extent, but they know they're going to get to D. So I think that the writers are influenced a good bit by the actors.
IGN: How do you feel about being an action figure?
O'Quinn: Well I haven't seen it. That was never one of dreams to be an action figure so I don't know. Somebody asked me if I hoped the action figure had props and I said yeah, a little gun to shoot himself (laugh). Or if you get one, buy him and release him in the garden with a little knife where he can hunt mice.
IGN: We've asked everyone so far who their favorite character is on the show and they've all said Locke. Who is your favorite character?
O'Quinn: Well I'd have to agree with all of them (laughs). I bow down to their superior intelligence. My favorite character to look at is Kate. I mean I love working with Sawyer, I love working with Dominic Monaghan, I love working with Matthew, I like working with Ian. It's a bunch of good actors. My favorite person to greet when I get to work that would have to be Evangeline. She's a great hugger.
Evangeline Lilly Interview:
August 30, 2006 - Before 2004, Evangeline Lilly was a virtual unknown, having done almost no professional work to speak of as an actress. Two years later, she's a magazine cover girl, a highly-touted leading lady, and the star of one of the hottest television shows on the air: Lost. Suffice it to say she makes success look great, leaving the rest of us mere mortals floundering for her attention - especially when you're one of 20 journalists hoping to quiz her about the new Lost Season Two DVD set.
IGN: Compared to Season One, how would you characterize or differentiate your experience working on Season Two of Lost?
Lilly: Season Two was less stressful because I had a little experience and I had something to draw from. It was also less stressful because we had other people to share the load with us; bringing in the tailies, in my opinion, was such a great relief for us because it meant that other people were there to carry the load a little bit for us. I think that Season One was kind of special in that it was the inception and it was my first baby steps into the industry, and it was a trial by fire. But definitely I think Season Two was easier and I'm hoping Season Three gets even easier.
IGN: What in particular do you think will grab people on the DVDs?
Lilly: Well, the features are incredible. The bonus features are great for satisfying the real Lost geeks who follow the show, who follow the program, and people who are obsessed with theories and the ideas behind it. I mean, it's a whole thing, the logo on the show. For me, the best part of the DVD bonus features was the fact that it had the true stars of the show on there which are the crew and the writers and the directors and the producers. These are people who make or break the show completely and utterly and you get to see their faces and here them talk and see what it's like to make this show. They get into great detail about what it's like to make a show and I even learned things that I didn't know. I didn't know about how they color adjust the scenes in order to make sure that everything matches. I just assume that it goes and that they make it. But there is all these different things and there are people out there who are hungry for that information.
IGN: Do you have an opinion who Kate should end up with - Jack or Sawyer?
Lilly: I actually used to have an opinion for most of Season One and Two. I used to feel that Sawyer was better for Kate because they were on the level with each other. They were really compatible in the way that they mutually understood and respected each other and Jack was always a little above Kate, a little high and mighty for Kate. But I feel like Kate has grown enough in these two seasons that she's kind of on a level with both of them now. I feel like it could split either way and Kate will be fine.
IGN: Will one of those relationships blossom more in Season Three?
Lilly: I don't know. You'd have to ask the producers. I can't confirm or deny these rumors.
IGN: Who have the fans been rooting for you to hook up with?
Lilly: I've read statistics online. I've read statistics in magazines and I've read my fan mail and I can't get a number one way or the other. It seems to just yo-yo back and forth.
IGN: What are you looking forward to personally and professionally in Season Three?
Lilly: Personally, I'm looking forward to yet again settling a little bit farther into the idea of the lifestyle in this industry because that's something that's also new to me. For the first two years, the first one in particular, it was very stressful and it was very intense and I just like the idea that as every year goes by that intensity will mellow and I will be able to spend a little bit more time relaxing and enjoying the benefits of the job and the industry rather than constantly trying to play catch up and learn and grow.
IGN: Did working in Hawaii help you feel more comfortable moving into 'Hollywood'?
Lilly: Probably because I think that being isolated from the Hollywood world of premieres and red carpet events was probably good for me because I could ease into those at will and by my own choice. But in other aspects, when it comes to fanfare Hawaii is nuts and in L.A. they're all so jaded. They don't care. They see another star and it's like, 'oh yeah, we've seen a hundred of them before. You're a dime a dozen'. Which is a little bit easier to deal with.
IGN: Can we expect Kate to be with the Others at the start of Season Three based on what happened at the end of Season Two?
Lilly: I would expect so. So far what I have filmed has been fifty/fifty. I filmed my first episode with Henry Gale, my first scene, I mean, with Henry Gale which was really, really wonderful. I think that everyone knows that he's a fantastic actor and he's an utter gentleman in real life, but it was fun to work with a gentleman and have them call action and have him be this really, really creepy guy.
IGN: Who have the fans been rooting for you to hook up with?
Lilly: I've read statistics online. I've read statistics in magazines and I've read my fan mail and I can't get a number one way or the other. It seems to just yo-yo back and forth.
IGN: Has living in Hawaii changed the way you dress and live?
Lilly: Yeah, definitely it's changed. I can't wear scarves and boots and coats and hats anymore and I miss it like crazy. Of course I do. I'm a good Canadian girl. I miss all that good stuff. I miss tobogganing and I miss snowboarding, but I've also learned to surf and I've become a water baby which I used to be relatively terrified of the water and I kayak all the time now and I'm able to run year round on the beach which you can't obviously do in Canada. So there is all of that and it has been really great.
Bryan Burk Interview:
August 28, 2006 - As one of the executive producers of the hit ABC show Lost, Bryan Burk is one of the very few people who know what secrets lie unearthed on the mysterious island where the cast is stranded. But more recently, Burk spent time on a slightly more recognizable one - specifically, Oahu, where the show is filmed - in the service of answering questions about the forthcoming Lost Season Two DVD set.
IGN DVD: Now that you've completed two seasons, how would you differentiate your experience working on Season Two from Season One?
Bryan Burk: How would I differentiate Season Two from Season One? Oh, completely different for me. That's what was so exciting was we try to reinvent the show every year, and the idea that Season One was really about these people trying to figure out how they were going to survive and where the hell were they and what the hell was going on - kind of really the first chapter, so to speak, when you crash on a desert island where there's weird things going on. Season Two really started to open up the door and you realize that there have been people here before you and in fact one of the people is still there, with Desmond. There's really a whole world that was going on on the island before long before you crash, and I think we definitely answered that world and answered what was going on in the swan hatch. We really told a lot of that story - so much so that people talk about whether or not we're dispensing information too slowly or too quickly. We just think, well this is definitely at the right pace, because when you look at how much further along on the show now than you were a year ago when our conversation would be 'what's in the hatch'? if I told you it was a guy pressing a button every 108 minutes you'd be like, 'what'? And suddenly it all makes much more sense a full season later. Hopefully we'll reinvent ourselves again because it's going to be much more about the Others - all you need to know about the Others, which will shed a lot more information as to what the hell's going on in the world of Lost.
There's never going to be an episode where all of your answers come, like 'here it is'! but what will happen is by the time the show has run its full journey you will know everything you need to know about the show and you'll be enlightened in a completely different way. As you watch the show, your perception of watching the show changes. Like as you go into Season One, obviously you don't know about the Dharma Initiative or any of that stuff. Going into Season Two, you also didn't know about it, but now it's a whole different thing. So now you go into Three, your whole perception of what's going on is a different thing, so you as an audience will completely change in your viewership so to speak. So the information you're getting is on a completely different level from where it was two years ago.
IGN: So do you plan to continue using the same structure or formula for the show or is there a point you might like to get to where audiences are informed enough about the characters' back stories that you no longer need the flashbacks to fill out the episodes?
Burk: No, I think we have so many stories that we haven't told yet as part of the thing, the bigger picture. When we've run out of stories the show's over, so the flashbacks are definitely part of the show. The island story is one element of it, but I think everyone's flashbacks and everything really tell the story not only of who these people are, but who they were and particularly I think a lot of it ties into what the hell is going on too.
IGN: What are some of the things that you learned during Season Two in terms of viewer response, or maybe just things you realized didn't work as well as you anticipated, that you will be applying to Season Three?
Burk: Hm, that's an interesting question. Well, the big thing we learned was that people hate reruns almost as much as we do, so thank God that ABC really has helped us out and helped the show in a way that I'd never heard of them doing which is so great for us, which is that they heard people's complaints and they've set up the show in two different parts. So we're showing the six episodes followed by a break where they will introduce a new show, and then we're going to come back with our 17 and go straight through. So just the idea that a show that has so much forward momentum and drive as ours, to break it up with repeats obviously does not behoove anyone. So I think in this case we're really taking advantage of the fact that we're going to have a pod of six episodes followed by a pod of 17 episodes, or the rest of the season. That was our biggest thing and stumbling block.
IGN: How much viewer input do you listen and/or respond to? For example, it worked out either by accident or design that the less likable characters on the show didn't survive the season.
Burk: You know I don't know. It's kind of - it's the magic of television, which is if we do our jobs right, whether or not you like or hate somebody is all contingent on the character you're creating. I remember when we started Lost we would look at test scores, whatever that means, and read about things and Shannon, the Maggie Grace character drove people crazy- this kind of rich obnoxious girl. But a year later when we killed her people were horrified and that's kind of the greatness of television, where you can start with characters that people definitely want off the air and are like 'I hope they kill her', and then eventually you get the replies - and we actually do - where people are horrified. And we say, 'wait a minute! You hated that girl'.
The truth of the matter is the idea of Ana Lucia's character not making it to the end of the season was something we knew from the beginning, so that was kind of a journey that you go on. But ultimately we're very aware of all of our audiences and how they feel about it and everything, and that only fuels us in a way that is necessary. We really look at it more of whether or not what we're doing is landing properly, and if people are liking a character that is not supposed to be liked or they're not liking a character that's supposed to be liked, or if [developments] are landing properly, that's really how we kind of look at the audience response.
IGN: Building on that, are we going to find out more about Libby, or is her story over?
Burk: It's Lost. Nothing's ever over.
