By: Izumi Hasegawa March 29, 2014
Josh Holloway, who most memorably starred on TV’s Lost, had a tough guy part alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger in Sabotage. He talked about the great experience of sweating right next to Arnold and filming in his hometown.
Q: Tell us about your training experience.
We were sweating and Arnold’s in there sweating right next to us. We’re all joking and it was fantastic. That’s really what gelled us as a team. Also, David (Ayer, director) had us sparring each other. You don’t put head gear on actors and let them fight each other. We’re all ego. But it really gelled us as a team.
Q: How was filming in Georgia? (A WhatsUpHollywood reader question!!!)
I’m from Georgia so I had a great time being back home. I have three brothers and it’s kind of my backyard. But Georgia is normally muggy and muggy or way too cold. But it was amazing because we were there in the fall which is the golden time to be in Georgia when all the leaves are changing. It was amazing. I thought that was awesome. The fact that like Joe (Manganiello, co-star) said Atlanta is kind of a hub for the cartel in the Southeast so it’s appropriate that it took place in Atlanta. I felt like that added to the story as well and I built my character around that. His name was “Neck,” obviously short for redneck [laughs]. I have a little experience with that.
Q: How was it working with Arnold?
It’s been a pleasure. It was fantastic. Like I said, I have three 
brothers and I grew up watching everything he has done. So it was incredible. And also, to shoot in my backyard, my brothers got to come and meet Arnold and everything, so it was really special for me. What I found most impressive about working with Arnold is that I’ve seen someone with much less of his stature that’s surrounded by an entourage and cell phone and you can never talk to them. And Arnold was completely present with us. There was no wall to get to Arnold, so to speak, with him on set. He was just one of us, laughing, joking, very present and a part of the team. And that was impressive. I enjoyed that.
Q: What did you discuss about your character’s looks?
I’ve got a funny story about that because I went in and I was so excited to work with David and so excited to shave my head and do something cutting edge. The first thing, he’s like, “I want you to be the preppy guy, the guy that is unassuming, you wouldn’t think he’s a killer,” and my heart just sank. So I somehow got him frustrated about it because I kept asking, “No, I want to do…” and he was like, “Oh, fine, scud it out,” like scud missile. I went away and when I came back, I had a shaved head with a big mustache. He’s like, “What did you do?” I was like, “You told me to scud it out.” So it was tricky.
Sabotage opens March 28th.
