Q: Even though you weren’t in Across the Sea, where do you stand on that episode?
Nestor Carbonell: Actually, I’ve read it but I haven’t seen it because I was actually in transit on the way here to L.A.,.but I’m looking forward to seeing it. I love that they got to tackle, from what I read, a lot of the mythology and sort of the backstory. I’m curious to see what all the controversy is about I guess.
Q: How much of Richard Alpert do we see in the final episodes? A lot?
Nestor Carbonell: Yeah. I was certainly happy with how they addressed my character and we do appear, at least I appear in the next one.
Q: What did you think of your Richard Alpert episode this year?
Nestor Carbonell: They wrote an amazing script and I got to play with it. I also benefited from the fact that you really didn’t know anything about my character for three years so I had that built in intrigue. In a way, as an actor I could almost do no wrong because I had that built in intrigue. It was fun and they wrote me a beautiful episode so it was great to do it.
Q: Did they write your episode in Spanish or translate it from English?
Nestor Carbonell: Well, they wrote it in English so that production could understand everything that was being said. But, Connie Saucedo, who works on the show and is originally from Mexico, translated all the text. She did a phenomenal job of translating, and I speak Spanish as well. My parents are both Cuban. We went through it together and made minor tweaks, but Connie really did the bulk of the work. She did a great job. It’s another example of not knowing any other show that will spend 30 minutes of an hour in primetime, doing it all in Spanish with subtitles.
Q: How did knowing the source of the light and the origin of the smoke monster affect the way you played the final episodes?
Nestor Carbonell: I think the stakes have always been there so I think the fact that it’s a light in a tunnel is no different. The strength of that thing that you’re beholden to or the magic of the island is something we’ve always had to deal with in some fashion. Just the fact that it’s now been made more specific is something different. But, at the heart of the show are these characters that they created, these really complex and characters layered with so much misbehavior. No one is completely good and no one is completely evil. Just well drawn out characters and I think that’s the heart of the show.
Nestor Carbonell: For me, it really was about how they were going to resolve all of these relationships that have either been in conflict or personally. That, to me, was addressed, so I was very satisfied with what I got. I wasn’t looking for answers to questions that were more minutiae. I was looking for bigger theme answers, and I definitely got those.
Q: How relieved are you that it’s all coming to an end?
Nestor Carbonell: I’m really sad. I want to be able not to answer questions. As long as I’m on this show
Q: Is there any redemption for Richard Alpert?
Nestor Carbonell: There absolutely is.
Q: What will you miss about Hawaii?
Nestor Carbonell: We live in a beautiful area. I live in Kailua. It just doesn’t get much better than that. Fortunately, because we have tremendous friends out here in Los Angeles, they all came to visit. We had 30 visits in 10 ½ months. I’m not exaggerating. The 30th left a week ago.
Q: What are the places you have to take a visitor to Hawaii?
Nestor Carbonell: Well, if you were going to go to Oahu and if you only have a few days, definitely try to do Hanauma Bay for their snorkeling. And if you want to learn to surf, why not take a lesson on Waikiki. You can go to Hans Hedemann which I just did two weeks ago with a friend. That’s a good one or the amazing hikes. If you want to do Diamond Head or the Jackass Ginger Pool hike is a great hike if you can find it.
Q: How do you top Lost with your next gig?
Nestor Carbonell: I recognized this before I was on the show, because I was a fan of the show. This show has broken convention, in every single way, and elevated TV. You’re not going to find better writers than the writers on this show. It’s incredible, what they’ve done with story, character and format. They invented this incredible world that we got to play in. I’ve been blessed to have worked before on TV, and I’ve had great luck and worked with great people, and this has been yet another phenomenal experience. And, we got to shoot in Hawaii, on top of that. So, you’re right. How do you top this? How do you follow something like this? Who knows? For me, it’s always about what’s on the page. I have tremendous respect for writing. When you recognize good writing and you’re lucky enough to get it, like we got to do on Lost, that’s what I follow.
Q: Where are you going to be for the finale?
Nestor Carbonell: I’m going to be here in L.A. We’re doing Jimmy Kimmel, and I’ll be watching with everyone else. I haven’t read the entire script because I didn’t get all of the acts. I’ll be watching with everybody, the final end of it in L.A..
