Actor Spotlights are features examining the careers and impacts of talented performers working in film and television. The latest looks at Jorge Garcia, perhaps best known for playing Hugo “Hurley” Reyes on hit ABC show LOST.
Check out our previous Actor Spotlight features on stars such as Titus Welliver, Jack Quaid and more.
Through a variety of roles across two decades, Jorge Garcia has become a very recognisable face on-screen.
Although likely most identified for his role as “Hurley” on LOST, Garcia’s projects extend far beyond that mysterious, deadly, monstrous, polar-bear-inhabited tropical island.
Here is a look back at some of the actor’s parts throughout his career.
LOST (2004 – 2010)
From six seasons, Garcia played plane crash survivor Hugo “Hurley” Reyes on ABC’s LOST.
The show followed the aftermath of Oceanic Flight 815 crashing onto a mysterious island.
Despite the terrifying situation – a “monster” lurking, polar bears and hostile native islanders – Garcia’s character, Hurley, served as a source of comic relief. He often lifted spirits, took care of other castaways and was perhaps the most caring character on LOST.
By the finale, *SPOILER ALERT*, Hurley became “the new Jacob” as protector of the Island – a position he presumably served in for years, if not centuries.
Jorge Garcia reflected on landing the now-iconic role in 2024, as LOST marked its 20th anniversary.
He told the Los Angeles Times: “There was a breakdown with a character called Hurley, and he was listed as something along the lines of a 50-year-old redneck.
“I remember specifically reading in the description that he was described as a “redshirt,” which I’m guessing meant that he wasn’t going to survive the pilot.”
Meanwhile, the writers were still developing some of the core characters.
This meant Garcia as well as co-stars Matthew Fox (who played Dr. Jack Shephard) and Dominic Monaghan (who played Charlie Pace) all read for the same role initially.
Garcia continued to the LA Times: “They called me in, and the only material they had for the guys were Boone (Ian Somerhalder) sides and Sawyer [Josh Holloway] sides, so they had me read the Sawyer sides.”
Throughout the show, viewers discovered Hurley’s status as a lottery winner seemingly plagued with bad luck. He attributed this to a sequence of numbers – 4, 8, 15, 16, 23 and 42, which often appeared.
Flashbacks also delved deep into the character’s past – from his upbringing to time spent in a mental institution.
Hawaii Five-0 (2013 – 2020)
From 2013, Garcia began recurring as “Jerry Ortega” on CBS crime drama Hawaii Five-O. He reunited with LOST co-star Daniel Dae Kim (who’d played Jin and went on to star as Chin Ho Kelly on Five-O.).
This iteration of Hawaii Five-O launched in 2010 and was a reboot of an earlier 1968-1980 series, which also aired on CBS.
Introduced in season 4, Jerry was a conspiracy theorist who eventually became a “Special Consultant” after assisting the Five-0 on several cases.
Similarly, Garcia became a series regular from season 5 until the tenth and final season.
In the season 10 premiere, viewers learned Jerry had been shot by Azra Hassan (Yasmin Dar). Although the character survived, he stepped back from Five-0 – with Garcia therefore exiting as a main cast member.
The actor told TVLine: “I’m grateful for my time on Hawaii Five-0. I loved getting to return to the islands, and creating a character that connected with so many people.
“Playing Jerry was a blast, and I look forward to popping in again to play with my TV ohana.”
Becker (2003-2004)
Curb Your Enthusiasm (2004)
In an early TV role, Garcia appeared as “Hector Lopez” in CBS sitcom Becker. He was a regular in the show’s sixth and final season.
Starring Ted Danson, Becker followed a miserly doctor running a small New York City practice while being annoyed by friends, colleagues and patients alike.
Garcia’s character, Hector, was introduced as an old friend of Jake (Alex Désert).
Around the same time, the actor also guest-starred in an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm.
For the uninitiated, this is a long-running HBO improvisational sitcom which aired on and off from 2000 to 2024.
While Garcia only appeared in one episode – as a minor character credited as “Drug Dealer” – he attributed the experience as a stepping stone to a major role.
“One of my early breaks was I did Curb Your Enthusiasm with Larry David”, Garcia said after being unmasked on The Masked Singer in 2022.
“That job was basically what got me the audition for LOST.”
Alcatraz (2012)
Once Upon a Time (2012-2013)
Garcia played Diego “Doc” Soto on short-lived Fox show Alcatraz, his first series regular role after LOST.
The show’s premise followed a group of inmates from the famous prison mysteriously disappearing in 1963.
Then, suddenly, they start popping up in present day, not looking a day older and running amok in San Fransisco.
Along with Sarah Jones, Sam Neill and Parminder Nagra, Garcia portrayed a member of a task force tracking and detaining the resurfaced inmates.
Doc was not a member of law enforcement. Rather, he was a comic book store owner who had a PhD in criminal justice and Civil War history, as well as an expert on Alcatraz and its inmates.
Despite the show’s prestige – being produced by JJ Abrams and developed by Elizabeth Sarnoff, Bryan Wynbrandt and Steven Lilien – it ran for just 13 episodes.
Between 2012 to 2013, Garcia reunited with former LOST writers Adam Horowitz and Eddy Kitsis on their show Once Upon a Time.
In the ABC fantasy drama, the actor guest-starred in three episodes as “Anton”, a giant.
Other LOST alumni in “OUAT” include Emilie de Ravin (Claire Littleton, later Belle), Elizabeth Mitchell (Juliet Carlson, later the Ice Queen) and Rebecca Mader (Charlotte Lewis, later Zelena).
The Ridiculous 6 (2015)
The Wedding Ringer (2015)
Garcia had a supporting role in Adam Sandler’s Western comedy film The Ridiculous 6, released on Netflix.
The plot followed six men who learn they have the same bank robber father (played by Nick Nolte) – and set out to reunite with him.
Meanwhile, Garcia plays one of the six brothers, “Herm”. The character is a mountain man, who cannot speak comprehensibly and sold moonshine with his mother:”.
As well as Sandler and Garcia, the cast also included Terry Crews, Taylor Lautner, Rob Schneider, Danny Trejo and Luke Wilson.
That same year, the actor also appeared in buddy romantic comedy The Wedding Ringer.
Starring Kevin Hart and Josh Gad, the film follows a man (Hart), who provides Best Man services for men lacking the friends needed for a wedding.
Garcia played “Lurch”, Hart’s character recruits to be a groomsman at Doug’s (Gad) wedding to Gretchen (Kaley Cuoco).
Memorably, Lurch has a memorable joke towards the end of the film, which sees most of the major characters boarding a flight together to Tahiti.
While on the plane, Garcia’s character remarked: “I have a bad feeling about this flight”, referencing LOST.
Bookie (2023 – present)
As of writing, Garcia is currently on the Max comedy series Bookie. Chuck Lorre, of Two and a Half Men and The Big Bang Theory, co-created the show with Nick Bakay.
It follows a veteran bookmaker (or “bookie”) fighting to survive the legalization of sports gambling, increasingly unstable clients and fast-paced life in Los Angeles.
Meanwhile, Garcia portrays the role of “Hector”, a reluctantly reformed drug dealer.
In a February 2023 interview with Broadway World, ahead of Bookie going in production, Garcia mentioned he was excited to start working on the show.
He joins series lead Sebastian Maniscalco, who plays “Danny”, the titular bookie, with Omar Dorsey, Vanessa Ferlito, Rob Corddry, Maxim Swinton and Andrea Anders.
Follow writer Conor O’Brien on Twitter/X
A lifelong TV and Film buff, Conor founded Courageous Nerd in 2019. He has conducted hundreds of interviews for the site, as well as written comprehensive feature articles on a variety of topics. You can find him on X: @conorrcn.
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