Why Harold's Back on Lost

by William Keck January 25, 2010 09:57 AM EST


News that Harold Perrineau will be returning to Lost late in the show’s upcoming final season came as a shocker to many who recalled the actor’s public criticism of the 2008 decision to kill off his character, Michael, and have Michael’s son, Walt, raised by his grandmother (something he felt could be perceived as a “ghetto stereotype”). But speaking publicly for the first time since the announcement, Harold says, “I was always open to returning because there was stuff I thought was unresolved. I’m hoping we can put Michael to rest in a way we haven’t done so far.”

When he returns to the Hawaii set at month’s end, Harold’s anticipating some time in the makeup chair to make him look like Michael, since he’s on loan from the upcoming movie “The Hungry Rabbit Jumps,” in which he plays the principal of a school where Nick Cage is a teacher. “I now have a mustache and short-cropped hair,” Harold says from the New Orleans set. The actor’s deal was finalized just one day before Lost’s executive producers announced that he’d be back, along with Cynthia Watros, whose character, Libby, was shot to death by Harold’s character in 2006. “There are two big hopes I have for Michael,” says Harold. “One is I hope he gets to apologize to his son.” (Unlikely, says exec producer Carlton Cuse, explaining it’s tricky to bring back Malcolm David Kelley, now 17, because “he looks much older than his character. But we’re still seeing if there’s a way to work that out.”)

Harold’s second hope: “That I get to apologize to Libby, since her death was really an accident.” (Oops!) Coincidentally, Harold’s other upcoming film, “30 Days of Night: Dark Days,” casts him as a vampire slayer alongside Kiele Sanchez, who had a brief run on Lost, as Nikki, before her character (along with Rodrigo Santoro’s Paulo) was buried alive in 2007. “I wish she’d been part of our first season, because she’s so much fun,” raves Harold, who was off Lost during Kiele’s run. “When we first met, we literally hugged like we were long-lost brother and sister. I remember her telling me she was so excited to be in Hawaii when she joined Lost, but then people kept telling her tales of what she shouldn’t do on set, and she panicked. And then they killed her.”
http://www.tvguidemagazine.com/kecks-exclusives/why-harolds-back-on-lost-3854.html

Harold Perrineau Sets the Record Straight on Whether He'll Return to Lost

Today 6:00 AM PDT by Kristin Dos Santos

You gotta love a man who likes to clear the air.

Harold Perrineau just rang up to kindly reveal an answer to our blind item—"Guess Who's Not Returning to Lost?"—which outed a former Lost star as a holdout to return for the final season.

It's not him.

Despite everyone and their mother's brother's lover (even the Los Angeles Times!) assuming Harold (Michael) was the Lost holdout, Harold reveals that he has not turned down an offer to return to the show.

So does that mean he's coming back?

"Honestly, no one has asked," Harold tells me. "But if I was asked to come back to Lost, indeed I would say yes. We all started that journey together, and I would love to be able to end it with everybody. It would be a great thing to do, to get to say goodbye to them all at the same time. I would love to go back and hang out a little bit."

Now, assuming that Lost is resetting the clock as rumored and going back in time to the original Flight 815, it would seem that there may be a serious glitch to bringing Perrineau back: Walt. After all, Malcolm David Kelley, who was a wee 13-year-old when the series started, now looks like he could be playing defense for the Lakers or voicing a Barry White biopic.

"That's what I was actually thinking would probably be the trickiest part," Perrineau says. "I mean, I know they've been going back and forth with time travel, but if we were to go all the way back, how do you do that? You'd have to recast [Walt]. Or do some crazy CGI, like Little Man. That would be weird!"

Despite the hullabaloo over the comments he made after Michael was killed off Lost, Harold tells me he honestly has no beef with the show. "Those people are my family. And not like my twisted, dysfunctional family, but people I totally love, you know what I mean? It was a great show for me and I'm really glad to be part of that."

"There are no hard feelings," Harold adds. "Period. That's the real truth."

Harold called in from Vancouver where he's currently shooting the sequel to 30 Days of Night: Darker Days—yay, vampires!—and is also working on an album "just for fun."

Personally, I would love to see Michael/Harold again before Lost's final credits roll—with or without Walt.

Anyone else feel the same? If so, join me in the comments to figure out a way around this whole Walt conundrum. Maybe we can catch Michael away from Walt hooking up with Sun in a bathroom stall at LAX? Or, ooh, Claymation? (This is why they do not ask me to write the show.)Oh, and if you must point out the totally obvious Lost holdout (now that you know it's not Harold), feel free to do that too...
http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/watch_with_kristin/b150014_harold_perrineau_sets_record_straight.html

Will Harold Perrineau Return to Lost?

Rumors are swirling that just about every past Lost cast member may be journeying back to the island – where death apparently isn’t always the end – as the series heads into its final season. But Harold Perrineau’s not packing his bags for Hawaii just yet.

“I can only deny,” original cast member Perrineau told TV Guide Magazine about a possible return engagement as the seemingly deceased Michael Dawson – though a resurrection may be just a phone call away.

“Nobody’s said anything to me and I haven’t asked,” said Perrineau. “One of the great things I always thought about Lost is I back up and I let them do the thing that they’re really great at doing. They’re really great and creating drama and creating their show. And this way I don’t have to ask ‘Hey, what’s this? What’s that?’ I don’t ask any questions, I just show up and I let them do what they do. They’re good at it.”

That said, if the producers ring him up, Perrineau’s on the first flight to Oahu. “Of course I would show up! Are you kidding me? That’s my people!” He said he wasn’t sure if Michael could return organically back into the mythology, however. “Only if there’s some way that they’re getting back to all of those original characters that we started the journey with, and if that’s so then that makes sense to me. I don’t know other than that how it makes sense.”

“But then nothing makes sense on the show, so why am I even saying this?” he laughed.

Whatever happens, Perrineau is just as eager as any longtime viewer to find out the answers to the many mysteries Lost has posed over the years. “I still have questions – a ton of questions,” he explained. “I’m curious about how all that’s going to wrap up. There are just tons of things from when we first started that I’m still curious about.”
http://www.tvguidemagazine.com/news/will-harold-perrineau-return-to-lost-2206.html