Neil Hopkins returns to play the rock-star on 'Lost'

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by: Tyrone Warner
Date: 5/4/2010 3:45:00 PM ET

Ever since Charlie’s death in season three, this actor didn’t expect to return to the series.

During an interview with CTV.ca, Neil Hopkins, who played Charlie’s (Dominic Monaghan) older brother Liam, says he “figured it was over then.”

“But as the show kept going, and started to get crazy with the time travel, I thought, ‘It’s ‘Lost,’ if anyone can come back on a show, ‘Lost’ is one you can come back on.’ I didn’t expect it to happen, but I was hoping it would happen.”

“Lost” airs Tuesday nights on CTV, with full episodes available online at CTV.ca.

Liam Pace first appeared in the seventh episode of season one, entitled “The Moth,” which flashed back to Charlie’s life with his brother and their band Drive Shaft, and how Charlie became hooked on heroin.  Hopkins also appeared in other Charlie-centric episodes in the following two seasons.

In a surprise appearance in the season six episode, “Recon,” Liam appeared in a police station, asking Sawyer (James Ford) for help getting his brother out of jail.

“I had previously met him when I shot my first episode in season one, when I came on set for a makeup test,” says Hopkins.  “Josh was really friendly, and it was cool to be in a scene with him, however brief.”

Despite having to lip-synch along to someone else’s performance of “You All Everybody,” Hopkins still feels like he got to live out his rock-star dreams on “Lost.”

“I was excited that I would sing, but they didn’t use my voice for the song. It’s a lot easier when it’s already recorded and they have you lip-synch to the playback, and that’s what they did,” says Hopkins, as he remembers filming the band’s concert scenes.

“There were extras in the crowd, it felt like a rock concert. I was in an acapella group in college. We had a bunch of concerts, that’s as close as I’ve come. It’s always been a secret fantasy, to be in a rock band.”

“Lost” fans may also be surprised to learn that Hopkins wasn’t born in England, and that the actor was in fact born in New Jersey.

 “I’ve always had a knack for accents, and on ‘Lost,’ I did my best. I fooled some people, and that’s what I like to hear.  It’s a nice thing for people to actually believe that is your native accent. It makes you feel like you’ve done a good job,” says Hopkins.

“I knew when I auditioned for the character years ago that he was from Manchester, and I was a big fan of Oasis, and I watched a lot of interviews with them and I worked very hard on getting the Manchurian accent right. I felt like if I could do Dom’s accent, the best that I can, it will work, it will sell. That’s what I aimed for. Before we would do takes, and I was having problems with a certain line, I would have him read it. Sometimes the day before, I would bring a tape recorder and record him and try to get the intonations right. He helped me out a lot”

Average fans weren’t the only ones fooled by Hopkin’s accent; the actor had to pretend he was himself British while he was originally auditioning for the role of Liam after learning they only wanted to see British and Irish actors.

“I made the decision in the hall just to go in and fake it as a British actor, and they bought it, hook line and sinker. It taught me about the power of perception in this business,” says Hopkins.

“When I went back for the callback, I was nervous because all the other actors were English or Irish. I came up with a back story of where I was from, just in case. And sure enough, one of the producers is English, and I started to panic a little bit. I felt like I was undercover or something.”

As for when Hopkins knew that “Lost” had truly become an international phenomenon, he remembers being at a wardrobe fitting on set, when he noticed something unusual.

 “There were a lot of ‘’Wanted’ photos on the walls of bloggers and people who write on these “Lost” fan sites. Basically saying if you see any of these people on the set, please notify someone, because they are trying to get spoilers,” says Hopkins.

“That made me realize I was a part of something really big.”