US: Akinnuoye-Agbaje Is 'Lost' Mystery Man [Season 2 Spoilers]

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LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) Following in the storied tradition of "Gilligan's Island," where cosmonauts and Globetrotters would wash up with some regularity, ABC's "Lost" keeps adding regular cast members to a deserted island getaway that seems much less exclusive than your basic club med. Viewers have been washing up in larger audiences than ever, thanks in part to the show's new blood, mysterious characters like Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje's Mr. Eko.
London-born Akinnuoye-Agbaje would be on the verge of becoming a household name this winter expect very few households are going to find it easy to pronounce his unique name. The son of Nigerian immigrants, the 38-year-old actor progressed from stereotypical African roles in films like "Congo" and "Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls" to a memorable turn as the Simon Adebisi, the baddest of the bad on HBO's "Oz." His mainstream visibility is only increasing with his role as charismatic drug dealer Majestic in "Get Rich or Die Tryin'" and his "Lost" gig, which he took immediately afterwards as something of a vacation.

"Working in Hawaii, being out there, it's different, man," Akinnuoye-Agbaje says. "It's a trip. You're on a rock and you work and all the locals know you and it's quite a trip. I took it after 'Get Rich or Die Trying' just to cleanse me out. It was nice to wash that out and go to a beautiful environment."


So far, viewers have learned very little about Akinnuoye-Agbaje's Mr. Eko. The character hasn't had more than a dozen lines of dialogue and while his presence was initially threatening, it certainly appears that he was part of the second group of plane crash survivors, a clan that also has introduced Michelle Rodriguez and Cynthia Watros to the cast.
Akinnuoye-Agbaje says he had no concerns about being dropped into the insular "Lost" community that has been bonding in Hawaii for well over a year.

"I didn't really have time to even consider it, I went straight to work," he says of the tight switch from "Get Rich." "In hindsight, they're a very tight bunch of actors. Obviously, when you're very far from home you kind of club together. And it's genuine. There's a really nice sense of camaraderie there. Every Wednesday a different actor is showing the episode in their house and they gather there to watch it. It's nice it's a nice posse to work with."

Although he's only been shooting for a few months, Akinnuoye-Agbaje has already contracted that particular disease that afflicts all "Lost" thespians, a condition characterized by vagaries and ambiguity.

"I've been really pleasantly surprised," he hints of the direction that Mr. Eko will take in the weeks to come. "I think you're going to like it. I don't think you've seen this kind of dimension of character or the culture illuminated on network TV in a long time, like in primetime."

Hmmm... That may not necessarily say much. Has he been paying attention to any of the wildly spreading speculation about his character?

"No," he laughs. "Just get on with the work, man."

And how many episodes will Mr. Eko be around for?

"What do I say? I'm down, let's put it that way. I'm down unless the vicissitudes of life change."

And when will we learn more about his the soft-spoken shirtless giant?

"You'll see... In the next two weeks, it's about to get funky."

That's enough for us. "Lost" returns with new episodes this Wednesday (Nov. 9). "Get Rich or Die Tryin'" opens the same day.

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