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FMH Magazine Online, 2006?

He won the lottery on Lost. Now the man who plays Hurley uses $100 to try his real-life luck

Forget the murder of Shannon, the biggest crime on Lost this year has been the decreased screen time given to Jorge Garcia, aka Hurley. Since his character is a lottery winner on the show, we gave Jorge $100 in real life and let him blow it on the lotteries of the scratch 'n win variety...

How did you snag your gig on Lost?
The producers saw me on Curb Your Enthusiasm when I sold pot to Larry David. They called me in to audition, but they hadn't written the character yet. I guess it's good when they write the part for you.

Do fans think you're actually stuck on an island?
A lot of them approach me, ask if I'm lost and then announce they've found me.

Clever. What's the closest you've come to being trapped on an island in real life?
I got lost at the mall when I was a kid. I used to look at the ground a lot. I was with my dad and he was wearing slacks that looked like everyone else's. I looked up and suddenly he was gone. I remember crying and these two women stood with me until my sister found me.

Have you worked through it?
I'm much better with mall layouts now.

After five minutes, Garcia rubs his first winner: $2! His hand is already weary from exertion.

Did you train for the scratch-off today?
I realized I had to alternate my technique because my hand was tired. You don't want to hold the coin too tight. A sweeping motion in one direction is a nice change of pace from the back and forth.

Your character on Lost says he's a warrior. How is Jorge Garcia a warrior?
I wrestled in high school. They called me Baby-Faced Killer because of my cherub-like demeanor. Later I got this big curly hair and they started calling me Afro Man.

In what ways do strangers express their Hurley love?
People send me T-shirts that are never my size. I sent one lady an autograph, and she sent me back religious brochures and a coupon for Slim-Fast.

C'mon, Jorge. Does it get sexier than that?
So far I haven't gotten any solid raunch. I'm more like the cuddly guy on the show.

Our readers can fix that: Any requests?
There's a petition for Hurley to get some lovin' on the island, but the number of signatures has been pretty low. For a while I pleaded with fans: Come on, can we at least break 200?

Garcia scratches only two more winning tickets: $2 and $1. You're always soaked with sweat on Lost. How much is yours versus stunt sweat?
Usually only take one and two of a scene are stunt sweat. It's water and, when we're feeling special, there's lavender mixed in.

Garcia uses his $5 to buy a Mega Millions ticket with his numbers from the show: 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42.

Have you played those numbers before?
No, there's no lotto in Hawaii, where we shoot. But fans tell me they play them.

How has that worked out?
One guy won money, but I warned him it wasn't a good idea since the numbers are cursed and all. But he used only five of the six numbers, so I think he's safe.