Candid interview with Naveen Andrews

Naveen Andrews has always been one of the most candid of the Lost cast members concerning his impression of the quality of the show; for instance, he was vocally disappointed by the third season (and his limited role in it). He was recently interviewed by DigitalSpy and again doesn't mince words:

What did you make of the season finale?
"I was really pleased with it, because it's the closest we've come to season one in terms of the standard of excellence. They needed to get it back on track and they have."
You were quite critical of season three, weren't you?
"So was everyone else, as far as I know. I'm not alone in that. It's difficult not to feel proprietorial towards the work. When you feel a drop in quality, it would be dishonest to yourself if you didn't acknowledge that."

What do you think the problems were?
"The writing. We all know what the executive producers, Damon [Lindelof] and Carlton [Cuse], were going through because they had this burden of an endless show. I don't think it's what Damon wanted in the first place. He always used to say to me 'Wouldn't it be great if we were a bit like the Sex Pistols and did just one season of great television and then bang, that's it?' Sort of smash and grab. Obviously you can't do that on primetime network TV but he wanted a limit to the show. He managed to do a deal where he was able to achieve that. Now that we have an ending to aim towards, I think it's inevitable the quality will get better." [...]

What have you learned from doing Lost? You seem to have found it a bit of a burden...
"That's an interesting word we keep returning to. 'The burden of writing'...Come on, it's not a f**king burden. You're being paid, obviously...I don't think it's a burden being paid, but it's a real discipline to play the same character over years rather than months or weeks. It requires a certain amount of stamina." [...]

Which of the many twists do you want to find out the answer to?
"The foot with the f**king toe missing. What was that and is it going to come back? Is there going to be two feet next time, with a geezer on top as the rest of the body?"

What do you make of Harold Perrineau's comments last week suggesting that race played a part in his exit?
"I was very pleased to see Harold back and very disappointed that it didn't continue. But I can't comment until I've read what he said - or if I'm honest, until I've spoken to Harold and heard what he says he f**king said!"

I'm going to go ahead and try to dispel this notion that Season 3 was "the bad season." Okay, so focusing overwhelmingly on Jack/Kate/Sawyer for the first six episodes was probably a poor creative decision, and Nikki & Paolo were lame, blah blah. But starting with the eleventh episode ("Enter 77," and coincidentally the only Sayid-centric episode of the season), the season took off in a big way. "The Man from Tallahassee," "One of Us," "The Brig," "The Man Behind the Curtain," "Greatest Hits," and the season finale were all Lost at its peak.

TAGS: Interview, Naveen Andrews, Season 3, Season 4 Finale
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