Most famously known for his portrayal of James “Sawyer” Ford on the hit television show LOST, the actor Josh Holloway has lived quite an interesting life.
In fact, there are several fun facts you might not know about him.
Below, we take a closer look and examine some unique trivia regarding one of television’s leading men.
Josh Holloway is 53 years old. He was born July 20, 1969, in San Jose, California. His zodiac sign is Cancer. Shortly after his birth, his family moved across the country to the south. It would be many years before he went back to California.
He grew up in Free Home, Georgia. His family moved from California to Georgia. It was here where he had his first job – collecting dead chickens on a farm. Holloway attended school at Cherokee High School in Canton, Georgia.
After high school, he enrolled at the University of Georgia. However, he dropped out of college after just a short time, spending only one quarter of a year in college. Despite only spending very little time in college, he feels as if he received the “college experience” by attending parties and more.
After dropping out of college, he returned to California to start a modeling career. This leap showed much ambition, as he moved across the country to try and get his foot in the door of the modeling industry.
Holloway faced many rejections during his time searching for modeling gigs once he made the move to California. It wasn’t until the 90’s when he finally and officially entered the modeling industry.
During the 1990s, Holloway became a popular model, even traveling across the United States and Europe where he worked as a runway model for Calvin Klein, Dolce & Gabbana, and more.
His modeling career extended from just the runway. In fact, Holloway modeled for magazines and other print material.
In the Aerosmith music video for “Cryin,’” he played a purse thief. In the video, he is caught and gets beat up by Alicia Silverstone. This was one of his first acting gigs.
His television debut occurred in 1999 when he was cast in the CBS television show He was credited as the “Good Looking Guy.” Afterwards, he began booking other smaller television roles.
Unable to find more acting gigs, he took the real estate exam in 2004. While waiting for his broker’s license in the mail, he received the news that he would be playing the character of James “Sawyer” Ford on the upcoming series LOST.
When Holloway was cast in LOST, this instantly propelled him to international stardom. Throughout the show’s run, he appeared on various television and entertainment magazine covers. As the fan base of LOST grew, Josh Holloway quickly became a household name.
2004 was a very important year for Holloway – not only because of the success of being on LOST. On October 1, 2004, he married his longtime girlfriend Yessica Kumala.
In 2005, Josh Holloway was named People magazine’s “50 Most Beautiful People” and in 2006, the cast of LOST received a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Ensemble in a Drama Series.
He turned down the role of Gambit in the film Wolverine: Origins due to the similarities shared by the characters of Gambit and Sawyer.
While receiving such a high recognition is certain to be a highlight of your year, Holloway and his wife experienced a traumatic event in 2005. At 4 in the morning on October 12, 2005, he and his wife were robbed at gunpoint in their own home. Fortunately, no one was harmed and the culprit was later caught.
He became a father in 2009 when his daughter, Java, was born. Later he also had a son, Hunter Lee, who was born in 2014.
Before heading back in the television world after LOST ended, Holloway entered the film world where he appeared in a variety of movies such as Battle of the Year, Stay Cool, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, Paranoia, and Sabotage.
In 2010, J.J. Abrams offered Holloway the lead role in the CBS series Person of Interest which ironically featured Michael Emerson who played the character of Benjamin Linus on LOST. Holloway turned down the offer because the show was filmed in New York and he and his family had recently relocated from Hawaii to California after LOST
After experiencing so much success while working on LOST, he gained several leading roles in other television shows. In 2014, he played the lead role in the CBS show Intelligence. Unfortunately, the series was canceled after only one season. From 2016-2018, he appeared on the television show Colony, once again as the leading role. The show was canceled after three seasons.
Since LOST ended in 2010, Josh Holloway has appeared at several reunions paying tribute to the show. In 2014, he attended the LOST 10th-anniversary event at PaleyFest in Los Angeles, California. In 2016 and 2018, he appeared at the “We Have To Go Back” LOST concerts that showcased the music from LOST which was performed by composer Michael Giacchino.
As you can see, Josh Holloway has lived an exciting life. From growing up in the south to making a career for himself on the west coast, Holloway has proven that following your dreams is always the best route.
Not only did he work hard, but his ambition also led him to find the career of his dreams. On top of that, he has a family and children, proving that one can balance a career and home life.
Knowing all of the fun facts about Holloway listed above allows us to appreciate his work and his life.
In learning these facts, it’s hard not to gain inspiration from his life. By learning about his struggles and successes, we can make it a point to always remember to never give up on our dreams, work hard, and roll with the punches that sometimes life can bring.
