MANILA, Philippines - Yes, she is the new officer in the Hawaii Five-0 block. But Lauren German’s Lori Weston has no qualms of getting down and dirty to piece the criminal puzzle and pin down the culprit. Lauren’s latest TV assignment is a far cry from her carefree, peer-pressured teenager role in A Walk to Remember. If there’s any reason for her character to be always on the lookout, it’s to make sure that the Five-0 members must abide by the rules.
“Everybody that runs the show is so lovely and talented,” says Lauren of being the latest addition to the police drama during the round robin phoner. “They are really warm and welcoming. So the transition was not really hard. It was great and then right away, I got along with everybody. I just try to do my best and focus on my work. You know it was a lot easier than I thought it was gonna be actually.”
According to Lauren, her character Lori “comes from a profiling background. She has been trained to study people, their behavior and characteristics.” And what she tries to figure out each episode is how all this factors in the crime. Lori is expected to give solid and sensible clues to the Five-0 task force. “So Lori often comes in and says, ‘You know, hold on, this person has done A, B and C,” says Lauren. “To me, it seems like, you know, this person wouldn’t be capable of (committing) that crime or he is capable of it. And here it is why.’ She’s good at reading people and that’s where her training comes from. She is the only detective in the Five-0 task force to do any sort of profiling background. So I find my character often sort of breaking down clues and characteristics of the suspects. That’s sort of my niche in the group.”
Since the group is into crime busting, Lauren is not spared from intense chasing and fight scenes. She has her own share of stunts.
“When I have any kind of fight scenes or a really long chasing or anything like that, I train with a guy. But he’s not an actor on the show,” she shares. “He’s absolutely amazing and very talented. He trains and helps me with all the fight scenes and all that… I hate working out. I’m so lazy about it. But on a show like this, I just have to do it because if a day comes that they have to shoot a scene and I’m out of shape, I mean, I just can’t keep up with Scott (Caan) and Alex (O’Loughlin). You know, I haven’t been working out (and) they’ll blow me away, so I do train.”
That’s how Lauren gets into the psyche and physique of Lori, the former Homeland Security special agent-cum-profiler. She has entered the Hawaii Five-0’s latest season after Steve McGarrett (played by Alex) was dragged into the former governor’s death and later found innocent. Televiewers saw the new governor bringing the Five-0 task force back in the circulation.
“But you know, I haven’t read anything in the script of a (love) connection (between my character Lori and Alex’s McGarrett) yet,” replies Lauren when asked about a possible love angle between the two cops. “I have no idea if that will happen in the future. But it would be nice to see McGarrett, you know, have a little love in a while.”
What Lauren can assure fans is that Lori and McGarrett are similar in many ways. “They are both stubborn. They do their jobs seriously and are hard workers,” says Lauren. “But then again, you know, they have differences. McGarrett is sort of leading the team and he has the final say. He’s the hero and all that. But I think, McGarrett and Lori have the same work ethics and extreme focus in life and at work.”
Those who still hope for a brewing romance between McGarrett and Lori, just tune in to AXN’s Hawaii Five-0 every Sunday night at 9 and cross your fingers until that wish come true.