Given the long hiatus, I decided to reach out to and get acquainted with LOST background actor Dustin Watchman. You may not recognize the name, but you’ve seen his character Scott Jackson appear in every season of LOST thus far (and it seems that we haven’t seen the last of him on the show).

We’ve been MySpace friends for a while but never connected until now. I was intrigued and impressed by Dustin’s very charitable adventures. Although his personal site (http://dustinwatchman.com) is currently under construction, I encourage you to visit and learn more about his work and travels in the near future.

1. How/when did you first hear about the casting of LOST in 2004, and what was that casting process like for you?

The casting director asked if I would be available for three weeks, 6 days a week, to do background for the pilot. I talked with my teachers and we agreed to me doing my homework while I was gone for three weeks, and to turn it in after. For three weeks I taught myself everything in four subjects after long days working on set. Once I returned to school I studied hard for two weeks and then had finals.

After the pilot episode, they were casting for the Steve Jenkins character. Christian Bowman served (Producer/Director) Jack Bender his coffee at Starbucks, was told to audition for the part, and got it. They then needed a lookalike for “Scott Jackson” to go with Steve Jenkins, and that’s when my picture was sent in. That day on set, when the lines were to be filmed, Jack Bender came down the beach to the wing and said he wanted to split the line between Steve and Scott, so I went to get the mic on. The rest is “Sceve” history!

It was really just being in the right place at the right time. It happens like that sometimes in Hollywood; you have the look and the union card, and you may just get the part!

2. You were born in Oregon but now reside in Hawaii. When did you move there, and what brought you to the island?

I was a military brat growing up, and moved all over; born in Oregon, raised in Colorado, Wyoming, Illinois, and back to Colorado to finish high school. I then joined the US Army to go to Hawaii at 18 years old. I loved it and stayed to complete my Bachelors Degree in Business Marketing, and have since made this my home in hopes of traveling the world and returning.

3. You spend a majority of your time volunteering around the world and raising money for various charities. When did you first begin your charitable adventures?

Whether it is raising money, lending a hand, or giving advice, I find myself helping out a lot in one way or another. It makes life more fun and you never stop learning. The more people you know, the more you can learn about how life is for others and how you can help out. Currently I’m trying to get work in Iraq so I can work on base and help out troops first hand. Life is what you make of it!

5. How did you come to also be a stunt double for Matthew Fox?

Fox has a stunt double locally here and also in LA. But I have body doubled for him where I am on camera (or should I say my hand, back of head, foot, shoulder, you get the point)!

6. How much advance notice (if any) are you given when LOST calls and asks for Scott?

A few days usually. But for the scene where Steve said “What’s going on?” to Walt and his father Michael in the hotel when they are fighting (episode 1.23, “Exodus, Part One”), we were given about an hour notice. I was there but was not used on camera for that scene. Too risqué for the network.

7. If called upon to be in a scene, do you find yourself watching previous episodes or asking about recently filmed ones to get a sense of Scott’s current situation? Do they ever give you any back story to inform/help you prepare for your scene?

It was a small part of the overall story, so that’s not really needed. For others it is wise to get caught up so they can act in the manner that the audience would expect the character to be. Jack Bender does a great job of explaining all that before they film the scene.

8. At the end of the Season 4 finale, it appeared as if Scott was on the Zodiac raft with Daniel Faraday. Can you confirm your character’s last known whereabouts?

On the zodiac with Faraday, Scott Jackson was there…

9. What is your favorite aspect of working on LOST – the actors, crew, locale?

The crew and cast are cool, but by far we get to see some really cool places in Hawaii that even I haven’t seen living here 11 years. I also like looking at how the set design is built to look so realistic.

10. What projects are next for you, both volunteer and acting-wise?

I’m always trying to learn more and figure out stuff works, so now I’m working with the military on data collection of a thermal weapons scope used on multiple machine guns. It’s pretty high tech stuff! I’m also trying to get over to Iraq to work with the soldiers first hand. For now, acting is not in the forefront but I still work on Lost when called. If I can go to Iraq, after that I will most likely continue to travel and volunteer in multiple locations worldwide.

Thanks to Dustin for taking the time to answer a few questions!