Lost's Nestor Carbonell On His Famous Eyelashes and Soon-To-Be-Famous Pecs

What will he go through emotionally?

I think one of the things that's always tugged away at him, and it was very frustrating to him last season, is that he always knew what was going on and then last season he had those moments where he was completely thrown by the time travel. That's not something he knew anything about, when Locke comes to visit him in the 1950s and he goes to see him as a baby two years later. That sort of called into question how much knowledge and power he had; he keeps tapping leaders like a Panchen Lama, so he's really more of an advisor than a leader. I always felt like this guy's gonna have a bit of a complex, to have the power to tap a leader but not be a leader himself. Now that Jacob's died, you're going to see that tug away at my character.

Even though I'm trying to remain unspoiled, I've heard that you may have already taped a Richard flashback episode. Hypothetically, if that did happen, did it hypothetically turn out like you thought it would?

I think we can safely say that I did shoot one. I obviously can't go into detail as to the nature of the episode, but the writers delivered a script that I was really blown away by. I've been wondering for three and a half years who my guy is, and I've been writing my own history to justify what I did; when I finally got it, I realized how off the mark I was, but I was really blown away. It'll come in at the midpart of the season, and it'll answer not just questions about the origin of my character but really also the mythology and the real nature of the island. It's a big reveal, and it wildly exceeded my expectations.

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Is it the sort of thing where the writers will let you know that your episode is coming up, or does it just arrive on your doorstep and you're like, "Oh shit! This is my episode!"

They gave me a bit of a heads-up, and I can't say why, but there needed to be one. I knew it was my episode about two episodes in advance, and [co-executive producer] Carlton Cuse also called me and said how excited he was about the episode and how much it would reveal. When he called me, I said, "Oh my God, I can't wait to read it now," and then when I read it, it blew my mind. Part of me always wondered, "Do I really want to know everything about this guy? Do I want it to remain a little bit of a mystery and not get a full backstory?" But when I read how they handled it, it was really quite amazing. They revealed quite a bit, but there's still some questions I don't fully know, and I'd imagine we'll get some of those answers. The bigger questions about him, though, they do tackle.

I'm sure the Hawaii premiere was overwhelming, but your appearance at Comic-Con this past summer kind of set the stage for facing the Lost geek masses. What was that like?

It was tremendous, an incredible crowd. I'd been at Comic-Con once before for a show I did called The Tick, and sadly that show didn't go the distance. This experience at Comic-Con...I was sort of warned, they don't just do a panel for Lost, they put on a full show, and they weren't kidding. It was really heart-warming to see people care so much about the show and are so devoted to it. I'm really glad my whole family was there -- we all went to San Diego together so they got to experience it as well. My kids didn't know what to expect, so they were soaking it all in.

You shot a video for Comic-Con poking fun at the rumor that you use eyeliner. Did that whole thing surprise you when it came out of nowhere, or did you just think, "Hey, it's the HD era?"

That's pretty funny. It's not the first time I had to deal with it -- I actually dealt with it as a kid quite a bit with my mom's friends. I would hear about it quite a bit, to the point where I actually cut my eyelashes off.

What?!

I was five years old, and I tried to cut them off. My mom said, "What are you doing?" It's funny, I've dealt with it my whole life. You know, I live with my eyes, so it's not something I consciously think about it until someone brings it up. I actually read about it online, and the funny thing was the nicknames: Maybelline Man, Guyliner. Names I'd never heard before. The flipside of it is that I do watch the show and you can't argue with the fans -- in many cases, it does look like there's eyeliner there! Sometimes it's the way I'm lit, and the makeup department made a point, so it wouldn't be a distraction, to put a base under my lower eyelashes to diminish the impression that I was wearing eyeliner. [Laughs] It's been a very amusing ride.

Now that you've done The Tick, Lost, and The Dark Knight, you've cultivated a geek army that's touting you for Khan, should they include that villain in the next Star Trek sequel. Have you seen that?

Well, it would be tremendous, it would be amazing. I know that the show has already opened many doors for me, and that's the great thing about this business, that you never know which job you do will help you out with other jobs. This show has given me and my family so much, so if that were to happen, it would be tremendous.

I think the question, Nestor, is whether you have the pecs to play Khan.

[Laughs] Listen, all modesty aside, I'm pretty shredded right now. Richard may not get to flex his muscles, but he's not averse to taking off his shirt. Should it happen, the fans will know.

Wait, spoiler alert! We're getting a shirtless Richard scene soon?

I can neither confirm nor deny. [Laughs]

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