‘People name their children after us!’ Lost’s Penny and Desmond on becoming one of TV’s most romantic couples | Television

Lost is one of the best romantic dramas on television. Forget the smoke monsters, time travel and that ugly ending – this was a show fueled by swoony stories. Sun and Jin; Rose and Bernard; Sawyer/Jack/Kate/Juliet; Charlie and Claire; Sayid and Nadia (no Shannon). Love is what made many people on the island to survive, or to surrender.

But it was Penny and Desmond’s relationship that defined the series.

Penelope Widmore (Sonya Walger), the daughter of a billionaire, meets Desmond Hume (Henry Ian Cusick), a simple Scotsman, when she goes to get wine from a monastery, where Des has just left being a monk. It was love at first sight and they took off together over beer. But the relationship ended because of Penny’s (and evil) father, Des’ need to prove himself in the sailing competition and his arrival on the freaky island. Like the character of the Odyssey that named her, Penny spent a lot of time waiting and wondering. However, as he warned: “With enough money and determination, you can find anyone.” And he did. In fact, without Penny, the survivors of Oceanic flight 815 may not have made it home.

Yes, it was not easy. There was a breakup, the tragic death of Charlie and the sad story The Constant – which is highly thought of. the best episode of tv ever – how, eight years later, Penny keeps her promise to answer Des’ phone at Christmas. As Penny said: “What you really need to survive is someone who loves you.”

How did Walger and Cusick create such a love story over the years? On the day I explained this to them, it had been 21 years since the pilot of Lost. “It’s the day the plane went down…and I’m flying to LA in two hours!” says Cusick at his home in Hawaii, the filming location of Lost, where he moved his family 20 years ago. “Are you really?” Walger of Santa Monica, California. “There will be news,” he laughs.

The friends exchange quick biographies: Cusick portrays a western vampire; Walger is walking normally after losing his family to Los Angeles fire. So, it’s time to talk about being Penny and Desmond…

Do you remember the first time you met?

HC: The writers had an idea for something, but they didn’t know what. When I shot a picture (of Penny and Des, who Des lives with on the island), another actor played it – and he was a regular extra. Then we did it again with Sonya.

SW: Let’s be clear: there was no time to read chemistry. There was no time for anything. I mean, they write these scripts and shoot them 15 minutes later. People were being dropped off and picked up by plane that evening.

HC: It was night time! (Their first show together is a night in the stadium.)

SW: I was there by myself, jumping up and down around the playground and feeling like I wasn’t around – I didn’t know anyone. I was still thinking: I have to meet someone I don’t know. We immediately realized that Ian is half Scottish and half Peruvian and I am half English and half Argentinian. And this is strange but close. It was something very dear, very rare.

HC: I have a great memory of meeting Sonya and thinking: oh, the right actress. But then they just pop out and pop out all the time.

SW: I would have stayed a few months. Funnily enough, Ian was my regular. I didn’t know anyone else in the show and I didn’t get entry notes. So we would sit down and be like: “Okay, what happened?”

What do Penny and Des love about each other?

SW: When you have a domineering father like Charles Widmore (Alan Dale), Desmond’s quiet, calm devotion is the opposite.

HC: Love was true and pure – and it was good love. But it was more: How will they get back together?

What are your favorite romantic moments?

HC: In event and the letter (from Penny, who Desmond meets for the first time on the island), I wasn’t a regular person at the time and I think that helped. There was another scene, when they were shouting: “What a pity! I was trying to show them my whole palette. Then Terry Quinn (who played Locke) said to me: “That was your test.”

The strange thing about The Constant is that we weren’t even together. I ended up doing it with an assistant director by my side. When Sonya came, she did and I was on the sofa at the back. Back then, making a phone call – without much discussion – was one of those things that did a little bit of magic. What was the most difficult was when we had to meet (in the fourth season, when Penny finds Des) and I was thinking: how can we overcome it?

Is there anything you wish Penny and Des had done differently?

SW: The greedy player in me would say that I would have liked to have done more with us.

HC: Me too! I think there was a lot of life in us.

SW: The twist, for the plot – where was the twist?

HC: Now I was going to push it. You, me and Charlie on the boat.

SW: I say that out of luck. The reason that gives this family its place in the heart of the world is that it was not crowded. You only have a few parts left to play. You’re not tired of us, that’s for sure.

HC: It left people wanting more.

SW: We did very well and left them at a high price.

When did you realize that this was a love story for years?

SW: In a show that had so many contradictions and loose ends and tears in the continuity that made you think, here was one very old trope to hold on to.

HC: It was a simple story of two people who could not be together – because of his father, or time, or many things in their way – who wanted to be together.

SW: I felt very honored when I received the call asking me to fly at the end – if nothing else, it was an acknowledgment from those who made our little two important. But it’s just the way things have been over the years, appearing on “multiple all-time greats” lists and things. It never ceases to amaze and delight me that we did a job that has endured like this. It’s amazing.

HC: I always thought we had a good story. But we didn’t know what legacy it would have. It’s been 20 years and there’s been some great TV since then – and we’re still talking about this relationship.

What do you like in real life?

SW: Romance is a wonderful word in your 50s! I am a volunteer. I know what commitment is – to my family, to my husband, to the life we ​​have. And it’s something I feel at that moment even without them. I felt so committed to the life I had built for myself in LA, that I wasn’t ready to give it up by moving to Hawaii. (Walger was in the running to play main character Kate Austen, but dropped out.)

HC: I think the older I get the more I love and soften. I am very concerned about the past, like thinking about my children as babies.

SW: I push back and say that he has always had that.

HC: Really? I never thought of myself that way. I am a “strong” person!

SW: No they are not! He is a man of deep feelings.

How have fans reacted to Penny and Des?

SW: A full leg tattoo of our faces! I find “Not a penny boat” very encouraging at airports. It is like a lover’s secret way of saying: “I see you, but I will respect you.” I mean it when I say that I am truly humbled to have done anything that leaves such a mark.

HC: People have named their children after us – it’s amazing.

SW: Yes! 100% I had Pennies.

What was your relationship like on camera?

SW: It just felt easier and simpler from day one. It was great to see Ian. I think he was grateful to have someone from the mainland who was also from England; there were some notable ones.

HC: When I arrived (on the Lost set), the cast was very mixed. I worked differently, which I enjoyed, actually. Even the days I worked with all the players, I didn’t enjoy it, because there are many and you have to wait your turn. I used to work with two or three people – I loved it. It was easy with Sonya and it’s always good when we meet.

SW: Years later, I came to Hawaii with my family and we met Ian. Over the years, we went to church where we unloaded wine boxes and took pictures there. We connect.

HC: We also made a short film.

SW: That’s right – I had just given birth, I think.

HC: No, she was eight months pregnant!

SW: Yes! Ian, if you have a day off and are in LA and want some tea, why don’t you come and see me?

HC: Yes! I will try.

Have you saved anything that reminds you of Penny and Des?

SW: I lost everything in the house. I don’t even have pictures of my children. It’s so amazing and makes me so eager for what I got back.

HC: I had a blue shirt – I stole it and they asked for it back. They were very sweet. I still sold it (for charity). I have seen many paintings of their pictures and I am asked to sign them.

SW: My first book came out in February this year, three weeks after the fire. I had to go to a book festival the other day and people gave me lost pictures to sign, and I was like: dude, just buy the book!

What can Penny and Des teach us about love?

SW: Keep the faith.

HC: “Keep the faith” is a big one – I’ll go with that too.