‘Lost’ star Josh Holloway finds his way back to TV with ‘Intelligence’

Fans of the television series "Lost" are licking their lips in anticipation of a new cyber-themed spy thriller called "Intelligence." The show, which premieres on CBS on Tuesday, stars Josh Holloway, who stole hearts and won accolades for his portrayal of the rakish con man James "Sawyer" Ford on "Lost."

"Lost" intrigued viewers with the ominous mysteries of a mythical island for six seasons, and aired its controversial finale in 2010. After that, Holloway strayed from television in favor of film, appearing in "Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol," "Paranoia" and "Battle of the Year." A fourth movie, "Sabotage," with Arnold Schwarzenegger, will be released this spring.

"Intelligence," which was created by Michael Seitzman ("North Country"), represents what fans hope will be Holloway's triumphant return to the small screen.

Video: Winter TV preview 2014

He plays Gabriel Vaughn, an American cyber-crime intelligence operative with a super-computer microchip implanted in his brain. This makes him the first human to be connected to the worldwide information grid. He can hack into any computer system and access almost any type of information to help the U.S. government fight its enemies at home and abroad. It's a scenario that would make the current flap over the U.S. government's penchant for spying on foreign governments look downright quaint by comparison.

And although he isn't physically enhanced, Vaughn can also whoop some serious butt.

"I've been doing martial arts all my life, and I grew up with three brothers and James Bond," Holloway says on a recent sunny afternoon at Disney studios in Burbank, where the show films. "We all wanted to be James Bond and we played spy games our whole lives. So with this it was like, this is fun. It's like Disneyland for dudes!"

Dressed in loose Army-green pants and a soft, cream-colored sweater, Holloway is easygoing with a ready smile and laugh crinkles around his bright blue eyes. His voice is low and steady, and he stretches his vowels with a slight Southern drawl. Although he is 44, his mannerisms are boyish, and he becomes particularly excitable when talking about stunt work.

There's lots of running and fighting and rolling over cars, most of which Holloway does himself. He even broke his hand and kept right on fighting. The hours are insane too sometimes 65 or 70 a week. That's a big difference from "Lost," which had 14 cast members and many rotating story lines.

"I had a lot of time off, and I'm living on an island and fishing and I'm like, 'Oh, this is a great job playing Sawyer,' " the actor says of his "Lost" experience. "But this show is no joke."