Greg Grunberg's Bad Flying Made “Lost” Possible

As we gather around the water cooler to discuss another final "Lost" episode, let's take a moment to give credit to the man who made this all possible -- Greg Grunberg.

Grunberg tells PopcornBiz he still considers his role as the pilot of the ill-fated plane as "one of the best ones on the show ever." Grunberg was alive briefly as the injured pilot Seth Norris in the premiere episode before he was grabbed from the charred cockpit, chewed by a creature and left in a tree.

"I still have a picture of me with the (stand-in) dummy up in the tree," says Grunberg. "It's just crazy that's the role they gave me and I went out so quickly. But it's cool. People remember it."

"When I get on a plane, no one wants to fly with me," he adds. "But if it wasn't for me the show would have been called 'Hover.' I crashed that thing."

The memorable cameo was the work of his "best friend" and "Lost" creator JJ Abrams.

"At the beginning of the show, JJ basically said, 'you want to be on the show, what do you want to do?' " says Grunberg. "I basically could have weaseled my way in as I have done many times before. But I have my family here, my kids and school (in L.A.). I couldn't move to Hawaii."

Instead Abrams invited Grunberg onto the set and gave him the quickie part for a laugh.

He recalls the scene shot in the Hawaiian jungle: "The whole plane was on a slant. It was all wet and moist. It was at night. There were bugs. It was the worst time, but the greatest time ever."

Grunberg also appeared in a scene which was deleted from the episode, but is available on DVD extras.

"My scene was with Emilie De Ravin at the airport. She's worried she got a bad reading from a tarot card reader and I tell her my mom had the same thing. And then I wave good bye and I say, 'I'll see you on the plane, it's my plane. You have nothing to worry about.' "
 

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