Like his Lost character, Hurley, Jorge Garcia, 32, has hit the jackpot – and without the aid of cursed lottery numbers. Not only is the former Borders bookstore clerk (who lost 30 lbs. this summer!) suddenly famous on ABC's Emmy-winning hit, but he also gets to live in Oahu, Hawaii, where the show films, with his sales rep girlfriend, Malia Hanson, their cat Little Ninja and new pup Nunu. PEOPLE.com recently caught up with the island's wisecracker, who clued us in on the new season, his jetsetting ways and – dude – screaming Scandinavian teen fans.
How much are you like Hurley?
A lot. Jorge is all over Hurley. We're both music freaks. When I worked at Borders' music department I amassed a huge collection. Right now I have about 49 days' worth of music in my iTunes.
What can we expect from Hurley in season two?
Well, the hatch is blown up, which he was against because of the numbers (on it), so how soon he's going to come to terms with that I'm not sure. He's going to take a stronger stand for certain things. I think his past is going to be a big deal.
The cast became very tight last year. You and Matthew Fox went to Tokyo for a weekend getaway?
Yeah. He called me up and he said, "Jorge, we get off work at 5 o'clock. Do you want to go to Tokyo with me for the weekend?" I was like, "Dude, there's no way you do that kind of thing." You just don't hop on a plane to Tokyo. You need to compare airfares, book hotels, plan your itinerary on the Internet. That's such a Hollywood thing to do. It took me a second to say yes.
And how was it?
We went to see Green Day perform. Matt knows the guys in the band. It was awesome.
Lost is big now all over the world. What's it like to get recognized?
Man, when I went to London over the summer – it was before the show even started airing there – (there were) screaming Scandinavian teenagers and French tourists. We got recognized all over the place.
Is it at least fun?
The fact that I'm meeting people from other countries? That's awesome. But sometimes it's not so cool, like if you are having an argument with your girlfriend at Disneyland and right then someone comes over and wants to take a picture with you. You're like, uh, sure.
You dropped about 30 lbs. over the summer. How did you do it?
The show has certain physical demands so I wanted to try and keep ahead of it before I have to try and run through the mud for a scene. So I worked out with a personal trainer over the summer and I just started eating better.
That's great.
Yeah. I am feeling a little more settled and grown-up and I want to take better care of myself. Hawaii is a great life. You can swim in the ocean and hike and play in the sun.
Now that you're on a hit show, how do you splurge?
I got a 46-in. LCD TV, and that was probably my biggest single item I purchased. Beyond that, I still buy the same stuff that I bought when I wasn't on the TV show. Instead of spending 10 or 20 bucks, I might throw down $200 on DVDs or books or CDs.
So do you miss having the Borders employee discount?
(Laughs) I don't have the employee discount any more, but I did sign up for the corporate account. The corporate discount is pretty good.