Alexander Koch Sends the JJ Spotlight Series 'Under the Dome'

Alexander Koch looks hot in a henley as he sits for this exclusive new pic from the latest edition of the Just Jared Spotlight Series.

The 26-year-old actor stars in the hit CBS series Under the Dome, which is just about to wrap up its exciting second season.

The season two finale of Under the Dome airs this Monday (September 22) at 10/9c on CBS – be sure to check it out and catch up on the entire show if you’ve never seen it – it’s a smash!

In our interview, we chatted with Alexander about working on Under the Dome and attending 2014 Comic-Con, getting into acting when he was growing up, and his passion for music.

Click inside for our complete exclusive interview with Alexander Koch…

Alexander Koch Interview – JustJared.com Exclusive

Just Jared: You just wrapped season two of Under the Dome, what was the end like?

Alexander Koch: Yeah. At the end, we had such a hectic year. So much was going on, and we’re shooting multiple episodes at once. And we’re trying to finish out the season with stuff that we missed, and stuff that we had to make up for. It was hectic but it was fun, especially because it’s the last time some of us will be altogether in a group, ’cause some people are leaving and going on to other things. It’s a good experience and I felt like this year was a lot more fun than last year.

JJ: What’s your favorite prop from set?

AK: I liked the butterfly knife for a while, ’cause I had a butterfly knife, and I had to learn how to use it. There wasn’t a prop, but there was this very funny thing that we had to visualize… I don’t know how much I can reveal… I can’t talk about it right now, dang it!!! That’s the whole thing, I can’t talk about it ’cause you’ll have to watch the end of the season first. But yeah.

JJ: Is it an object you have to visualize or do you have to play with it? What do you have to do?

AK: There’s one thing at the end that was just a really interesting contraption involving Grace [Victoria Cox], who plays Melanie, that I thought was really cool. It kind of felt like an old, kind of like a Houdini magic show or something like that. It was just, interesting. I can’t say anymore than that.

JJ: You all went to Comic-Con together? Was that your first time?

AK: Yeah, yeah, it was my first Comic-Con, it was a lot of fun. It was crazy. I didn’t get to go toward the floor or anything but I got to meet a bunch of the fans. And just sitting and looking out at all the fans that came to our panel, it was just so, so much fun. It was great because Rachelle [Lefevre] dressed up as Starbuck from Battlestar Galactica. That’s too dorky for me. But I dressed up as Daryl Dixon from The Walking Dead. And it was just really cool, and I definitely want to go back next year and hopefully have more time to explore. It was a cool, crazy experience. And people had great questions this year. Mike [Vogel], Rachelle, and Dean went last year, and they kept talking about how, you know, it was just the show, just starting out. And now people have seen the first season and now they’re intrigued by the second season. They had really fun questions and it’s great to see people dressed up. There was one guy dressed up as Hunter S Thompson, who asked a question. It was a good thing.

JJ: Did you have any crazy fan encounters there? Or what’s the craziest one you’ve had so far?

AK: I get such a mixed reaction. I’ve had people come up to me and be like, “I f-cking hate you! You’re such an a–hole.” And other people, like this mom and son came up to me after a screening of a movie I saw, and they were like, “We love your character. We get him, and understand and sympathize with him.” But I don’t know. A weird one kind of happened on the plane where someone was trying to take a picture. It was just the plane to Wilmington. I don’t think a plane to anywhere else, anyone would really care. But it was like, a lot of the Wilmington locals know us, they know who we are, and this woman, I saw her talking with the people next to her. And they were like [whispers], “I think it’s him.” Then I’m reading a book and subtly tried to take her phone and take a picture of me reading my book. And I really wanted to write down on a piece of paper and hold up a sign that said “I see you” or something. After, they asked me, and I was like “yeah!” You could’ve just asked to take a picture with me, I wouldn’t have cared.

JJ: At Comic-Con they had pedicabs that had domes on them, did you see them?

AK: Yeah, we drove around in them. They had us do an interview in them. But they were boiling hot. They were just basically a big magnifying glass above us. And we’re doing this interview and sweat is just forming down our heads and it was just, it was fun.

JJ: Is there anything that you can tease about the finale?

AK: The finale? It’s going to be a great set up, and a good cliff hanger for season three… If we get one. Hopefully, yes. If we’re renewed it’s going to be a good set up. And it’s very, it’s very… crazy. I’ve said before that this year is very, it just has a lot of the iconic images and things that are from a lot of the folklore of Stephen King. And there’s kind of a good Shining moment, at the end, between Big Jim and Junior, which is fun.

JJ: Is there anything with your character towards the finale that is interesting?

AK: I loved it this year! This year Junior had a lot of bad things happening to him, and it’s great to play, it’s really depressing. Like losing Britt [Robertson] on the show is heartbreaking. She’s so sweet and she’s my favorite person. But then you get a new person to come in, like Grace. Grace is so sweet. And all the new cast members, we have so much fun and great experiences with all of them. I got to work with all of them on the show. Sherry [Stringfield] and I have this really great scene together at the end, and it was so heartbreaking. But she is so sweet and she is so lively and funny. It was such a great scene. And there was our last scene of this season with each other, and we both kind of looked at each other at the end and we were kind of like, “Yeah, that’s kind of…” It’s just one of those days where you’re like, “I feel like we did really great work.” We both looked at each other and were like, “We both were on the same page in that scene.” It was a good feeling.

JJ: How did you get into acting?

AK: I wasn’t, great, at anything… I don’t know, I got so discourage by acting when I was a lot younger because I was, I don’t know. I was never the lead in a play or a musical, so…

JJ: Like in elementary, high school?

AK: Probably junior high. But I loved it and I thought it was a lot of fun. I saw a lot of people who were better than me, and I was just like, well, it’s a lot of fun to do but it’s probably after high school I’m going to quit. I don’t know, every time I did quit, I felt like there’s a piece of me missing, and I wanted to keep doing it. I’m really glad I stuck it out and kept trying, because I mean, there are so many people in the world that are going to be like, “You’re not good enough. You’re just not it.” I’m kind of a person that likes to say “F-ck you” to that a little bit, and work harder and stick it out. If you keep working at something long enough, you eventually start creating your own opportunities. If you try and hold onto a good work ethic, I think, then it’s tough not to do well. And especially in this business. It is a lot of luck, but it’s also a lot of hard work to improve your chances.

JJ: You’re really into music. In an ideal world, how would you want to infuse music into your acting career?

AK: Yeah, oh god. I’ve kind of been toying with the idea of shooting a Rock documentary. I think that would be really fun. I just thought Mistaken For Strangers, which was the The National documentary, and I thought that was really interesting. I don’t know. I think musicians are such interesting characters, they’re interesting people. I, at some point in my life, would love to do a musical biopic or something. We’ll see how that pans out, but there’s so many artists I respect so much that I would… I just think it’s such an interesting lifestyle, and it’s difficult. I think it’s more difficult than an actor’s. I know a lot of musicians, and I’m friends with a lot of musicians, and it’s interesting. Seeing their journey, and seeing what they’re experiencing. We’re all kind of living here in LA, we all go through ups and downs, and it’s just, it’s a very fun, but nerve-wracking lifestyle. As acting is.

JJ: Can you sing or play any instruments yourself?

AK: Yeah, I play a little guitar, and I sing. But it’s such a thing like, I don’t know if I could do that. Just because, especially with actors, it’s never, oh it’s just about the music. It’s always, this is Ryan Gosling‘s band, and that’s why people are attracted to it. Even though Dead Man’s Bones is amazing! It always has that stigma of, oh they’re an actor, now they’re doing music, and if I were ever to do something, I wouldn’t tell anyone. I would just try and release it on Spotify or whatever. I don’t know even know what’s around now, for getting music out there. But I would do something in secret, and see how the audience, how the people would respond to it. And then if it went further, I would go with it, or try it.

JJ: Do you think The Koch Band has a nice ring to it?

AK: Oh I would never be called The Koch Band! But maybe something. I love music, and I have a good friend in New York, and he’s a really, really great musician. I would love to record something with him. We’ll see.

JJ: What music have you been obsessing over lately?

AK: Shakey Graves, he’s this really great singer/songwriter. And who else, who else? The new Spoon album just came out, and I am so obsessed with it. I saw them at Lollapoolaza and they were so, so good. And they’re just a band that really has stuck it out and have been so consistent on putting out good music and not falling backwards and going through that sophomore slump of a bad record. All their albums, you can listen to them start to finish.

JJ: Who was your first celebrity crush?

AK: Probably Wynona Ryder, ’cause I saw Beetlejuice and I thought she was really cute. And then, who’s the other girl? Robin Tunney, from The Craft. I remember, my sister watched The Craft and I was like, “Oh, who is that? She’s so pretty.” So those were my two childhood crushes.

JJ: These seem like almost the same type, like the same category, the type of film. Like edgy, dark…

AK: Are they? Oh yeah. I loved Halloween when I was a kid, so it’s like I would be simultaneously afraid to watch Horror films, but I would be so intrigued by them. So I would go for usually the dark-haired, kind of dark and stormy female leads, I guess.

JJ: Do you have any fun summer plans coming up?

AK: I think my friends and I, and this is just an idea. We’re toying with the idea of hiking through Mount Whitney, which could be really dangerous, and could lead to bad things. But yeah, I think we’re going to start training for that and start hiking places with backpacks and go on the journey. Wherever that’s going.

PHOTO SHOOT CREDITS (PICTURES BELOW) �”�”

Photos 1 & 6: Diesel jacket, Jacob Davis shirt, PRPS jeans, and John Varvatos shoes

Photo 2: Vintage shirts, PRPS jeans, and his own hat

Photo 3: John Varvatos shirt and PRPS jeans

Photo 4: Vintage shirt with Diesel jeans

Photo 5: G star shirt

Producer/Interview: Jared Eng (@JaredEng)
Photographer: Justin Campbell (@JustinCampPhoto)
Grooming: Marissa Machado (@MNMachado)
Stylist: Monty Jackson (@MrMontyJackson)