Matthew Fox: 'Lost' end will be 'a relief'

Matthew Fox, speaking in Details magazine's Jan./Feb. issue, says he's ready for "Lost" to come to an end when the series bows out 2010.

"Personally, it’s a relief. . . . I owe this show a great amount, and I think it’s exceptionally good. . . . [but] I am looking forward to the freedom that comes with not working on one project professionally."

Perhaps that explains his crash-and-burn projects "Speed Racer," "Smokin' Aces" and "Vantage Point"? Actually, that's not fair. Fox certainly wasn't at fault in those films, and he was one of the best things about "We Are Marshall." There, that's four film projects during the "Lost" years.

I hope that when Fox does get set loose, he can find a nice romantic lead to exorcise the demons of "Lost," which continually puts Fox's Jack through the emotional ringer. Come to think of it, of 2002's "Haunted," too. Before he got lost, Fox was seeing dead people as the lead in that short-lived series. "Party of Five" was a family drama, true, but a light-hearted role might be nice.

In the meantime, Fox escapes the paradise of Hawaii, where "Lost" is filmed, for Oregon. “My major motivation [for the move to Oregon] is to be closer to family. My brother is there, my mother is there. . . . I really miss that kind of wide-open space.”

Season 5 of "Lost" gets under way Wednesday, Jan. 21, and Fox seems to have some knowledge of the end beyond this season: "This show started with a plane crash on an island in the South Pacific, and it’s going to have a very global and epic ending."

Details is on newstands Jan. 20.