Long before Josh Holloway was cast on the megasuccessful ABC series Lost, the 42-year-old actor dreamed of pursuing a much different career.
"I have always had a passion for basketball. I was determined to become an NBA baller," the Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol star tells the December issue of Men's Fitness. "It was at a time when Magic Johnson, Dr. J and Kareem in the '70s shorts were everywhere."
"Coaches were like, 'You can be anything you want,' and I believed them," Holloway explains. "I trained hard and I was good. I could play."
Unfortunately, Holloway never got the opportunity to fulfill his potential.
"I got so abused in high school," he says. "Being on the varsity team but never playing, scrimmaging and getting beat up by all the big players. I was worn out and not having any fun, and my grades suffered because all I did was try to be a baller."
The actor's reason for quitting the sport? "I finally discovered p-ssy," he jokes. Holloway decided to join the soccer team instead, "but I always played basketball because I loved it."
Holloway did, however, manage to make another lifelong dream come true on April 9, 2009: he and wife Yessica Kumala welcomed daughter Java, now 2.
"It's overwhelming right now," Holloway tells Men's Fitness of being a father. "I've never loved anything so much that it hurts."
