Larisa Oleynik Is Open to a Hawaii Five-0 Romance With McGarrett

Could Larisa Oleynik's recurring guest spot on Hawaii Five-0 mean a new love interest for Alex O'Loughlin's Steve McGarrett?

"Gosh, that's certainly been the question on all of my single friends' minds," Oleynik tells TVGuide.com. The formerSecret World of Alex Mack star begins her multiple-episode run on the CBS drama on Monday playing Jenna Kaye, a CIA agent visiting from Langley, Va. "The thing is when it comes to romance with one of the leads, I kind of hope not. I really like all of their romantic story lines so far. So I don't know if it's in the cards, but listen, I won't complain if it is."

Alex Mack's Larisa Oleynick joins Hawaii Five-0

It's unlikely that a romance for Kaye would happen anytime soon though because of tragedy in her recent past. "She's an analyst and is on leave to hunt down Wo Fat because he was involved with the killing of her fiancé," the actress explains. "So that's her personal vendetta."

She shares this interest with McGarrett because his parents' deaths are also connected to the mysterious Wo Fat (Mark Dacascos). It's lucky that they have a common goal, considering Kaye may need some help navigating the red tape in Hawaii. "We don't actually know what her plan is, but she does kind of think she's on a solo mission until she tries to get files from McGarrett," Oleynik says. "She's amassing all of the information against Wo Fat, trying to find out where he is, what his next move is."

As the head of an elite task force, however, McGarrett isn't about to embrace just anyone who tries to access his intel.

"Kaye starts off a little bit prickly and trying to hold her own against McGarrett, having to walk into his office and kind of act like she owns place," says Oleynik."He calls her bluff and then after some back and forth trying to top each other, they realize that they're on the same page."

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In contrast, Oleynik's real-life introduction to O'Loughlin and the rest of the cast (Scott Caan, Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park) was anything but antagonistic. "I have to say that everyone was so immediately welcoming," she says. "The first day that I was there, they drove me out to set so I could meet Alex and Scott for the first time. We were able to just sit and have a chat. Right off the bat they made me feel immediately comfortable. Then the next day I got to meet Daniel and Grace.

"All of my scenes have been with Alex so far. He's a very easy guy to get along with and super supportive and friendly. I've been kind of looking to him a little bit to see how he feels the scenes are going."

Okeynik will be in at least three episodes this season, and as previously reported, could become a regular for Season 2. For now, she's just focusing on preparing for her return to Hawaii, which means reading scripts and keeping fit by running "The Stairs," a workout area consisting of outdoor staircases in Santa Monica, Calif. So far, she hasn't been asked to show off any action-hero skills, although she once had to hold a gun.

"Not in the episode, but they just wanted to take a picture of me holding a gun to see what it looked like," she says. "Hopefully, I passed that test. It was hard enough for me to learn how to flash my CIA badge without feeling ridiculous, to do it with authority and not crack up at myself."

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She's also staying in shape just in case her character has to wear a bathing suit, as is the case sometimes on shows that shoot in a tropical locale. "I've asked the producers to give me as much notice as possible for that if it's ever going to happen," she says. "Hopefully, they'll just keep Grace in the bikinis."

Hawaii Five-0 airs Mondays at 10/9c on CBS.

Will you check out Oleynik on Hawaii Five-0? Would you like to see her join the cast?