Another Lost star is in unwanted headlines for some off-camera behavior.
Naveen Andrews, who plays Mystery Island's resident Iraqi Republican Guardsman Sayid Jarrah, has admitted that he fathered a child last year while briefly separated from longtime companion, Barbara Hershey.
Andrews' publicist released a statement to E! Friday saying that Andrews, 36, and Hershey, 57, "quietly" split for a period early last year, during which Andrews had a fling with another woman. He recently learned that he is the father of her baby boy.
"Andrews has every intention of assuming appropriate responsibility for the child and proceeding with all integrity in this matter," the statement says.
The actor and Hershey have since reconciled and "remain committed to their relationship," per the statement. Indeed, the two were cozy on the red carpet at the Emmy Awards last September, where he was up for Best Supporting Actor in a TV Drama and Lost wound up winning Best TV Drama.
There was no immediate word on the identity of the other woman, but the National Enquirer reported back in August that Andrews had impregnated a student actress named Elena Eustache. The child was said to be due around November and Eustache is quoted saying she would get a DNA test to prove Andrews was the father.
Andrews and Hershey, who shared a movie credit with 1999's Drowning on Dry Land, have been sharing living quarters for seven years. The London-born actor, who has a young son from a previous relationship, has been effusive in interviews about his relationship with Hershey, saying she helped him kick a nasty booze and heroin habit.
A Hollywood veteran, Hershey won an Emmy and Golden Globe for the 1990 TV movie A Killing in a Small Town. She was nominated for an Oscar for 1996's The Portrait of a Lady. Her extensive filmography also includes Lantana, Beaches, The Last Temptation of Christ, Hannah and Her Sisters and Hoosiers. Her most recent credit was the 2004 Stephen King-based fright flick, Riding the Bullet.
Before finding fame on Lost, Andrews was best known for his role in The English Patient. Aside from his Lost duties, he also has two other projects in the can for release this year: ABC's new version of The Ten Commandments and a British film called Provoked.
Meanwhile, Andrews is up for a Golden Globe later this month for his Lost work. And this week, he was nominated, along with his fellow Oceanic Flight 815 crash survivors, for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Ensemble in a Drama Series.
He also becomes the latest Lostie embroiled in scandal. Michelle Rodriguez, who plays the hot-headed ex-cop Ana-Lucia on the ABC drama, and Cynthia Watros, who plays the psychologist Libby, are both facing DUI charges in Hawaii.
After more than a month of reruns--and assorted cast transgressions--Lost finally returns with a new episode next Wednesday.