Hawaiian Punch

Meaghan Rath takes Hawaii Five-0 by storm

- Brantley Bardin

I’M SO BRUISED THAT MY body hurts—all for everyone’s entertainment!” laughs Meaghan Rath, aka Hawaii Five-0’s Tani Rey, about the price of brawling with TV baddies. Upon being thanked for this service to the arts, the Montreal-born-and-bred actress laughs again. “Just doing my part!”

And then some. From the moment the 31-year-old became the show’s new female lead in its eighth hit season, Rath has shown her chops in martial arts and guns linging, along with mad chemistry with her co-stars. “Alex [O’Loughlin] and Scott [Caan] were so welcoming that I felt immediately comfortable,” says Rath. “That was key!”

You’re slaying it as new task force member Tani Rey. What do you love about her?

That she’s such a badass—she really wants to destroy people! But she’s also vulnerable and, with her father dead and a twin brother with criminal ties, she feels like she’s completely on her own. There are lots of levels.

How does your real-life badassery compare?