Three years ago today, Lost fans were bawling, applauding, throwing things at their televisions, and mentally penning angry letters to J.J. Abrams for the series finale of one of America’s favorite television shows. Even now, fans have received few answers surrounding the divisive finale of Lost, but there’s no disputing the admiration and fervor that fans had for their favorite characters. Three years later, where have the actors playing Jack, Kate, Sawyer, and the rest of the Oceanic 815 survivors ended up?
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Character: Richard Alpert
Then: A man who can’t age (and who always looks like he’s donning a healthy layer of eyeliner), Richard Alpert is an adviser to Charles Widmore and Ben Linus (as well as many other leaders of the Others). Alpert was gifted eternal youth from Jacob, the island’s mysterious deity. (And no, he never wore eyeliner or mascara on the show—producers actually had to use concealer on his lashes to downplay his naturally dark eyes).
Now: A series regular on A&E’s Psycho prequel Bates Motel, Carbonell plays the sheriff of a small, coastal town in Oregon, often bumping heads with the show’s protagonist, Norma Bates (Vera Farmiga). Since his three-year stint on Lost, the actor has also appeared in television shows Psych, Ringer, and Wilfred, as well as reprising his role as Gotham’s mayor in 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises.
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Character: Kate Austen
Then: After killing her father (then thought to be her stepfather), Kate Austen is being hauled by a federal marshal from Australia (where she was on the run) back to America, on fateful Oceanic Flight 815. On the island, Kate engages in relationships with both Jack and Sawyer, causing tension between the two opposite, hot-headed male leads.
Now: Post-Lost, Evangeline Lilly has stayed out of the limelight until recently. And although she dated her Lost co-star Dominic Monaghan for five years, Lilly is now single and will be (ironically) featured in The Hobbit, the prequel to Lord of the Rings, in which Monaghan starred. The actress will play an elf in the second and third Hobbit films, The Desolation of Smaug and There and Back Again, respectively.
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Character: Juliet Burke
Then: Though initially branded as one of the Others, Juliet is recruited to the island as a fertility doctor who eventually switches her alliance to align with the Oceanic survivors. Although she initially has a romantic interest in Jack, she eventually forms a relationship with Sawyer when the two, along with several others, travel back in time to the 1970s Dharma Initiative.
Now: After her four years on the island, Mitchell pursued work in other television shows, none as with the same success as Lost. In 2009 and 2010, she starred in V, a show about alien invasion (based on the cult classic sci-fi series), and in 2011 she appeared on Law & Order (her second appearance, following her first in 2003). This year, Mitchell appeared in the Lifetime television movie Prosecuting Casey Anthony, an adaptation of the real-life trial. She also stars in Revolution, a J.J. Abrams post-apocalyptic science-fiction series that began in September 2012.
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Character: Boone Carlyle
Then: Boone Carlyle was famous for being the first major character to be killed off the series in Season 1. Boone was in love with his stepsister Shannon, and spends much of his time on the island in the forest with Locke, hunting for food for the group. It is with Locke that he encounters a crashed plane hanging in the branches of a tree. He climbs the tree and attempts to call for help using the plane’s radio transmitter, but is killed when the plane falls and crushes him.
Now: Perhaps one of the only Lost stars to be bigger now than they were then, Ian Somerhalder stars in the CW’s supernatural series, The Vampire Diaries, where he plays one of two vampire brothers who are in love with the same woman (another series where his character deals with incestuous undertones). To the dismay of fans, Somerhalder recently broke up with his long-time girlfriend and Vampire Diaries co-star Nina Dobrev. He is rumored to be up for consideration to play S&M enthusiast Christian Grey in the big-screen adaptation of Fifty Shades of Grey.
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Character: Ana Lucia Cortez
Then: Tough-as-nails Ana Lucia doesn’t trust anyone, and is overly protective in her role as the de facto leader of the group of survivors from the tail end of Oceanic 815. A former LAPD police officer, Ana Lucia was fired after seeking vengeance on the man who shot her (killing her unborn child) before boarding Oceanic Flight 815. She uses her strength and sex appeal to gain what she wants (remember that tussle with Sawyer in the field?), and will do anything to look after those she cares about.
Now: After she was killed off Lost, Michelle Rodriguez didn’t so much as exhale before jumping back on set. Reprising her badass-chick typecast, Rodriquez starred in action flicks Machete, Battle Los Angeles, and Resident Evil: Retribution. She even lent her voice to violent videogame Call of Duty: Black Ops II. On Memorial Day, you can catch Rodriquez in her usual fare: hot, sweaty, and gun-toting in Fast and Furious 6 alongside Vin Diesel, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, and Paul Walker.
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Character: Michael Dawson
Then: Perrineau played distant, confused father to Walt, a son he hadn’t seen since infancy. When Walt’s mother died, Michael was forced to take custody of his son, but Oceanic Flight 815 crashed while they were on their way back to the U.S. from the funeral. Michael and Walt’s relationship on the island is strained, but when the Others abduct Walt, Michael strikes a deal in exchanging several other Oceanic survivors to ensure his son’s safety and get home. Off the island, Michael is unable to die, attempting to commit suicide several times with unsuccessful results. Yet back on the island, he eventually sacrifices his life to save the other survivors.
Now: Harold Perrineau is still a busy actor, taking roles in CSI: NY, the short-lived television series Blade, Georgia, Sons of Anarchy, Wedding Band, and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. He had a small role in last year’s Academy Award nominated Zero Dark Thirty, and is set to appear in five films and one television series (The Family Guide) in 2013–14.
Frederic J. Brown
Character: Mr. Eko
Then: In a rags to (spiritual) riches story, Mr. Eko was a former Nigerian druglord turned priest who crashes on the island with the tail section of the Oceanic 815 survivors. After killing two people on the island, he takes an oath of silence which he doesn’t break for 40 days. He forms a bond with Charlie, and the two attempt to build a church on the island. Mr. Eko is eventually killed by the island’s elusive smoke monster.
Now: The English actor (who began his career as a model in Milan) has appeared in several television series since his stint on Lost—Monk, Strike Back and Hunted are all on his résumé, as is a role in 2009’s blockbuster G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra. This year, Akinnuoye-Agbaje will appear in the Thor: The Dark World, a sequel to Marvel’s Thor.
Dan Steinberg/AP
Character: James “Sawyer” Ford
Then: Orphaned as a young boy because of a conman named Sawyer, James Ford adopts the name of the man who ruined his childhood, Sawyer, for himself and begins to con hundreds of people in the spirit of his new name. On the island, Sawyer is initially disliked for the cruel nicknames he gives many of the castaways (mainly Hurley, whom he dubs, “Jabba,” “Pillsbury,” “Deep Dish,” and “Jumbotron,” among many others).
Now: In 2011, Lost’s former bad boy had a cameo in the latest installment of Tom Cruise’s Mission: Impossible franchise, Mission: Impossible: Ghost Protocol. He has three films that are set to be released this year, Paranoia, Battle of the Year, and Ten, and is the lead in an upcoming CBS action drama Intelligence, where he will play a former Navy SEAL and intelligence officer who can see the entire electromagnetic spectrum thanks to a computer chip in his brain.
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Character: Desmond Hume
Then: A fan favorite, Henry Ian Cusick played Desmond Hume, a former monk and member of the Royal Scots Regiment, eternally looking for his lost love, Penelope Widmore. When he is shipwrecked on the island, Desmond is recruited to push a mysterious button every 108 minutes in an underground bunker, a task he takes on dutifully, except for one missed occurrence—the day Oceanic Flight 815 crashes on the island. Eventually reunited with the love of his life, Penny, the two marry and have a baby boy named Charlie, after the show’s character who died trying to help the couple.
Now: After Lost, Cusick continued on the television circuit, appearing in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, popular ABC drama Scandal, Fringe, and The Mentalist, to name a few. This year, he will appear in the CW show, The 100, set on post-apocalytpic Earth.
Matt Sayles/AP
Character: Sayid Jarrah
Then: A former torturer for the Iraqi Republican Guard, Sayid’s gruesome past haunts his stay on the island. While he has a fling with Shannon, Boone’s stepsister, he eventually escapes from the island and marries his former girlfriend, Nadia. When Nadia is murdered, Ben Linus recruits Sayid as his personal assassin.
Now: After wrapping his final season, Andrews’ acting career didn’t skyrocket like many other Lost actors. He appeared in several episodes of the television miniseries Sinbad, but has since stayed under the radar. This year, Andrews has two films set to be released: Diana and Reckless (a made-for-TV flick).
Ric Francis/AP
Character: Jin-Soo Kwon
Then: Jin is the only castaway who cannot speak English. Before he landed on the island, Jin was the son of a poor fisherman, who was allowed to marry Sun only after promising to work for her father in the mob. On the island, the two struggle in their relationship, but eventually become one of the most loving couples. In a tragic and tear-wrenching demise, Sun is trapped underwater and when it is clear no one can save her, Jin opts to drown beside his wife.
Now: Kim stars in CBS’s revival of Hawaii Five-0, and cameoed on NCIS: Los Angeles. He has also lent his voice to animated series The Legend of Korra and G.I. Joe: Renegades.
Dan Steinberg/AP
Character: Sun Hwa-Kwon
Then: Although she originally auditioned for the role of Kate, producers liked her so much they created the role of Sun just for Kim (also creating Jin’s character to complement her). Before crashing on the island, Sun tries to leave her husband Jin after having an affair and secretly learns to speak English, but on the island, the pair reconcile and she becomes pregnant with his child.
Now: After her successful career on the hit series, Kim struggled to find something with the same momentum as Lost. She appeared in two films, 2010’s Heartbeat and 2012’s The Neighbors, but returned to television this year in ABC’s Mistresses, based on a UK series which follows the lives of four friends, “each on their own path to self discovery.”
Marco Garcia/AP
Character: Benjamin Linus
Then: One of the most enigmatic and morally ambiguous characters on Lost, Ben—the leader of the Others—emerged as the villain in the second season, manipulating everyone on the island, and stayed on the show to the very last episode.
Now: Emerson reconnected with Lost’s co-creator J.J. Abrams for CBS’s Person of Interest, where he plays a billionaire computer whiz working with an ex-CIA agent to prevent crimes before they happen. The show was recently renewed for a third season.
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Character: Claire Littleton
Then: Claire, the pregnant Aussie beauty, was an original passenger of Oceanic 815 and romantically linked with one-time rocker Charlie Pace (Dominic Monaghan). She later discovered she shared some familial relations with Dr. Jack Shepherd (Matthew Fox).
Now: De Ravin rejoined forces with Lost writers Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz on ABC’s fairy tale series Once Upon a Time, portraying the recurring role of Belle of the Beauty and the Beast narrative.
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Character: Walter "Walt" Lloyd
Then: Walt arrived on the Island as the sole child survivor of the Oceanic 815. Fans longed to get more glimpses of him after he was kidnapped by the Others, but his return was short-lived, and some major growth spurts ensued.
Now: Kelley, now 21, is rapping in Misfit Kids and Total Outcasts (MKTO), and released a video earlier this year for their track “Thank You,” garnering over 3.5 million views on YouTube. Shortly after Lost’s final days, he played a supporting role in TeenNick’s Gigantic, a dramedy that lasted for one season about Hollywood “It” kids.
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Character: John Locke
Then: “Don’t tell me what I can’t do” are the famous words uttered by the stubborn and stoic John Locke. The once-paraplegic character regained the use of his legs after crashing on the mystical island, and became one of the most tortured characters in the show during the course of discovering his destiny. He also loved the Island way more than the other Oceanic 815 passengers.
Now: Since the show’s ending, O’Quinn teamed up with Lost alum Daniel Dae-Kim (Jin-Soo Kwon), returning to the same tropical shooting locale for CBS’s Hawaii Five-0, where he played Joe White. He also portrayed the devilish Gavin Doran on ABC’s short-lived 666 Park Avenue. He will be co-starring as a tough police chief in Fox’s upcoming drama Gang Related.
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Character: The Man in Black
Then: A much-anticipated reveal, Welliver’s ominous character, The Man in Black, first appeared in Lost’s fifth season as the arch nemesis of Jacob. (He’s also the mysterious smoke monster that terrorized the survivors.)
Now: Welliver has been keeping a busy schedule with serious roles in his TV stints as IRA kingpin Jimmy O’Phelan in FX’s Sons of Anarchy and prosecutor Glenn Childs in CBS drama The Good Wife. His recent film repertoire includes Argo, and upcoming films Red 2 and The Promised Land.
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Character: Charlie Pace
Then: Charlie was the rocker with a tormented past, whose strife with his brother recalled real-life brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher of ‘90s band Oasis. He yearned for Claire Littleton’s (Emilie de Ravin) love, and performed a selfless act (“Not Penny’s Boat”) before his last scene in Season 3.
Now: An outdoorsman and lover of nature, Monaghan aligned his interests in BBC America’s Wild Things With Dominic Monaghan, which premiered in January. As the show’s host, he takes viewers on a journey to the corners of the earth, educating folks on the scariest animals. His last major film role was alas not in the Hobbit, but as Bolt in 2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
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Character: Hugo "Hurley" Reyes
Then: Everyone’s favorite lottery winner, Hurley, was a character cursed by his monetary winnings, and also provided much of the comedic relief on Lost.
Now: Aside from making cameos on CBS’s How I Met Your Mother, Showtime’s Californication, and guest starring as Anton the Giant in ABC’s Once Upon a Time, Garcia linked back up with Lost’s co-creator J.J. Abrams in the short-lived Alcatraz on Fox. The 2012 mystery drama—which revolved around time travel at the infamous prison—lasted for a season, and Garcia played one of the leads, Dr. Diego Soto.
Marco Garcia/AP
Character: Shannon Rutherford
Then: Poor little rich girl Shannon was a character fans couldn’t stand. She manipulated stepbrother Boone Carlyle (Ian Somerhalder), and later formed a romantic relationship with Sayid Jarrah (Naveen Andrews), before she was killed off.
Now: Despite Grace’s character getting the axe on Lost, she has made some serious headway in her roles, including a pivotal female role of Faith—a muse and groupie to rock stars—in the sixth season of Showtime comedy Californication. She’s also had recurring roles in the Twilight and Taken franchises.
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Character: Jack Shepherd
Then: Jack is synonymous with Lost. In the opening sequence of the first episode, we saw the spinal surgeon put his medical skills to the test saving passengers of Oceanic 815 and eventually landing the Lord of the Flies-esque conch-holder role. His relationship with Kate Austen (Evangeline Lilly) was complicated to say the least, and he had to make some hard decisions throughout the series to the very end, when he died on the island as the others escaped to freedom.
Now: It ain’t easy being Fox. He was slapped with a D.U.I. in 2012 and was also accused of punching a female bus driver in her womanly bits in 2011. She later dropped the lawsuit she filed against Fox and received no settlement, as reported by Daily Mail. Fox muscled up and shed almost 40 pounds for the role of serial killer Picasso in Alex Cross, reported Men’s Fitness. Hopefully, Fox’s career will make a comeback and we’ll be seeing more of this star as he’s slated to appear in upcoming post-zombie apocalypse flick alongside of Brad Pitt in World War Z.
Jae C. Hong/AP
Character: Miles Straume
Then: Fans didn’t get to meet Miles until the fourth season of Lost. He was captured by John Locke (Terry O’Quinn) off of the Kahana freighter, and was sent by the diabolical and wealthy Charles Widmore (Alan Dale) to capture Ben Linus (Michael Emerson). He flung a good deal of wry and sarcastic comments throughout the rest of the series and revealed his ability to communicate with the dead.
Now: Leung reunited with Michael Emerson (Ben Linus) as a recurring character on CBS’s Person of Interest, and has hopped along other networks like NBC and ABC in such short-lived drama as Deception and Zero Hour.
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Character: Ilana Verdansky
Then: Ilana showed up in the final seasons of Lost posing as a bounty hunter to bring an unwilling Sayid back to the Island.
Now: The British actress has taken on another badass role, playing Roya Hammad, a journalist and confidante of Abu Nazir, who was introduced in Season 2 of popular Showtime drama Homeland.
Gus Ruelas/AP
Character: Charles Widmore
Then: Money can’t buy love, nor can it buy Charles Widmore a ticket back to the Island. Banished by Ben Linus (Michael Emerson), Charles made it his lifelong quest to find it again, and went to great lengths to achieve his lofty goals—including some seriously villainous moves. He also played a major role in keeping his estranged daughter, Penny (Sonya Walger), away from her lover, Desmond Hume (Henry Ian Cusick), in the earlier seasons, but helps Desmond connect with her in the end.
Now: A familiar face on TV, Dale has since had longstanding roles as a king, a senator, and homeland security director in a number of shows including CBS’s N.C.I.S., Once Upon a Time on ABC, and AMC series The Killing.
Matt Sayles/AP
Character: Jacob
Then: Jacob was a name that originally brought fear to the dwellers of the Island since the beginning of the show. A mysterious and ageless character that didn’t appear until the fifth season, he was the protector of the Island and used his supernatural powers to keep it safe.
Now: Pellegrino has a knack for portraying the dark and bizarre. Since Lost, he’s held recurring roles as Lucifer in CW’s Supernatural and a vampire in Being Human, a Syfy drama based on the U.K. supernatural series.
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