Summary
Part of what madeLostan enduring popular cultural phenomenon was its talented cast of actors, many of whom went on to appear in a variety of other television series and films. As an ensemble series that aired for six seasons,Lostprovided nearly every prominent character with multiple episodes that explored their lives before and afterOceanic Flight 815crashed on the island. This narrative framing gave the actors numerous opportunities to explore their characters in-depth as the story delved into their troubled pasts and how their lives on the island had changed them for better and for worse.
While most of the cast members appeared in other projects before and after the series' debut, 20 years later, many of them are still most widely recognized for theirmemorableLostcharacters. Jack Shephard, Kate Austen, John Locke, and Ben Linus are among the iconic characters who these actors will be forever connected with, even as they progressed to other roles where they delivered equally impressive performances. Regardless of their career trajectories afterLost, the ABC series served as a pivotal starting point or turning point as these actors expanded their craft and forever changed television.
What Happened To Walt In Lost
Walt stopped being a main character after Lost season 1, but that wasn’t the end of his journey, as his importance to the island persisted for years.
Matthew Fox as Jack Shephard
Born August 12, 2025
Actor:Matthew Fox was born in Abington, Pennsylvania, and his first role was in an episode of the 1990s sitcomWings. Before going on to play Jack Shephard inLost, he wasinitially best known for his role as Charlie Salinger inParty of Five, in which he was a series regular for all 142 episodes across its six seasons. DuringLost’s 2004-2010 run, he appeared in some films, including his portrayal of assistant football coach William “Red” Dawson in the 2006 biographical sports dramaWe Are Marshall, and as a Secret Service agent in 2008’s political thrillerVantage Point.
Notable Roles:Fox had a handful of roles afterLost,ranging fromthe villainous Picasso in the 2012 action thrillerAlex Cross, and a USAF Parajumper in the 2013 adaptation ofWorld War Z,to General Bonner Fellers in the 2014 historical dramaEmperor. He did not appear in any projects from 2016-2021. After this hiatus, he returned to television in the 2022 Peacock seriesLast Lightand in the Australian comedy seriesCAUGH*T.
Evangeline Lilly as Kate Austen
Born June 10, 2025
Actor:Born in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta,Lostproved to be Lilly’s breakout role, but it wasn’t her first role. She previously appeared as unnamed characters in four episodes of the CW’sSmallville, Disney’s Channel’sLizzie McGuiremovie, and in the slasher filmFreddy vs. Jason. In 2008, she played Connie James, the wife of Staff Sergeant William James (Jeremy Renner), inThe Hurt Locker, which went on to win the Academy Award for Best Picture.
Notable Roles:AfterLost, she mostly appeared in films, beginning with the character of Bailey Tallet in Hugh Jackman’s 2011 filmReal Steel. Lilly then went on to star in two major franchises, the first beingThe Lord of the Rings, as she played Tauriel inThe Hobbit: The Desolation of SmaugandThe Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. From 2015-2023, she played Hope van Dyne/the Wasp in four different Marvel Cinematic Universe films and in an episode of the anthology seriesWhat If…?, althoughLilly recently announced her retirement, leaving the superhero’s future uncertain.
Real Steel
Bailey Tallet
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug&The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Tauriel
Ant-Man,Ant-Man and the Wasp,Avengers: Endgame,Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, What If…?
Josh Holloway as James “Sawyer” Ford
Born June 15, 2025
Actor:Josh Holloway was born in San Jose, California, and made his career debut by playing a thief in Aerosmith’s 1993 music video for the song “Cryin'.” Prior toLost, he appeared in an episode ofCSIand an episodeof NCIS. Itwasn’t untilLostthat Holloway became a well-known name in Hollywoodthrough his charming and multilayered portrayal of Sawyer, who became one of the series' most complex and important characters.
Notable Roles:In the aftermath ofLost’s series finale, Holloway appeared in the memorableCommunityepisode “A Fistful of Paintballs,” as IMF Agent Trevor Hanaway inMission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, and as Gabriel Vaughn in the CBS seriesIntelligence, which was cancelled after one season. His most prominent part sinceLostwas as main character Will Bowman in USA Network’sColony, which ran for three seasons, and in the recurring role of Roarke Morris in season 3 of the popularYellowstoneseries.
Jorge Garcia as Hugo “Hurley” Reyes
Born June 12, 2025
Actor:Jorge Garcia was born in Omaha, Nebraska, and while he appeared in a 2004 episode ofCurb Your Enthusiasm, his performance as the lovable and insightfulHurley inLostserved as his breakout role. Garcia’s association with the character followed him to other roles, such as the CBS sitcomHow I Met Your Mother, where he played a character named Steve “the Blitz” Henry, who even shouts the infamousLostnumbers during the “Blitzgiving” episode. Even though he only appeared in two episodes, Garcia made an impact as one ofHow I Met Your Mother’s most memorable guest stars.
Notable Roles:He starred in the Fox seriesAlcatraz, which was cancelled after one season. Like manyLostactors, he appeared in ABC’sOnce Upon A Time, with Garcia playing a giant named Anton, who guest stars in three season 2 episodes. He was a recurring cast member in season 4 ofHawaii Five-Oand a series regular from seasons 5-10, and more recently appeared in Rob Zombie’sThe Munstersand the comedy seriesBookie.
Terry O’Quinn as John Locke
Born July 16, 2025
Actor:Born in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, O’Quinn had adiverse resume before his iconic performance as John Locke. He starred in the 1987 psychological horror filmThe Stepfather, for which he received several award nominations. O’Quinn appeared in seven episodes of the critically acclaimedThe West Wingseries and played a part in several franchises, with roles in the firstX-Filesfilm and in the television series, and an episode ofStar Trek: The Next Generation.
Notable Roles:His resume continued to be diverse followingLost.It ranged from an episode of Disney Channel’sPhineas and Ferb,to 16 episodes ofHawaii Five-Ofrom 2011-2018, an episode of NBC’s long-running crime thriller seriesThe Blacklist,and seven episodes of its spinoff,The Blacklist: Redemption. O’Quinn’s most recent television role was as the Civic Republic Military’s leader, Major General Johnathan Beale in AMC’sThe Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live.
Naveen Andrews as Sayid Jarrah
Born July 07, 2025
Actor:Andrews was born in Lambeth, London, and his first onscreen role was in the 1991 filmLondon Kills Me, in which he played a character named Bike. He appeared in some more well-known films before hiscareer-defining role as the resourceful Sayid Jarrah, including his role as the sapper Kip in the Best Picture winnerThe English Patient, and as a local guide in the 1998 remake ofMighty Joe Youngalongside Bill Paxton and Charlize Theron.
Notable Roles:AfterLost, Andrews had several notable television roles, with one of the first being Jafar in ABC’sOnce Upon a Time in Wonderland. He made his mark on the world of original streaming series by playing Jonas Maliki in Netflix’sSense8.Andrew’s most recent roles were in 2022, appearing in episodes of Hulu’sThe Dropoutalongside Amanda Seyfried, and in season 2 of Fox’s crime drama seriesThe Cleaning Lady.
Yunjin Kim as Sun-Hwa Kwon
Born August 05, 2025
Actor:Yunjin Kim was born in Seoul, South Korea, with her first major role in 1996’sSplendid Holiday, a Korean television drama filmed in New York. Herbreakout role was in the 1999 South Korean action filmShiri. ForLost, she originally auditioned for the role of Kate, and while she didn’t land the part, the creators and showrunners were so impressed by her that the role of Sun was written specifically for Kim so she could lend her talents to the series.
Notable Roles:She has done more series with ABC sinceLostended, from playing the series regular role of Karen Kim in all four seasons ofMistressesto appearing in the most recent season of the Shonaland andGrey’s AnatomyspinoffStation 19. On Netflix, Kim played police inspector Seon Woojin in all twelve episodes ofMoney Heist: Korea – Joint Economic Area,along withPrincipal Jina Lim in the romantic comedy drama seriesXO, Kitty. Her most recent film credit is 2024’sDog Days.
Daniel Dae Kim as Jin-Soo Kwon
Born July 12, 2025
Actor:Born in Busan, South Korea, Kim moved to the United States when he was a year old. He went on to have minor roles in an episode ofAlly McBealand an episode ofThe Practice, Ang Lee’s 2003Hulkfilm, and inSpider-Man 2before joiningLost. Prior toLost,Kim made his mark on theStar Trekfranchisein an episode ofStar Trek: Voyagerand three episodes ofStar Trek: Enterprise.
Notable Roles:Kim’s amplified stardom afterLostled to a variety of high-profile roles. As Chin Ho Kelly, Kim was a series regular in seasons 1-7 ofHawaii Five-O, with his character also appearing in episodes ofNCIS: Los AngelesandMacGyver. In animation, he voiced Raya’s father, Chief Benja, in Disney’sRaya and the Last Dragon. His most recent high-profile role was asFire Lord Ozaiin Netflix’s live-action remake ofAvatar: The Last Airbender(Kim also voiced General Fong back in a 2006 episode of the original animated series).
Raya and the Last Dragon
Emilie de Ravin as Claire Littleton
Born June 11, 2025
Actor:Born in Mount Eliza, Victoria, Australia,de Ravin’s first big role was as Tess Harding inRoswell. In 2002, she played Chris Hargensen in a television film adaptation of Stephen King’s novelCarrie. Two years later, de Ravin debuted inLostas Claire Littleton, a pregnant mother and survivor of the Oceanic Flight 815 crash. She was a series regular in seasons 1-4 and in season 6, as Claire played a major role in all those seasons, but she did not appear in season 5.
Notable Roles:De Ravin stayed with ABC as she played Belle inOnce Upon a Time, which featured numerous producers and actors who also worked onLost. She had a recurring role in season 1, was a series regular in season 2-6, and had a guest starring role in season 7, with much of Belle’s story intertwined with that of Rumpelstiltskin/Mr. Gold (Robert Carlyle). Her last onscreen role was as Liz Hindmarsh in the 2022 Australian drama seriesTrue Colours.
Dominic Monaghan as Charlie Pace
Born August 10, 2025
Actor:Dominic Monaghan was born in West Berlin, West Germany, andfirst became famous as Hetty Wainthropp’s sidekick, Geoffrey Shawcross, in the British crime drama seriesHetty Wainthropp Investigates. He then became best known for playing the hobbit Meriadoc “Merry” Brandybuck in the critically acclaimedThe Lord of the Ringsfilm trilogy. It wasn’t long before Monaghan began his second-most iconic role as former rock star and Ocean Flight 815 survivor Charlie Pace inLost.
Notable Roles:Despite still being best known forThe Lord of the RingsandLost, Monaghan has appeared in a number of projects since. This includes playing Chris Bradley/Bolt inX-Men Origins: Wolverineand as Resistance member Beaumont Kin inStar Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, the latter of which had him reuniting withLostco-creator J.J. Abrams. He also hosted a wildlife documentary series fittingly calledWild Things with Dominic Monaghan.
Hetty Wainthropp Investigates
Geoffrey Shawcross
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring,The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers,The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
