Part of what made Lost an 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, Lost provided nearly every prominent character with multiple episodes that explored their lives before and after Oceanic Flight 815 crashed 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 their memorable Lost characters. 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 after Lost, the ABC series served as a pivotal starting point or turning point as these actors expanded their craft and forever changed television.

Matthew Fox as Jack Shephard

Born July 14, 1966

• Active since 1992

Matthew Fox was born in Abington, Pennsylvania, and his first role was in an episode of the 1990s sitcom Wings. Before going on to play Jack Shephard in Lost, he was initially best known for his role as Charlie Salinger in Party of Five, in which he was a series regular for all 142 episodes across its six seasons. During Lost‘s 2004-2010 run, he appeared in some films, including his portrayal of assistant football coach William “Red” Dawson in the 2006 biographical sports drama We Are Marshall, and as a Secret Service agent in 2008’s political thriller Vantage Point.

Fox had a handful of roles after Lost, ranging from the villainous Picasso in the 2012 action thriller Alex Cross, and a USAF Parajumper in the 2013 adaptation of World War Z, to General Bonner Fellers in the 2014 historical drama Emperor. He did not appear in any projects from 2016-2021. After this hiatus, he returned to television in the 2022 Peacock series Last Light and in the Australian comedy series C*A*U*G*H*T.

Evangeline Lilly as Kate Austen

Born August 3, 1979

• Active since 2002

Born in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, Lost proved 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’s Smallville, Disney’s Channel’s Lizzie McGuire movie, and in the slasher film Freddy vs. Jason. In 2008, she played Connie James, the wife of Staff Sergeant William James (Jeremy Renner), in The Hurt Locker, which went on to win the Academy Award for Best Picture.

After Lost, she mostly appeared in films, beginning with the character of Bailey Tallet in Hugh Jackman’s 2011 film Real Steel. Lilly then went on to star in two major franchises, the first being The Lord of the Rings, as she played Tauriel in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug and The 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 series What If…?, although Lilly recently announced her retirement, leaving the superhero’s future uncertain.

Josh Holloway as James “Sawyer” Ford

Born July 20, 1969

• Active since 1993

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 to Lost, he appeared in an episode of CSI and an episode of NCIS. It wasn’t until Lost that Holloway became a well-known name in Hollywood through his charming and multilayered portrayal of Sawyer, who became one of the series’ most complex and important characters.

In the aftermath of Lost‘s series finale, Holloway appeared in the memorable Community episode “A Fistful of Paintballs,” as IMF Agent Trevor Hanaway in Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, and as Gabriel Vaughn in the CBS series Intelligence, which was cancelled after one season. His most prominent part since Lost was as main character Will Bowman in USA Network’s Colony, which ran for three seasons, and in the recurring role of Roarke Morris in season 3 of the popular Yellowstone series.

Jorge Garcia as Hugo “Hurley” Reyes

Born April 28, 1973

• Active since 1997

Jorge Garcia was born in Omaha, Nebraska, and while he appeared in a 2004 episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm, his performance as the lovable and insightful Hurley in Lost served as his breakout role. Garcia’s association with the character followed him to other roles, such as the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother, where he played a character named Steve “the Blitz” Henry, who even shouts the infamous Lost numbers during the “Blitzgiving” episode. Even though he only appeared in two episodes, Garcia made an impact as one of How I Met Your Mother‘s most memorable guest stars.

He starred in the Fox series Alcatraz, which was cancelled after one season. Like many Lost actors, he appeared in ABC’s Once 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 of Hawaii Five-O and a series regular from seasons 5-10, and more recently appeared in Rob Zombie’s The Munsters and the comedy series Bookie.

Terry O’Quinn as John Locke

Born July 15, 1952

• Active since 1980

Born in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, O’Quinn had a diverse resume before his iconic performance as John Locke. He starred in the 1987 psychological horror film The Stepfather, for which he received several award nominations. O’Quinn appeared in seven episodes of the critically acclaimed The West Wing series and played a part in several franchises, with roles in the first X-Files film and in the television series, and an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

His resume continued to be diverse following Lost. It ranged from an episode of Disney Channel’s Phineas and Ferb, to 16 episodes of Hawaii Five-O from 2011-2018, an episode of NBC’s long-running crime thriller series The 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’s The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live.

Naveen Andrews as Sayid Jarrah

Born January 17, 1969

• Active since 1991

Andrews was born in Lambeth, London, and his first onscreen role was in the 1991 film London Kills Me, in which he played a character named Bike. He appeared in some more well-known films before his career-defining role as the resourceful Sayid Jarrah, including his role as the sapper Kip in the Best Picture winner The English Patient, and as a local guide in the 1998 remake of Mighty Joe Young alongside Bill Paxton and Charlize Theron.

After Lost, Andrews had several notable television roles, with one of the first being Jafar in ABC’s Once Upon a Time in Wonderland. He made his mark on the world of original streaming series by playing Jonas Maliki in Netflix’s Sense8. Andrew’s most recent roles were in 2022, appearing in episodes of Hulu’s The Dropout alongside Amanda Seyfried, and in season 2 of Fox’s crime drama series The Cleaning Lady.

Yunjin Kim as Sun-Hwa Kwon

Born November 7, 1973

• Active since 1996

Yunjin Kim was born in Seoul, South Korea, with her first major role in 1996’s Splendid Holiday, a Korean television drama filmed in New York. Her breakout role was in the 1999 South Korean action film Shiri. For Lost, 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.

She has done more series with ABC since Lost ended, from playing the series regular role of Karen Kim in all four seasons of Mistresses to appearing in the most recent season of the Shonaland and Grey’s Anatomy spinoff Station 19. On Netflix, Kim played police inspector Seon Woojin in all twelve episodes of Money Heist: Korea – Joint Economic Area, along with Principal Jina Lim in the romantic comedy drama series XO, Kitty. Her most recent film credit is 2024’s Dog Days.

Daniel Dae Kim as Jin-Soo Kwon

Born August 4, 1968

• Active since 1991

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 of Ally McBeal and an episode of The Practice, Ang Lee’s 2003 Hulk film, and in Spider-Man 2 before joining Lost. Prior to Lost, Kim made his mark on the Star Trek franchise in an episode of Star Trek: Voyager and three episodes of Star Trek: Enterprise.

Kim’s amplified stardom after Lost led to a variety of high-profile roles. As Chin Ho Kelly, Kim was a series regular in seasons 1-7 of Hawaii Five-O, with his character also appearing in episodes of NCIS: Los Angeles and MacGyver. In animation, he voiced Raya’s father, Chief Benja, in Disney’s Raya and the Last Dragon. His most recent high-profile role was as Fire Lord Ozai in Netflix’s live-action remake of Avatar: The Last Airbender (Kim also voiced General Fong back in a 2006 episode of the original animated series).

Emilie de Ravin as Claire Littleton

Born December 27, 1981

• Active since 1999

Born in Mount Eliza, Victoria, Australia, de Ravin’s first big role was as Tess Harding in Roswell. In 2002, she played Chris Hargensen in a television film adaptation of Stephen King’s novel Carrie. Two years later, de Ravin debuted in Lost as 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.

De Ravin stayed with ABC as she played Belle in Once Upon a Time, which featured numerous producers and actors who also worked on Lost. 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 series True Colours.

Dominic Monaghan as Charlie Pace

Born December 8, 1976

• Active since 1996

Dominic Monaghan was born in West Berlin, West Germany, and first became famous as Hetty Wainthropp’s sidekick, Geoffrey Shawcross, in the British crime drama series Hetty Wainthropp Investigates. He then became best known for playing the hobbit Meriadoc “Merry” Brandybuck in the critically acclaimed The Lord of the Rings film trilogy. It wasn’t long before Monaghan began his second-most iconic role as former rock star and Ocean Flight 815 survivor Charlie Pace in Lost.

Despite still being best known for The Lord of the Rings and Lost, Monaghan has appeared in a number of projects since. This includes playing Chris Bradley/Bolt in X-Men Origins: Wolverine and as Resistance member Beaumont Kin in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, the latter of which had him reuniting with Lost co-creator J.J. Abrams. He also hosted a wildlife documentary series fittingly called Wild Things with Dominic Monaghan.

Harold Perrineau as Michael Dawson

Born August 7, 1963

• Active since 1986

After being born in Brooklyn, New York City, Perrineau later began his career in the 1980s, and made a name for himself in the 1990s, beginning with his role as Augustus Hill in the HBO series OZ. This was followed by his memorable performance as Mercutio in Baz Luhrmann’s 1996 Romeo + Juliet, a modernized adaptation of the William Shakespeare play that still features the original Shakespearean language. In the early 2000s, Perrineau joined The Matrix franchise as Link in The Matrix Reloaded and in The Matrix Revolutions.

Following Lost, Perrineau had a starring role in NBC’s Constantine, which was cancelled after one season. He had recurring roles in a number of series, including Sons of Anarchy, Criminal Minds, and The Rookie. His most acclaimed role since Lost is as Sheriff Boyd Stevens in From, a science-fiction horror series entering its third season that is arguably the best successor to Lost with its combination of intrigue, mystery, character-driven drama, and philosophical questions.

Henry Ian Cusick as Desmond Hume

Born April 17, 1967

• Active since 1993

Cusick was born in Trujilo, Peru. His acting career began as a classical theatre actor, and his first starring film role was in 2003’s The Gospel of John, in which he played Jesus Christ. He had several television roles before Lost, including a recurring role in the British medical drama Casualty, but Lost became the role he was most well known for, beginning as a recurring character in season 2 and then becoming a series regular in seasons 3-6.

After Lost, Cusick had a main role in The 100 seasons 1-6 as Marcus Kane, in The Passage as Dr. Jonas Lear, and in MacGyver as Russell “Rusty” Taylor. He had a main role in Scandal season 1 and then exited the series until his character, Stephen Finch, made a shocking return to help save the day in a season 4 episode. While Lost and Scandal are popular ABC series he was a part of, he was on ABC’s poorly received series Inhumans, which was cancelled after one season.

Michael Emerson as Ben Linus

Born September 7, 1954

• Active since 1986

Michael Emerson was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Before joining Lost in what was supposed to just be a guest-starring role, Emerson won an Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor in a drama series for The Practice and appeared in the first Saw film. Even though the cunning, conniving, and unpredictable Ben Linus wasn’t introduced until season 2 and wasn’t supposed to be a main character, Emerson became a series regular for seasons 3-6, and remains one of the show’s most recognizable characters.

Emerson found success with plenty of other television series after Lost, beginning with his role as Harold Finch in CBS’ Person of Interest, which ran for five seasons. He contributed to the superhero world as Cayden James in the CW’s Arrow. More recently, he played Dr. Leland Townsend in Evil, which is in its final season, and as Wilzig in Prime Video’s streaming hit series Fallout.

Elizabeth Mitchell as Juliet Burke

Born March 27, 1970

• Active since 1992

Mitchell was born in Los Angeles, California. Before joining Lost in season 3 and becoming a series regular, Mitchell was in The Santa Clause 2 as Carol/Mrs. Claus, and appeared in episodes of ER, Spin City, CSI, Law and Order: SVU, and Boston Legal. On Lost, she was a series regular from seasons 3-5, and a guest star in season 6, the latter of which earned her an Emmy nomination.

Mitchell stayed within the ABC family with a main role in V and as Ingrid/the Snow Queen in Once Upon A Time. In film, she played Senator Charlene “Charlie” Roan in 2016’s The Purge: Election Year, a politician who was opposed to the annual Purge. More recently, she appeared in Disney+’s sequel series The Santa Clauses, in which Mitchell reprises her role from The Santa Clause 2 and The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Claus.

Lost’s Supporting Cast & Characters