Terry O’Quinn plays the troubled, determined character John Locke on ABC’s hit television show “Lost.” These ten facts will introduce you to the actor behind the role. Read on to learn all about Terry O’Quinn, from his career to his personal life to his surprising first impression of “Lost.”
1. When a reporter asked O’Quinn what the monster on “Lost” looked like, the actor deadpanned: “It looks like a camera on a stick.”
2. Terry O’Quinn won his role on “Lost” without a formal audition. The show’s co-creator, J.J. Abrams, had worked with O’Quinn on the set of the hit spy drama “Alias,” on which Terry O’Quinn won fans in a 2002-03 recurring role as FBI Director Kendall. Abrams was impressed, and invited the actor to join the cast of “Lost” in 2004.
3. Terry O’Quinn was born July 15th, 1952 in the town of Newberry, Michigan.
4. The role of civilian John Locke on “Lost” is somewhat of a departure for the actor; the bulk of his career has been spent playing Military roles. Terry O’Quinn has played a wide variety of army and navy officers including a Colonel, a Lieutenant, a Major, at least two Sergeants, multiple Captains, and several Admirals. In 2004, he played a high-profile role as General Nicholas Alexander, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, on “The West Wing.” O’Quinn himself has no military experience or training.
5. Terry O’Quinn began acting in the 1970s, and made his television debut in a 1980 made for tv movie about the life of president F.D.R.
6. A longtime family man, Terry O’Quinn has been married for twenty-five years to his wife Lori. The couple has two adult sons, Oliver and Hunter. The family called Finksburg, Maryland home for many years, but once Terry O’Quinn was cast on “Lost,” he and his wife moved to Hawaii, where the series is shot.
7. Terry O’Quinn has told reporters that his first impression of “Lost” was not entirely positive. He had jokingly called it “The Mysterious Gilligan’s Island of Dr. Moreau.”
8. Although he’s won the most attention for his Emmy-nominated performance as John Locke, Terry O’Quinn has appeared on a number of shows that boast devoted fans, including “The X-Files,” and “Star Trek: The Next Generation.”
9. When asked about his choice of roles, Terry O’Quinn told one reporter “I don’t think I could play a character that I couldn’t relate to somehow. I’m not unfamiliar with frustration, anger, shame, helplessness and a load of other emotions that make up our psycho-soup. I try to focus on that frustration, that sense of unfairness, and multiply it.”
10. O’Quinn’s nickname is almost as mysterious as the island his television character dwells on. The actor is known to friends and family as “Mister Ten Thirteen.
