In Celebration of Lost's 10-Year Anniversary, Let's Grade the Cast's Post-Island Careers!
ABC's Lost boasted one of the greatest ensemble casts of all the mind-bending network sci-fi network dramas that aired the early 2000s. Every week, we rushed to our TVs to see what the plane crash survivors would get into next, and before long, we'd accepted them into our lives like orphaned kittens. And with a springboard like Lost to propel the actors into stardom, one might assume that success was all but guaranteed for each and every one of them when the show called it quits in 2010. But that didn't happen.
In honor of the series' 10-year anniversary—Lost made its debut on September 22, 2004—I've compiled a look at what the principal cast members have been up to since they left the island... and save for a few bright spots, it's mostly depressing! Read on for a full rundown, in which I've also assigned grades to each actor's post-Lost career based on the amount of work they've done, the roles they've chosen, and whatever side stuff they've got going on in their personal lives.
Matthew Fox (Jack)
Can I be honest here? I don't really know what's become of Matthew Fox since Lost ended. He's like the Sasquatch of the gang: He's rarely seen, and when he does appear, it's often because he's headed to court for punching a woman in the crotch or driving while drunk. During Lost, Fox starred in Speed Racer (ugh). After Lost, he starred in Alex Cross, Emperor, and World War Z. Currently, he's filming a zombie movie called Welcome to Harmony, so I guess he's sticking with the zombie thing. Fox was poised to become a huge star after Lost, but his aversion to celebrity life has made him merely a memory for most of Hollywood, not to mention a total mystery. Matthew, you have to go back! To acting on television!
Post-Lost career score: 1 out of 5 dumb tattoos
Evangeline Lilly (Kate)
What is it with Lost actors wanting to disappear into the ether after Lost? As the female lead of one of television's biggest shows and the subject of photos like this one, Lilly's celebrity ceiling seemed boundless. Thrust into the spotlight after being just a regular hot Canadian woman, Lilly stepped aside when the show ended and announced that acting was secondary to making the world a better place through humanitarian efforts. That's... kind of cool, I guess. Still, she can grab big roles whenever she wants them, as evidenced by her pointy ears in the Hobbit movies and her upcoming role in Ant-Man. Is she the raddest or what? Will you marry me, Evangeline Lilly?
Post-Lost career score: 4 out of 5 toy airplanes (5 out of 5 if she says yes)
Josh Holloway (Sawyer)
Holloway was THE Lost actor who was practically guaranteed to achieve great fame and fortune. Remember when he became a "good" guy playing house with Juliet in Dharma and everyone was like WHOA this guy can look beefy and act? His post-Lost role options spanned everything from sexy serial killer to sexy POTUS, but instead he appeared in middling films like B-boy danceathon Battle of the Year (acting alongside Chris Brown) and thriller Paranoia, both of which registered a single-digit approval percentage on Rotten Tomatoes. Yes, he was also in Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, but he failed to land a lead role of any impact until he returned to television to star in CBS's s Intelligence, and we all know how that turned out. Thankfully, Holloway also showed up in an episode of Community, giving his post-Lost career some life. But you still have to check out this trailer for Battle of the Year.
Post-Lost career score: 2 out of 5 pairs of mismatched reading glasses
Jorge Garcia (Hurley)
I don't think anyone expected Garcia to become the next leading man in rom-coms or action movies, but remember when Hurley made that speech about Charlie's sacrifice and told Jack to F off and we all cried very manly tears? The guy can clearly bring it when he wants to. Still, Garcia has only netted one major role since Lost, and unfortunately it was on Fox's horrible Lost-wannabe Alcatraz. These days, it's all character acting and guest spots for Hugo, though it's been pleasant to see him pop up on Fringe, Once Upon a Time, and Hawaii Five-0.
Post-Lost career score: 3 out of 5 licked-clean ranch dressing tubs
Terry O'Quinn (John Locke/Smoke Monster)
This bald badass is awesome and if you think otherwise, you should go jump off a cliff, you dummy. O'Quinn has been a consistent presence on television since leaving the island, mostly playing growling military men or growling cops on Hawaii Five-0, Falling Skies, and Gang Related. But let's not forget that he also played the devil in the late 666 Park Avenue, and even though that show stunk, he still got to play the devil. Obviously he hasn't appeared in a role quite as great as John Locke since Lost, but he's had steady work, so high five for him.
Post-Lost career score: 4 out of 5 orange slices wedged into his mouth
Naveen Andrews (Sayid)
Andrews hasn't fared so well since Lost, a victim of typecasting based on his English-Indian background. He appeared on the Sky1 (and later Syfy) series Sinbad, and when former Lost writers Adam Horowitz Edward Kitsis needed a Jafar for their Aladdin story on the green-screen atrocity Once Upon a Time in Wonderland, there's no doubt that Andrews was the first person they called. Random thought: What was the point of Sayid, anyway?
Post-Lost career score: 2 out of 5 whiny moans of "Shannon!"
Daniel Dae Kim (Jin)
There's something to be said for being comfortable, so who are we judge a guy who decides that he literally never wants to leave the island and takes a regular role on a show that films in Honolulu and looks like a lot of fun? The modern Hawaii Five-0 might not be the greatest television series ever, but while you sit in a cubicle all day long, Kim gets paid to hang out on the beach with a bikini'd Grace Park. Plus he does cool animation voice work for series like The Legend of Korra and videogames like Saints Row. And it's all thanks to a role where he barely had to speak a word of English. This man knows what he's doing.
Post-Lost career score: 5 out of 5 side-eyes at Sun wearing a dress
Yunjin Kim (Sun)
Kim returned to Korea and her previous career as a Korean movie star, acting in a couple movies that I've never seen but will assume were the thrill rides of summer over there. Stateside, she's been playing a doctor (ha!) on ABC's garbage-time romance novel Mistresses. So... let's call her post-Lost run average?
Post-Lost career score: 3 out of 5 lost wedding rings
Emilie de Ravin (Claire)
Every Lost actor: *ring ring* "Yes, I was on Lost." [listens] "Sure, I'll play a role on Once Upon a Time!" Does ABC's parent company Disney own these people's livelihoods and force them to propagate the Disney agenda? Since Lost, de Ravin has done her duty in the name of her overlord Mickey Mouse as OUAT's version of Belle from Beauty and the Beast; beyond that, her credits are mostly limited to stuff you'll find in the $2.99 DVD bin at your local Walgreens. Couldn't The CW find some space for her on something? Also: Do you think she looks better with brown hair or blonde hair?
Post-Lost career score: 2 out 5 pointless trips to a psychic
Dominic Monaghan (Charlie)
It's kinda funny that, going into Lost, Monaghan was arguably the show's biggest name, thanks to his stint as a hairy little man in Bored Lord of the Rings. But after Lost, his career has been just as eccentric as those of some of his castmates. Monaghan has mostly visited other TV shows (including Ridiculousness and The Eric Andre Show) as himself, but he's also the only Lost alum who went on to do a series with his name in the title: BBC America's Wild Things with Dominic Monaghan, in which he contracts jungle rashes and fondles dangerous animals all over the world.
Post-Lost career score: 3 out of 5 Driveshaft cassettes
Michael Emerson (Ben)
Unlike some of the bigger names on Lost, Emerson struck while the iron was still red-hot and took a role on a show about a really smart computer shortly after Lost ended: that of Harold Finch on CBS's Person of Interest, which is still going strong today. Nice choice! Despite being one of Lost's older actors, Emerson might have the strongest career arc of the bunch. The only missed opportunity? I wish he and Terry O'Quinn had gone through with that comedy pitch they were working on for a show on which they would've played retired Black Ops agents.
Post-Lost career score: 5 out of 5 cans of poisonous gas
Elizabeth Mitchell (Juliet)
Mitchell's had no problem finding work, she's just had problems finding good work. It's not her fault, I'm sure that ABC's V remake and NBC's Revolution sounded great when they were pitched to her, but both projects ended up being two-season shows that never found their groove. Still, regular work is regular work, and homegirl has bills to pay! I ain't faulting her for that. Maybe she can do The Santa Claus 4 next.
Post-Lost career score: 4 out of 5 falls down a hole in the ground
Harold Perrineau (Michael)
Since Michael died before the show ended, Perrineau's been more prolific than most of his former castmates. His post-Lost career started in 2009 on ABC's The Unusuals, and he's done stints on Sons of Anarchy and the short-lived Growing Up Fisher as well as a heaping handful of movies, most notably Zero Dark Thirty. He was a regular on The Wedding Band and just last week, he was eaten by a zombie baby on Z Nation, which I consider the highlight of his career. Always busy, Perrineau will next appear on NBC's upcoming Constantine. The biggest question I have is why Perrineau still hadn't dropped by Once Upon a Time. The guy likes to work, and he's getting plenty of it.
Post-Lost career score: 4 out of 5 Waaaaaaaaaaaaalts!
Henry Ian Cusick (Desmond)
This time-traveling brother has done quite well for himself after achieving fan-favorite status on Lost despite being a minor character. (Yes he was minor even if he was the focal point of one of the series' best episodes.) Cusick played a small but significant role on Fringe, hopped on board Scandal's early seasons as a regular, and is now a space-jerk on The CW's surprisingly good The 100. (The guy felt so good about his chances that he voluntarily left Scandal knowing that he'd land another job elsewhere.) Cusick's career is in no danger whatsoever, even though The 100 will probably get canceled sooner rather than later. Who is gonna pass up an accent like his?
Post-Lost career score: 4 out of 5 brothas, brotha
Madison and Pono (Vincent)
Vincent the dog was portrayed by two different labs—Madison, a girl, and Pono, a boy. I have heard nothing about these dogs since Lost, and I can only assume that they're now heroin junkies living under a pier somewhere.
Post-Lost career score: 0 out of 5 tennis balls
