Lost Locke

Background:

"I've told the producers that I miss the old John Locke. I wish he hadn't found those damn buttons sometimes. But these ups and downs reflect everybody's. You can't always choose the way things go. That's life." Terry O'Quinn

Emmy Award-winning actor Terry O'Quinn gathered rave reviews for playing the mystical patriarch John Locke on the popular ABC TV series “Lost” (2004-Present). An actor since the early 1980s, he has appeared in such TV shows as "The Doctors," "Earth 2," "Millennium," "Harsh Realm," "JAG," "Alias" and "The West Wing," as well as a string of TV movies, notably "Right to Kill," (1985), "An Early Frost" (1985), "At Mother's Request" (1987), "When the Time Comes" (1987), "Roe vs. Wade" (1989) and "The Last to Go" (1991).

On the big screen, the balding 6' 1½" Irish-American actor who gained fame for portraying the titular role of “The Stepfather” (1987; 1989) in the suspense/thriller film series of the same name, has appeared in such films as "Places in the Heart" (1984), "Primal Fear" (1996), "American Outlaws" (2001) and "Old School" (2003).

"I so rarely turned down a role that I can't say I have any regrets in that regard. There were many roles that I would rather not have done, but having a home and family requires that we sometimes do things we would rather not. I have done a few roles that I've never watched and if I happen to be flicking through channels and one pops up, I quickly move on. It's hard enough to sustain some self confidence without being reminded of things we'd rather not revisit, but in the end, it comes with the territory." Terry O'Quinn

Michigan Native

Childhood and Family:

On July 15, 1952, Terrance Quinn was born in Newberry, Michigan, to Irish-American parents. He elongated his last name to "O'Quinn" to distinguish himself from another person named Terry Quinn already acting in films. He has seven brothers, one of whom is Thomas Anthony Quinn, an actor who acts and teaches theater in central Illinois.

O'Quinn attended Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, and the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa. He worked as a security guard before graduating.

O'Quinn, nicknamed “Mister Ten Thirteen,” has been married to his wife, Laurie, for 28 years (they were married in 1979). They lived in Finksburg, Maryland, before moving to Hawaii, where O'Quinn's series “Lost” is shot. O'Quinn and his wife are the parents of two sons, Oliver (born in 1980) and Hunter (born in 1982), who live on the West Coast of the United States. O'Quinn also has an Irish Terrier named Reggie.

Since high school, O'Quinn has been experienced in percussion. Not many know that he is also a talented guitarist and singer. He is a big Neil Young fan and can apparently do a dead-on impression of him.

O'Quinn is good friends with 1013 Productions' Chris Carter and has appeared in most of his work.

The Stepfather

Career:

"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." Terry O'Quinn

In the early 1980s, Terry O'Quinn made his first foray into acting in writer/director Michael Cimino's Oscar-nominated western movie based on events in 1890s Wyoming, "Heaven's Gate" (1980), starring Kris Kristofferson, Christopher Walken, Isabelle Huppert and Jeff Bridges. He then appeared in the NBC soap opera “The Doctors” and co-starred with Faye Dunaway in "Curse of the Aching Heart" on Broadway in 1982.

In 1984, O'Quinn enjoyed a large boost to his career when he co-starred as Buddy, a good ol' boy cotton mill owner who is also a nasty Ku Klux Klan member, in writer/director Robert Benton's Oscar-winning period drama, "Places in the Heart," starring Sally Field, Lindsay Crouse and John Malkovich. Afterward, he retreated to the small screen, making his primetime TV debut in the true story-based TV-movie "Right to Kill" (1985), directed by John Erman. That same year, he reunited with Erman in his Golden Globe-winning TV movie on NBC, "An Early Frost," the first major film to deal with the topic of HIV/AIDS starring Aidan Quinn. Two years later, he co-starred on the CBS miniseries "At Mother's Request," which was based on the novel by Jonathan Coleman. He then teamed up again with Erman in his dramatic television movie "When the Time Comes," in which he played Bonnie Bedelia's husband.

O'Quinn garnered positive reviews for portraying the titular role of "The Stepfather" in Joseph Ruben's 1987 suspense/thriller film with same name very loosely based on the life of mass murderer John List. O'Quinn was nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Actor and an Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead. The film was also followed by two sequels. They were released in 1989 and 1992. The third was released as a TV movie and O'Quinn was replaced in the title role by Robert Wightman.

Meanwhile, O'Quinn was featured in the Gregory Hoblit directed, Golden Globe-winning TV movie "Roe vs. Wade" (1989; starring Holly Hunter) and reunited with Erman in his television movie inspired by the book by Rand Richards Cooper, "The Last To Go" (1991). He subsequently spent the rest of the 1990s playing the recurring role of Reilly (1994-1995) on NBC’s sci-fi series "Earth 2" and co-starred in Hoblit's Oscar-nominated feature directorial debut, "Primal Fear" (1996; starring Richard Gere and Edward Norton), an adaptation of William Diehl's novel. He also had a regular role on Fox's grim, suspenseful "Millennium" (1996-1999), as Peter Watts, the mentor of an investigator (played by Lance Henriksen), and as General Omar Santiago, the renegade soldier who controls the VR world, on the short-lived Fox sci-fi drama "Harsh Realm" (1999-2000), which was loosely based on a comic book by James D. Hudnall and Andrew Paquette. Additionally, he had a recurring role, as Admiral Thomas Boone (1995-2002), on CBS’ adventure/legal drama series "JAG."

O'Quinn also resumed his film work. After playing a villainous role in Les Mayfield's Western film "American Outlaws" (2001; starring Colin Farrell, Scott Caan and Ali Larter), O'Quinn was cast as Luke Wilson's boss in Todd Phillips' comedy movie "Old School" (2003).

From 2002 to 2004, O'Quinn played the recurring role of F.B.I. Asst. Director Kendall on ABC's television series starring Jennifer Garner, "Alias." Meanwhile, he also played another recurring role, as General Nicholas Alexander (2003-2004), on NBC's political drama series "The West Wing."

"It would be nice to think about more doors opening, to be able to pick and choose roles. But I'm not anxious to go anywhere else right now. I could do this for a while." Terry O'Quinn

In 2004, O'Quinn scored another breakout role in the critically-acclaimed ABC drama series "Lost." In the show, which follows the lives of plane crash survivors on a mysterious tropical island, he played the mystical patriarch John Locke. He is one of the few cast members of the show who did not have to audition because his former collaborator (from "Alias" (2001) J.J. Abrams thought of him for the part of Locke before the actor was even offered it. O'Quinn's performance later won him an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (2007), a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series (2006) and a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor on Television (2005).

Being asked about his experience on “Lost,” O'Quinn joked, "You know, sometimes when we're rolling around in the jungle and the mud and we're hitting each other and stabbing each other and shooting each other and pouring on the blood and turning on the sprinklers, I wonder what it would be like to bake up a sheet of cookies on Wisteria Lane and get one of their checks. But then I think of my cast mates and crew mates and I realize why I have the best job in the world.”

In May 2007 it was announced that “Lost” will continue for fourth, fifth, and sixth seasons, concluding with the 117th produced episode in May 2010.

Awards:

• Emmy: Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, "Lost," 2007

• Screen Actors Guild: Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series, "Lost," 2006

• Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films: Saturn Award - Best Supporting Actor on Television, "Lost," 2005