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15 weird roles Lost's actors had before they became stars
Everybody had to start somewhere—even the cast of Lost. Before the series, which begins its sixth and final season Tuesday, propelled its cast to mega-stardom, the actors and actresses put in their share of grunt work doing cameos, walk-ons, bit parts and those always-embarrassing commercials.
Check out the castaways back when they parked cars, sold Subarus and chatted up singles hotlines.
Matthew Fox in Wings (1992)
How young was Matthew Fox on this episode of Wings? So young that the 17-year-old high school student he portrayed stirred up thoughts of The Graduate in his blond co-star.
Josh Holloway in CSI (2003)
As an old pal of series regular George Eads on CSI's fourth-season premiere, Josh Holloway eventually messes up a case. Would you expect anything different from the guy who went on to play Sawyer?
Evangeline Lilly for Live Links (2002)
Hey, Evangeline—if the "best place to meet local singles" really was a cheesy telephone chat room, maybe you wouldn't have needed to go to the island to hook up!
Terry O'Quinn in Stephen King's Silver Bullet (1985)
If you were amazed when Locke regained the use of his legs, then check out 4:34 in the clip above, when he regains the use of his hair!
Jorge Garcia on Curb Your Enthusiasm (2004)
Right before Hurley hit it big with those cursed numbers, he took part in one of the most inept drug deals ever.
Dominic Monaghan in Hetty Wainthropp Investigates (1998)
In an episode of the lighthearted British crime series, the future member of DriveSHAFT got in some snogging, perhaps preparing for all those groupies to come.
Naveen Andrews in Wild West (1992)
Who knew that torturers could sing? And who knew that when they sang, they sang country music?
Daniel Dae Kim in Crusade (1999)
Before crashing on the island, the future Jin-Soo Kwon struggled to save Earth from a nanovirus plague as Lt. John Matheson in the short-lived Babylon 5 spinoff Crusade.
Michael Emerson in The Practice (2001)
The only thing creeper than Emerson as Benjamin Linus is Emerson as the serial killer William Hinks in The Practice, a role that won him an Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series.
Harold Perrineau in Romeo + Juliet (1996)
Before betraying his friends on the island, Perrineau came to a bad end as the loyal Mercutio in Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet.
Yunjin Kim in Yesterday (2002)
On Lost, Sun hopes to be reunited with her husband, but in this Korean sci-fi flick about a serial killer of the future, Yunjin Kim portrays a criminal psychologist hoping to be reunited with her father.
Emilie de Ravin in Beastmaster (2000)
De Ravin had a recurring role in the cheesefest that was Beastmaster as Curupira, guardian for all the animals of the forest. But evidently not polar bears or smoke monsters.
Elizabeth Mitchell in JAG (1997)
Poor Mitchell, always cast as the other woman, whether as Juliet in Lost or as Lt. Sandra Gilbert in JAG.
Jeremy Davies in a Subaru commercial (1992)
At last we know the real reason physicist Daniel Faraday's mother didn't want him wasting his time on music—she just didn't like punk rock!
Henry Ian Cusick in Murder Rooms: Mysteries of the Real Sherlock Holmes (2001)
Poor Desmond was being put in his place by the upper classes long before Penny's father disapproved of him.
By RNELSON4 at 10:49 AM ON 01/28/10
There was a time when Mr. Fox was. . .
"Haunted."
By c from Illinois at 10:56 AM ON 01/28/10
Fox was also in PARTY OF FIVE.
By IronOre at 11:07 AM ON 01/28/10
Has Michael Emerson (Benjamin) ever not been creepy looking?
By found at 11:07 AM ON 01/28/10
Micheal E. was also on the the first Saw movie as Jigsaw's subordinate.
By tati at 11:12 AM ON 01/28/10
Murder Rooms is an excellent series about Arthur Conan Doyle and his experiences in real life that inspired the Holmes stories.
Hetty Wainthropp was good fun, and it starred the actress that played Hyacinth in, 'Keeping Up Appearances,' one of my fave Brit comedies.
Daniel Dae Kim was also in Angel for awhile, working for the evil Wolfram&Hart.
By IronOre at 11:29 AM ON 01/28/10
Daniel Dae Kim's role in "Crusade" wasn't all that weird really. I liked the show myself.
By Sitakatherine at 11:29 AM ON 01/28/10
Don't forget Josh Holloway as the thief in Aerosmith's Cryin' video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfNmyxV2Ncw
And Elizabeth Mitchell on ER as Kari's girlfriend:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpaJRXHB1Wo
By Bring Back Crusade! at 11:34 AM ON 01/28/10
Crusade was a great spin-off of Babylon 5 that was never given a shot. Just like Firefly, it is an example of moron network executives not giving a show time to develop an audience.
By Herdnerfer at 11:34 AM ON 01/28/10
I just saw an old episode of Star Trek TNG with Locke in it.
By Psiqueue at 11:44 AM ON 01/28/10
Josh Holloway played a Vamp in the pilot episode of "Angel"
Daniel Dae Kim was on an episode of Star Trek: Voyager, as an astronaunt with a slight temporal displacement issue.
By Geek.tastic at 11:47 AM ON 01/28/10
Josh Holloway also appeared in the very first episode of Angel as a vampire. Angel also featured fellow Lost castmate Daniel Dae Kim as an evil lawyer who appeared in many episodes of the show. He was a minor villain, but he got a decent amount of screentime.
By MarvelousM at 11:53 AM ON 01/28/10
@Psiqueue I forgot about that Voyager episode!
By TrustworthyCrab at 12:04 PM ON 01/28/10
I can't believe you have Jorge Garcia on Curb Your Enthusiasm instead of Troma's "Tales from the Crapper". Now THAT was a weird role...
By imfrog2002 at 12:23 PM ON 01/28/10
Jorge Garcia was also a contestant on a game show called "Russian Roulette" on GSN.
By Neo at 12:23 PM ON 01/28/10
Wheres Daniel Dae Kim when he was on Seinfeld? "Gonorrhea!"
By egapj at 1:03 PM ON 01/28/10
Terry O'Quinn was recurring character on JAG playing a CAG on an aircraft carrier.
By gleakin at 1:07 PM ON 01/28/10
Yunjin Kim also play a bloodthirsty killer in a Korean movie called "Shiri" VERY butal
By Cenafan54 at 1:34 PM ON 01/28/10
Emilie de Ravin was on Roswell for a year and a half
By trader at 2:05 PM ON 01/28/10
evangeline lilly was on an episode of smallville waaaay back before lost... she only had like a 5 second scene where her boyfrind in the show took a lemon from her mouth for his drink. they didnt even give her words to say
By foxy at 2:27 PM ON 01/28/10
Oh, Matthew, so cute. Loved that jeans.
By Matt at 2:29 PM ON 01/28/10
Harold Perrineau also had a key role in HBO's OZ.
By monsterhunter at 2:30 PM ON 01/28/10
Terry O'Quinn's been in a ton of movies! Personal favorites? The uber-wealthy father of the *itchy ice skater in "The Cutting Edge" and the object of the Billy the Kind and Regulators' protective last stand in "Young Guns"!
By Blue247 at 2:35 PM ON 01/28/10
Terry O'Quinn was also Frank Black's handler on Millenium.'
By sgugeek at 3:14 PM ON 01/28/10
This post is made of win. LOVEEE it. Can't wait for more LOST next week!!!!
By Maltheus at 3:27 PM ON 01/28/10
I think Elizabeth Mitchell is more noted for her sex scenes with Angelina Jolie than she is any JAG appearance. What are they upping their standards here or something?
By quiethawkjames at 5:05 PM ON 01/28/10
They missed the best one though.. François Chau (the guy the leads the Dharma Initiative) gets killed in the beginning of hit movie Beverly Hills Ninja... I only know this b/c I watched it on Netlix last week.. hahaah what a classic!
By mhochman at 5:14 PM ON 01/28/10
how about Terry O'Quinn in SpaceCamp back in the 80's
By islesfan at 5:40 PM ON 01/28/10
If you want a laugh, check out Naveen Andrews in Bride and Prejudice. It is a Bollywood take off of Jane Austen, and surprisingly good, if very cheesy.
Also, I know that you are looking at old roles, and I just mentinoed one from a couple of years ago, but you should see it anyway!
By Jonas72 at 5:52 PM ON 01/28/10
Henry Ian Cusick also had a very small role in the abysmal "Hitman", where the highlight of the movie was his rather messy death. (I kept expecting him to go "brother", but he didn't. He played one, though. Brother, that is, to the main baddie.)
By SirReal at 6:08 PM ON 01/28/10
The first time I took note of O'Quinn was on Earth 2.
By jana at 6:55 PM ON 01/28/10
I enjoyed The Stepfather- this was just as a great as the first. Dylan Walsh did a great job filling the shoes of Terry O'Quinn http://bit.ly/dicg8I
By c from Illinois at 8:40 PM ON 01/28/10
Garcia was also in the sit-com BECKER.
By kww63 at 9:44 PM ON 01/28/10
Henry Ian Cusick also played Jesus in "The Gospel of John". My wife loves his portrayal in this.
By Rokk at 11:08 PM ON 01/28/10
I would have thought Michael Emerson on the X-Files might have been a better choice... Poor Oliver Martin really had a thing for the Brady Bunch...
By Killian at 11:18 PM ON 01/28/10
I only remember Naveen Andrews from the movie The English Patient.
By Aberzombie at 6:54 AM ON 01/29/10
Josh Holloway also had a bit role as a sheriff's deputy in an early episode of NCIS (1st or 2nd season).
By janetk at 7:37 AM ON 01/29/10
Naveen Andrews, Elizabeth Mitchell, April Grace and Mark Pellegrino were all in a short-lived summer series about a 24 hours news show called "The Beast". Here is a clip with Naveen and Elizabeth:
By Barnaby Jones at 8:19 AM ON 01/29/10
The Evangaline Lilly clip is hilarious! It reminds me of an episode of 30 Rock where Tina Fey's character had done almost the exact same commercial when she was a struggling actress, except her call line was 1-800-OK-FACE.
By spud at 10:36 AM ON 01/29/10
Josh Holloway also played a thug at the beginning of the premiere episode of "Angel", fighting Buffy's ex.
By jhawks1510 at 10:46 AM ON 01/29/10
If there were every one show I could bring back to see through to fruition, it would be Crusade. What a tragic waste that was.
By silkysoul at 11:28 AM ON 01/29/10
What about Harold Perrineau stint as a pilot in the (sad) Matrix sequels?
By Korby42 at 11:29 AM ON 01/29/10
Emilie De Raven was also in the Holiday Classic "Santa's Slay" alongside wrestler Goldberg (who plays a magical buffalo riding demonic Santa)
Josh Holloway starred in the Sci-fi channel movie "Sabertooth"
Evangeline Lilly is an Extra in Freddy Vs. Jason, you have to really look for her
By JacobontheIsland at 2:38 PM ON 01/29/10
Let's see how long this post is visible before it gets purged like all the others I've sent in over the past several days.
To recap previous comments:
Michael Emerson's clip was terribly short. It would have been very nice to see/hear more of his previous work.
I enjoyed seeing the opening credits to CRUSADE. I enjoyed that show very much. Daniel Dae Kim was great as Lt. Mattheson.
Okay, CAPTCHA, here goes try no. 1 for today.
By JacobontheIsland at 2:41 PM ON 01/29/10
Forgot to mention -
I'm glad poor Josh Holloway doen'st have to sport the haircut al a lawnmower these days.
By hmcd at 3:16 PM ON 01/29/10
Don't forget Jeremy Davies in a very disturbing movie called, "Spanking the Monkey". Good, but disturbing film. First time he was on Lost I started screaming, "Spank the monkey!" I hadn't seen him in years!
By Dharma beer at 3:28 PM ON 01/29/10
I think Daniel Dae Kim was in 24 in its 2nd of 3rd season.
By JacobontheIsland at 10:26 PM ON 01/29/10
Yes, Daniel Dae Kim had a recurring role on 24.
By shamrockery at 9:44 PM ON 01/30/10
Terry O'Quinn as Howard Hughes in Disney's - 'The Rocketeer'
By Queen Kong at 10:17 PM ON 01/30/10
I always remember Terry O'Quinn in the Stepfather. I'm surprised it hasn't been mentioned before now. So creepy.
Harold Perrineau I once saw in an Episode of Dead Like Me as a Yoga Instructor who breaks his neck trying to impress a lady in his class. Harold is a very limber guy. What they should have shown was a clip from his days on Fame. That would've been hilarious.
Naveen Andrews I once saw in a Skinamax late night airing of Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love. He falls in love with the King's favorite concubine. Big mistake. Sentenced to death by Elephant Stomping. Poor guy.
By rcwkid at 9:06 AM ON 01/31/10
Jeremy Davis also had a major role in "Saving Private Ryan" as the office boy who had to become a soldier.
By vince at 9:37 PM ON 02/01/10
How could you forget the WEIRDEST one of ALL!?!?!
Nestor as BAT-MANUEL on "The Tick"!!!!
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vince:
How could you forget the WEIRDEST one of ALL!?!?! Nestor as BAT-MANUEL on "The Tick"!!!!...More »