James Sawyer, played by Josh Holloway, had some amazing nicknames for his fellow castaways on Lost. Many - or even most - of them were pretty mean, but in a show filled with heavy, intense scenes, and some of the most shocking moments in TV history, it was important to have at least one character that we could laugh at or with when he spouted off a nickname. One of the reasons Lost is a rewatchable show is to catch moments and nicknames you might have missed the first time. Like these, our list of great nicknames from Sawyer.
Deep Dish - Hurley
Hugo Reyes, aka Hurley, played by Jorge Garcia, was often the target of Sawyer's taunts. They usually focused on Hurley's weight. Sure, that's really mean, but Hurley (and Garcia) took it all in stride. His weight was a major component of his character to shying away from the subject wasn't in anyone's interest. Sawyer calling him "Deep Dish" is a perfect example.
Tokyo Rose - Sun
We do have to address the casual racism of Sawyer. It's not to be excused, of course, but it still made for some creative nicknames. This is when it's best to laugh at the creativity or even lack of it. Calling Sun (Yunjin Kim) "Tokyo Rose" is insulting on many levels, not the least of which is that Sun is Korean.
Hobbit - Charlie
This just might be the funniest inside joke on Lost. Charlie is played by Dominic Monaghan. It was Monaghan's second big role in his career. His first, of course, was Meriadoc Brandybuck in the Lord Of The Rings trilogy. Brandybuck was a hobbit. So while Sawyer is insulting Charlie's height, he's using a great inside joke to do it.
Moonbeam - Libby
Libby (Cynthia Watros) is a tallie that fans met in Season 2 of Lost. It doesn't take long for Sawyer to come up with a nickname either: Moonbeam. Libby has a pretty relaxed, hippie-like attitude about a lot of things, so the nickname is pretty spot on.
Jumbotron - Hurley
Sawyer is pretty relentless with Hurley, but honestly, it's pretty hard not to giggle a little a "Jumbotron." No one would ever use that as an insult anywhere in the normal world. Mean? For sure. Creative? Yep.
Dr. Quinn - Jack
Jack Shephard, played by Matthew Fox, is pretty much the main character on Lost, even among the ensemble cast. He's also frequently at odds with Sawyer, so it stands to reason that Sawyer would have a lot of nicknames for the good doctor. "Dr. Quinn" is among the best, referencing the classic TV show Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman.
Shaft - Mr. Eko
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, who played Mr. Eko, had too short of a run on Lost and fans wish he'd stuck around longer. It was long enough to earn a few nicknames, with maybe the best being "Shaft" in reference to the legendary '70s movie. Sawyer was great at quickly referencing pop culture.
Thelma - Kate
Kate (Evangeline Lilly) was a complicated character on Lost. Despite often being cast as a hero, she could be somewhat unlikeable sometimes. Her love triangle between Jack and Sawyer is a big reason why. Despite all the flirting, Sawyer could still get his digs in, like calling her "Thelma" in reference to the movie Thelma & Louise when she struck out looking for revenge one time.
Yoda - Ben
Michael Emerson joined the cast as "Henry Gale" late in Season 2 of Lost. Eventually, we learned his real name was Ben Linus. He was full of wisdom and never afraid to let everyone know just how smart he was, leading to Sawyer calling him "Yoda."
Colonel Kurtz - Locke
John Locke (Terry O'Quinn) is one of the most important characters throughout the entire run of the show. As such, he's often the target of Sawyer's insults and nicknames. One of the funniest has got to be "Colonel Kurtz" in reference to Marlon Brando's character in Apocalypse Now. It's just perfect for a bald guy in the jungle, right? If only he could have stayed out in the jungle, away from Sawyer...
Han - Michael
In Season 1, Sawyer gets in on building the raft with Michael (Harold Perrineau) and Jin (Daniel Dae Kim) and this leads to a slew of nicknames for both of them. While on the raft, he refers to them collectively as "Han" (Michael) and "Chewie" (Jin) as they try to drive the janky raft, much like the famous duo do with the janky Millennium Falcon in the Star Wars movies.
Magic Leprechaun - Desmond
Henry Ian Cusick's character Desmond is introduced in a flashback in Season 1, but it's really at the beginning of Season 2 when we start to learn all about him. When Sawyer calls him "Magic Leprechaun" it makes it easy to laugh at Sawyer. Desmond, you see, is Scottish, not Irish, but a guy like Sawyer just doesn't care about the important distinction.
Captain Bligh - Michael
One of the many nicknames Sawyer uses on Michael while they are on the raft at the end of Season 1 is "Captain Bligh," referring of course to the sadistic captain of the HMS Bounty in Mutiny on the Bounty.
Reject From VH1's Has-Beens - Charlie
"(You All) Everybody" is a hit song by Charlie's band, Drive Shaft. Drive Shaft was sort of like a store-brand version of Oasis, right down to the bickering brothers. They also seem exactly like the type of band that would have appeared on VH1 as a has-been band from a bygone era. The fact that Sawyer tosses in the "reject" part makes the insult even more biting.
Red Beret - Sayid
Of all the characters on Lost that Sawyer is racist towards, Sayid (Naveen Andrews) has it the worst. Some of them are incredibly horrid, but "Red Beret" is actually pretty creative. Sayid is a former member of the Iraqi Republican Guard, who were famous for the red berets they wore.
Sheena - Kate
Sheena, Queen of the Jungle, is one of the many comic book references scattered through Lost. On the island, Kate is the group's very own queen of the jungle, so Sawyer pulling out this gem is pretty hilarious. It's a deep cut that not everyone would get, which makes it all the better.
Chewie - Jin
When Michael builds the raft, his right-hand man is Jin. The two bicker the whole time, but they build a bond. Just like Han and Chewie in the Star Wars movie. Sawyer uses the "Chewie" nickname for Jin a couple of times when in reference to the raft and shortly after they wash back up on the island.
Rambina - Ana Lucia
It doesn't take long for Sawyer to come up with a quick-witted name for Ana Lucia (Michelle Rodriguez). After she is thrown into the pit with them, the first time she's seen on the island, Sawyer calls her "Rambina" which is, frankly, the perfect nickname for her character at that point. She's one of the toughest women on the island, befitting the name.
Stay-Puff - Hurley
Sawyer is clearly a member of Generation X. A lot of his nicknames stem from that. Take, for example, calling Hurley "Stay Puff." Anyone causally referencing Ghostbusters and the marshmallow man at the end has to be Gen X. Sure, it's another shot at Hurley's weight, but it's also creative!
Cool Hand - Jack
Towards the end of Season 2, tension had been building between Sawyer and Jack over some medicine Sawyer was refusing to share with the group. What starts as a friendly game of poker for fruit, turns into a showdown between the two over the meds. Jack wins, earning the nicknames "Amarillo Slim" and "Cool Hand" from Sawyer.
Mr. Miyagi - Jin
Sometimes Sawyer's prejudices get the better of him. When he calls Jin Mr. Miyagi, he's not trying to be racist, it's almost like a compliment, but really, it's just problematic. Though somewhat creative, and another clue that Sawyer's pop culture knowledge is limited mostly to the 1980s.
Daniel Boone - Locke
John Locke spent a lot of time on the island alone. What he's doing isn't always exactly clear, except that he's exploring. Daniel Boone is one of the most famous American explorers, and a man who had no problem living off the land, just like Locke in Lost.
Donger - Miles
Okay, okay. So this is an insult that references a movie that in and of itself is pretty problematic. "Donger," which Sawyer calls Miles (Ken Leung) is a reference to Gedde Watanabe's character Long Duk Dong in Sixteen Candles. That character is problematic as is Sawyer using the nickname for another Asian man. It's a great way to laugh at Sawyer, not with him.
Ponce De Leon - Ana Lucia
Sawyer seems to have pretty good knowledge of great explorers and uses them a few times. One time it's Daniel Boone for Locke, another is Ponce De Leon for Ana Lucia as she leads the group of tallies through the jungle to meet up with the main group of survivors on the beach.
Metro - Jack
"Metro" was a term in a specific time, notably the time Lost aired in the mid-00s. It's a description that soon fell out of favor, but it fits perfectly in this time and place on Lost. And yes, it's definitely a way to describe Matthew Fox in almost any of his roles, including Jack.
Bluebeard - Michael
Most of Sawyer's most creative nicknames for Michael come from the time building and sailing the raft at the end of Season 1. Many of them are great nautical references, even calling him Magellan at one point. "Bluebeard" is meant to be in reference to a pirate, but the character comes from French folklore that has nothing to do with crime on the high seas. This makes it both creative and factually incorrect, perfect for Sawyer.
Betty - Sun
It's hard to pinpoint why Sawyer called Sun "Betty" after Betty White, is so funny, but it just is. It's maybe the deepest cut on this list too. He calls her that just after Jin finds out she secretly speaks English, and the reference is to the Betty White movie "Liar's Club." Yeah, it's an obscure one, for sure, but that's part of what made Lost so great.
Mr. Clean - Locke
Many of Sawyer's nicknames for Locke reference Locke's bald head. "Mr. Clean" is one of the more obvious ones, of course. Still, in the '80s Mr. Clean commercials were all over daytime TV and there isn't anyone around from that era who doesn't think of Mr. Clean as the quintessential "bald guy" on TV, with all due respect to Telly Savalas' character Kojak.
The Artist Formerly Known As Henry Gale - Ben
When audiences first met Ben Linus on Lost, he used the pseudonym "Henry Gale." There are some great theories as to where it came from, but for many, the best thing about it is when Sawyer pulls out a reference to The Purple One, Prince, and the era when he went by "The Artist Formerly Known As Prince" during a dispute with his record company.
Dr. Giggles - Jack
Dr. Giggles is a long-forgotten horror movie from the early '90s. Just referencing the movie must have had some fans of Lost jumping for joy because of the obscurity. It's also kinda the perfect nickname for Jack, who rarely lets his guard down and is very serious most of the time.
Barbar - Hurley
Well, he finally did it. Sawyer finally just came out and called Hurley an elephant. Specifically the beloved "Babar." It comes in a particularly tense moment between the characters as they trudge through the jungle together. There is just something so funny about the name "Babar" used in any context, even as an offensive insult.
Sulu - Jin
TV references were always a key part of Sawyer's nicknames. It might seem like calling Jin "Sulu" in reference to the iconic character played by George Takai in Star Trek is just another lazy reference based on Jin's race. But you have to remember Jin was steering the raft at the time and Sulu was the pilot of the USS Enterprise. So, really, it's pretty perfect.
A lot of famous actors came and went on Lost over the years, but for the most part, the nicknames were reserved for the regulars. The cast members who made up the core of the cast.
