Lost may have taken place on an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, but with flashbacks, flashforwards, and sideways flashes, there were a lot of roles to fill. Some amazing actors augmented the main Lost cast brilliantly and we bet you've probably forgotten many of them. Here is a list of those actors you've probably forgotten appeared on Lost.
Allison Janney
Years before she played the titular mother on the sitcom Mom with Ana Faris, Allison Janney played a completely different kind of mother on Lost. That was her character’s name, in fact, Mother. She was appropriately mother (or adoptive mother, more accurately) to Jacob and the Man in Black on The Island. Before their arrival, she was the only inhabitant of The Island. Of Janney’s many superb roles, the one she is most famous for is CJ Cregg on The West Wing
Michael Cudlitz
You might know him best for Band Of Brothers where he played Bull Randleman, or maybe from The Walking Dead where he was loved as the tragic Abraham Ford. But you might probably don’t remember him as Ana Lucia’s (Michelle Rodriguez) partner in the LAPD, and later a detective interrogating Hurley. His character, Mike Walton, only showed up in two characters, but you still root for him, just like always.
Billy Dee Williams
One of the most controversial episodes of Lost is “Expose” from Season 3, better known as the “Nikki and Paulo episode.” The plot centered around two previously unknown survivors and plays out much like an episode of The Twilight Zone. Overshadowed in the online arguments over the episode’s place in the show was that Nikki’s flashbacks showed her as an actress on a show, also called “Expose,” where she co-starred with Billy Dee Williams, who plays himself in the episode.
Katey Sagal
What can we say about the great Katey Sagal that hasn’t already been said? With hits like Sons Of Anarchy, Married…With Children, and as part of the cast of Rebels on her resume, she’ll be remembered forever. Less remembered is her brief four-episode character arc as a love interest of John Locke (Terry O'Quinn) in flashbacks named Helen Norwood.
Tamara Taylor
Over 12 seasons of Bones, Tamara Taylor became a household name. Taylor is less remembered for her wonderful portrayal of Susan Lloyd, mother of Walt, in two episodes in Season 1 and 2. She’s also appeared on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Law & Order: Organized Crime, and scores of other shows.
William Atherton
Nobody in Hollywood plays a smug jerk like the great William Atherton. Whether it’s the EPA agent in Ghostbusters or the reporter in Die Hard, Atherton has an amazing ability to be the guy you love to hate. He plays a similar role in one episode of Lost, as Principal Donald Reynolds. Reynolds is the principal (and an antagonist to Ben Linus) in Episode Seven of the show's final season.
Cheech Marin
For an actor who started out doing teenage stoner humor, Cheech Marin has built an incredible career for himself. He was the perfect actor to take on the role of David Reyes, Hugo’s father with an amazing wig, in three episodes in flashbacks to Hugo’s childhood.
Željko Ivanek
Željko Ivanek is an actor with an uncanny ability to play characters that are slimy and shady. He’s brilliant at it. On Lost, he plays such a character, as Juliet’s ex-husband in Season 3, until he meets an untimely demise. Outside of Lost, he’s an accomplished actor who won an Emmy for his role in Damages and also starred in Madame Secretary and Homicide: Life On The Streets.
Rob McElhenney
Rob McElhenney was already a big deal when he showed up on Lost as Aldo, one of The Others, who was guarding the Hydra Station when we first met him. Always Sunny In Philadelphia was a hit when he made his appearance on Lost, and the future owner of Wrexham FC (and star of the TV show Welcome To Wrexham) made the most of his character’s three-episode arc, showing he could be more than just Mac on Always Sunny.
Lance Reddick
Lance Reddick was beloved for his roles in the John Wick movies, as well as his turn as Lt. Cedric Daniels on The Wire. The late Reddick also spent a little time on Lost, playing the shadowy Matthew Abaddon, an employee of Charles Widmore whose job it is to make sure the correct people end up on The Island. Though Reddick only appeared in four episodes over Seasons 4 and 5, it was a crucial role.
Dean Norris
Long before he became a household name playing Hank Schrader on Breaking Bad, Dean Norris guest starred on one episode of Lost. In Episode 13 of Season 5, Norris plays a grieving father who hires Miles Straume (Ken Leung) to contact his deceased son.
Bruce Davison
Bruce Davison is the kind of actor who shows up in everything and is always first-rate when he does. Davison has an astonishing 281 acting credits listed on IMDB, so it’s no surprise he found his way onto Lost where he played the doctor at the mental institution where Hurley was a patient for two episodes in Season 6.
DJ Qualls
DJ Qualls is probably best known for playing Kyle in Road Trip but his career has been busy for a long time. Including an episode in Season 2 of Lost, where he plays Hugo’s work buddy from Mr. Cluck’s, Johnny, in a flashback.
Greg Grunberg
It’s no surprise that since Lost was produced by J.J., Abrams that Greg Grunberg would make an appearance. Grunberg, whose friendship with Abrams goes back decades, almost always pops up somewhere in movies and shows directed by Abrams, and Lost is no exception. Grunberg plays the role of the airplane pilot in the very first episode of the show and appears later in the show's run on a TV screen showing a news report of the plane crash.
Jon Gries
Appearing in seven episodes, as Ben Linus’ (Michael Emerson) father, Roger, is veteran actor Jon Gries. Gries has been a working actor since the 1980s, appearing in movies like Real Genius and The Monster Squad, but he’s best known for his role as Uncle Rico in Napolean Dynamite and for playing Tanya’s husband, Greg Hunt, in The White Lotus.
Robin Weigert
Robin Weingert was part of the amazing cast of Deadwood, playing one of the most-remembered characters, Calamity Jane. She is less remembered for her brief three-episode run on Lost. Weingert plays Juliet's (Elizabeth Mitchell) sister, who has cancer and whom Juliet is treating. Her third appearance on the show is little more than a video, of sorts, that is shown to Juilet on The Island.
Saïd Taghmaoui
French actor Saïd Taghmaoui has appeared in films and TV all over the world. His first appearance in a U.S. movie was David O. Russell’s Three Kings in 1997, where he played an Iraqi Army officer. Since then, Taghaoui has appeared in numerous movies including John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum and Wonder Woman. On Lost, Taghmaoui was on Ajira Flight 316 in Season 6 which was meant to return Jack and the others to The Island.
Fisher Stevens
It’s hard to wrap your head around that Fisher Stevens’ career goes all the way back to the Short Circuit movies in the ‘80s, but it has. In the 20-teens, Stevens became a regular in Wes Anderson movies, like The Grand Budapest Hotel and The French Dispatch. On Lost Stevens played a member of the crew on Charles Widmore’s freighter named George in six episodes.
Julie Bowen
In five of Jack Shephard’s (Matthew Fox) flashbacks over the first three seasons, viewers meet his ex-wife, Sarah, played by Julie Bowen. A few years later, Bowen would star in one of the biggest sitcoms of the 2000s as Claire Dunphy on Modern Family.
Robert Patrick
The liquid Terminator himself, Robert Patrick, starred in one episode in Season 1 of Lost. Naturally, he plays a shady character who worked in the past with Sawyer on “The Tampa Job.” Patrick’s character, Hibbs, attempts to convince Sawyer that Sawyer’s father is living in Australia, hoping Sawyer will kill him. Patrick was quite famous by the time of his guest-starring turn, but people forget he was on at all because Hibbs never returned to the story.
Samantha Mathis
For people in Generation X, Pump Up The Volume (1990) was a momentous film, and a big reason why was Samantha Mathis, who made her film debut in the movie. Since then she’s kept very busy in Hollywood, including as a regular performer in Stephen King adaptations. She also played a young Ben Linus’ schoolteacher in Episode 20 of Season 3, when Linus arrived on the island as a kid with his father.
Brett Cullen
Brett Cullen’s first big break came on the 1980s show Falcon Crest, where he played Dan Fixx. He’s shown up in dozens of shows and movies since, including The West Wing and Person Of Interest. Cullen has also shown up in two Batman-related movies. He plays a congressman in The Dark Knight Rises and he plays Thomas Wayne in The Joker. Cullen played Goodwin Stanhope on Lost for five episodes.
Swoosie Kurtz
Swoosie Kurtz has been appearing on television since 1962 when she was just 17 years old. More than 40 years later, she appeared on two episodes of Lost. Playing John Locke’s biological mother, she isn’t the most likable character, but she should be better remembered because her performance was great.
Kim Dickens
Sawyer conned a lot of people over his career, but one of the most intriguing was Cassidy Phillips, played by Kim Dickens. She learns the trade from him and later ends up befriending Kate. Dickens is also known for Fear The Walking Dead, Treme, and Deadwood, in addition to roles in the films Gone Girl and The Blind Side.
Hiroyuki Sanada
Hiroyuki Sanada has been in some of the biggest franchises in American film, including appearing in the MCU and John Wick 4. That’s all after having a huge career in Hong Kong and his native Japan. Sanada appeared in four episodes of Season 6 of Lost as Dogan.
Saul Rubinek
Canadian Saul Rubinek has had supporting roles in some of the biggest movies of all time, including Unforgiven in 1992, and Wall Street in 1987. In 2005 Rubinek appeared in the second episode of the the second season of Lost as the attorney for Micheal (Harold Perrineau) in his legal battle to keep his son Walt’s mother from moving him to Italy.
Mark Pellegrino
Mark Pellegrino has been in dozens of movies and even more TV shows over the years. As part of the main role in American Rust, Pellegrino finally started getting the stardom he’s long deserved. He’s been in movies like The Big Lebowski, National Treasure, Capote, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, and Mullholand Drive. He also starred as the mysterious Jacob on Lost.
Kevin Tighe
Kevin Tighe’s career stretches way back to the ‘70s and the criminally underrated TV show Emergency!, On Lost, the Road House star played Locke’s father Anthony Cooper, who was a conman who was also the likely inspiration for James Ford (Josh Holloway) taking the name “Sawyer”, as Cooper conned Sawyer’s mother when Sawyer was a kid.
John Hawkes
One of the most aptly named characters on Lost was Lennon, because he’s the spitting image of John Lennon in the late ‘60s, with the round wire glasses and everything. Lennon is played by John Hawkes, who is probably best known for playing Sol on Deadwood. He’s also been in a lot of movies, including 2010’s Winter’s Bone, which earned him an Academy Award nomination.
Kevin Chapman
Kevin Chapman is great at playing a tough guy. On TV shows like Person of Interest and movies like The Boondock Saints, or on Lost, where he played Mitch, one of the security people for the DHARMA Initiative on The Island, he never is a guy you'd want to mess with.
Michelle Rodriguez
Michelle Rodriguez was a cast member on Lost for most of Season 2, though people seem to forget she was a pivotal part of the show as the LAPD cop Ana Lucia. Though she met a tragic end, Ana Lucia would pop back up a few seasons later in a sideway flash in Season 6 and she would appear to Hurley in hallucination in Season 5.
Shawn Doyle
Shawn Doyle plays a big role in the first three seasons of The Expanse, playing a UN official. He’s also appeared in dozens of other TV shows, including one episode of Lost. Doyle plays an attorney defending Kate, played by Ant-Man and it’s sequels star Evangeline Lilly.
Lost was one of the most talked about shows in TV history, but somehow it was filled with wonderful performances by actors you’ve probably forgotten were even on the show.
