Terry O'Quinn

Age 52

Casting backstory O'Quinn received a call from Abrams (who had previously cast him as FBI honcho Kendall on Alias). ''He said he was going to do a show and was I interested in being involved and I said yes,'' O'Quinn told EW in November 2004. ''And he said, 'It's going to shoot in Hawaii, which might be a drawback,' and I said, 'That's not a drawback.' Then he said, 'Well, the character isn't going to be too involved in the first episode or two,' and I said, 'I'll take it.'''

Our favorite moment The creepy and poignant flashback scene in the travel agency revealing that Locke was paralyzed from the waist down before the plane crash.

When he looked into the eye of the island, what did he see? ''I talked to Damon and he said, 'All I want to tell you is that you saw the most beautiful thing you've ever seen.' I said, 'I can work with that.'''

Burning question What's Locke's motive for keeping the hatch secret from the other castaways? ''His motive is revealed soon,'' says Lindelof. ''Everything Locke does he believes is in the best interest of everybody. That's all I'll say.''

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