Character
John Locke
John Locke in Lost (2004), played by Terry O'Quinn.
Before the crash he was a man in a wheelchair; on the island he can suddenly walk, and he takes it as proof of something larger. Locke hunts boar with a knife, reads the jungle like scripture, and tells anyone who'll listen that the island brought them here for a reason. Calm, watchful, unnervingly certain.
O'Quinn plays faith as a physical fact rather than a platitude, so Locke's serenity feels earned even when it's frightening. The writing keeps his transformation just ambiguous enough — miracle or delusion — and O'Quinn's stillness never tips his hand. You lean toward him and can't quite tell why.
John Locke is the central protagonist of Lost. He was a survivor of Oceanic Flight 815. A disabled wheelchair user at the time of the flight, Locke miraculously found himself able to walk once he arrived on the Island. He, Rose, Walt, and eventually Bernard were the only survivors who wanted to stay on the Island. He believed his special destiny was to protect the miraculous place.
Played by
Appears in
Lost2004