The Cast Of Lost Has Changed A Lot Since 2004

It's not hyperbole to state that "Lost" was a television game-changer. Making its debut in 2004, the J.J. Abrams-produced series thrust viewers into an all-encompassing mystery that began with a jet airliner, Oceanic Flight 815, crashing on a seemingly deserted island. The island, in fact, was actually populated by a group dubbed the Others, working for a secretive endeavor known as the Dharma Initiative. Meanwhile, fans scratched their collective heads as they attempted to solve a six-season puzzle that encompassed such oddities as a monster made from black smoke, a polar bear living on a tropical island, and more flashbacks than ever before seen in episodic television. When "Lost" came to a conclusion in 2010, viewers were still trying to figure out what the heck had happened after a controversial series finale left most of the numerous lingering questions unanswered. 

For the series' stars, being part of a hit show that also became a pop-culture phenomenon certainly opened doors for its cast. While many of those actors had been more-or-less unknown entities when they were cast, they emerged as well-known stars when it was all over.

Many of the series' stars, in fact, did go on to other projects, of varying degrees of success. With that in mind, read on to find out what the cast of "Lost" looks like today.

In the key role of Kate Austen, Evangeline Lilly starred in "Lost" throughout the entirety of its run. From there, Lilly left television in the rearview mirror to focus on film. The first of these was 2011's "Real Steel," in which she co-starred with Hugh Jackman. That was followed by 2013's "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug," and its sequel the following year. Lilly entered the Marvel Cinematic Universe with the 2015 release of "Ant-Man," in which she starred as Hope Van Dyne. In the 2018 sequel, Hope became a superhero in her own right when she became Wasp. She reprised the character in a third "Ant-Man" movie, 2023's "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania," and also made a brief appearance in "Avengers: Endgame."

Interviewed by ABC News, Lilly revealed that she was aware her character would eventually become Wasp in the second film, but was legitimately surprised to learn that her superhero alter ego would be in the movie's title. "And it didn't occur to me that, like, hang on a minute, 'There's a female superhero's name in the title, and that female superhero is you,' which is the coolest thing ever," she said.

In her personal life, Lilly was surprised to be hit by backlash when, in the midst of the pandemic, she issued some social media posts supporting the anti-vaccine movement. "I didn't expect anyone to pay attention to it, because no one ever pays attention to what I post," she told Esquire.

Yunjim Kim was a star in her native South Korea when she was cast as Sun Kwon in "Lost," her first-ever role on American television. Since then, she's remained busy in both American and Korean productions, particularly the latter. In fact, three years after "Lost" ended, Kim joined ABC drama "Mistresses," airing from 2013 to 2016.

Speaking with Assignment X, Kim addressed the time gap between the two shows. "It was never a conscious choice," she said, revealing she'd returned to Korea and shoot a few films before returning to the U.S. When it came to her followup role on U.S. television, Kim was adamant that it be as far away from "Lost" as possible. "Because I felt like, the amazing show that 'Lost' was, my character was just so specific in ethnicity and that was the focal point of my character, whereas my next show, I wanted it to be just about the character that has nothing to do with me being Korean or not," she explained.

After the cancellation of "Mistresses, Kim returned to Korea, appearing in several films and Netflix's international TV hit "Money Heist: Korea – Joint Economic Area." Portraying Seon Woo-jin, who negotiates with the crew pulling off the titular heist, Kim relished the opportunity to delve into such a complex role. "My character believes in solving this peacefully," she told Entertainment Weekly. "Not with force, but with words and ideas."

After portraying Sawyer on "Lost," Josh Holloway's track record as an integral part of the show's ensemble cast bumped up his profile, and it wasn't long before he was headlining TV shows. That was evident in his starring roles in the CBS series "Intelligence" — which aired for one 13-episode season in 2014 — and "Colony," a Syfy drama in which he battled a malevolent alien invasion over the course of three seasons. Other projects included a guest spot on sitcom "Community," and film roles in "Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol," "Battle of the Year," and "Sabotage." Holloway also appeared in the Apple TV+ revival of Stephen King's anthology series, "Amazing Stories," and provided his voice for the podcast series "Blackout." 

In 2020, Holloway joined hit series "Yellowstone" in the recurring role of rancher Roarke Morris, who stirred up trouble for series protagonist John Dutton (Kevin Costner). 

Off-camera, in 2021 Holloway partnered with High West Distillery to launch Great Outdoors Month, promoting a mobile game app called "Prairie Dash," with each game played resulting in a $1 donation to fund nature organization American Prairie Reserve. As for how he came to collaborate with the distillery, Holloway admitted it was a no-brainer when he was approached. "They heard that I love bourbon. And I'm an outdoorsman, and there you go," he told Esquire. 

After six seasons of portraying Jin-Soo Kwon on "Lost," Daniel Dae Kim jumped immediately into another role: Chin-Ho Kelly in "Hawaii Five-0," a CBS reboot of the classic 1970s cop show. He left that series in 2017 under a cloud of controversy due to a contract dispute. As he later told Vulture, his new role paid a lot less than he'd received on "Lost," but he'd assumed that once the show became a hit, his salary would rise accordingly. It didn't. "One thing that has never really properly been reported is the amount of pay cut I took to do 'Hawaii Five-0' from 'Lost,'" he said. "It was drastic, and it was never made up." 

After his exit, Kim found even greater success behind the camera, as executive producer of ABC medical drama "The Good Doctor." Debuting in 2017, the show — in which Freddie Highmore stars as a surgeon on the autism spectrum — went on to become a major hit for the network. 

The series is based on a Korean TV drama that Kim had watched — and felt would appeal to American viewers. "I also loved the fact that it wasn't just a medical show — it was really a show about character," he told the Philadelphia Inquirer. "He's someone we haven't seen before," he said of Highmore's character, "and I was very passionate about bringing those who have been underrepresented traditionally to our screens."

Australian actor Emilie de Ravin portrayed Claire on "Lost," who was pregnant (with a baby she was planning to give up for adoption) when Oceanic Flight 815 crashed. After "Lost" ended, de Ravin appeared in a few films and the TV miniseries "Air Force One Is Down" before joining the cast of ABC's fairytale-themed drama "Once Upon a Time." She portrayed Belle, based on the protagonist of "Beauty and the Beast," until exiting the series in its sixth season. She did, however, return for the series finale in order to wrap up the character's storyline that would offer satisfying closure for fans. "It meant everything," de Ravin told The Hollywood Reporter of being able to return to give Belle a proper sendoff. "It's been such a beautiful story and such a hectic story."

After leaving "Once Upon a Time," di Ravin's screen credits have been somewhat slight, consisting only of the 2019 TV movie "A Lover Scorned," and the 2022 Australian series "True Colours."

One big reason for her absence from the screen in recent years has been the fact that she's been focusing on her off-camera role as the mother of two young children, whom she shares with partner Eric Bilitch.

Few characters on "Lost" were more mysterious than John Locke, played by Terry O'Quinn. Like many of his co-stars, being involved with "Lost" raised O'Quinn's profile in Hollywood substantially. His next role as a series regular, however didn't last long, with the supernatural drama "666 Park Avenue" axed in 2012 after just 13 episodes. In 2014, he joined the cast of another short-lived TV series "Gang Related," and then appeared in 2016's "Secrets and Lies." 

He's also played recurring characters in numerous TV series, most notably former Navy SEAL Joe White in 16 episodes of "Hawaii Five-0." O'Quinn also recurred in "The Blacklist: Redemption," "Patriot," "Perpetual Grace, LTD," "FBI: Most Wanted," and "Resident Alien," among others.

In a 2012 interview with Vulture, O'Quinn admitted that while "Lost" continued to hold a large place in the hearts and minds of fans, filming the final episode didn't seem like such a big deal to him at the time. "The funny thing was my reaction to the ending and the experience of shooting the ending was strangely unemotional," O'Quinn recalled. "Because we were shooting the last month and I think we were all preparing for this experience to end and it was a big, pretty intense experience."