Netflix’s 13 Reasons Why ended in June 2020 after a four-season run. Here is a ranking of each season following the story of Clay Jensen (Dylan Minette) and his schoolmates at Liberty High School.
Dylan Minnette has played Clay Jensen, a leading character on Netflix’s 13 Reasons Why since the show premiered in 2017.
Originally, he was one of two primary characters in the series (the other being Katherine Langford’s Hannah Baker).
Since the third season, however, Clay has emerged as the sole protagonist.
13 Reasons Why was far from the first acting job on Minnette’s resumé and this was part of the reason (no pun intended) that he was the right person to play Clay.
Throughout the three seasons, Clay has gone through unimaginable emotional turmoil and while a talented newcomer could have pulled this off, Minnette’s experience helped Clay’s heartbreak feel palpable.
Prior to landing the role, Minnette had worked with actors including Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Jason Isaacs, Cherry Jones, Matthew Fox, Elizabeth Mitchell and Emilie de Ravin.
Not only did Minnette have the experience of working extensively, he also got to learn from older, very talented actors.
As Minnette was 20 at the time 13 Reasons Why was released, he had experience of playing teenage boys with emotional issues. His roles on shows such as Lost, Awake and Marvel’s Agents Of Shield are examples of this.
This recognisability also worked in Minnette’s favour. Since the audience is intended to root for Clay, it is much easier to connect with someone whose face you already recognise.
Overall, Minnette’s portrayal of the character has made Clay feel complex and well-rounded rather than just a male protagonist on a teen drama.
Being the main character, Clay interacts with almost everyone else and likewise, Minnette has onscreen chemistry with everyone he works closely with on 13 Reasons Why.
This includes his onscreen mother Lainie Jensen (Amy Hargreaves), foster brother Justin Foley (Brandon Flynn) as well as his friends, Tony Padilla (Christian Navarro), Jeff Atkins (Brandon Larracuente), Jessica Davis (Alisha Boe) and Tyler Down (Devin Druid), among others.
13 Reasons Why has completed filming its fourth season, which stars Dylan Minnette, Grace Saif, Christian Navarro, Alisha Boe, Brandon Flynn, Ross Butler, Miles Heizer, Devin Druid, Amy Hargreaves and Gary Sinise.
LOST first premiered over fifteen years ago. During its six years on ABC, the show’s regular cast, which included Evangeline Lilly, Maggie Grace, Jorge Garcia, Josh Holloway, Ian Somerhalder and Daniel Dae Kim, were able to showcase their talent that led to future opportunities.
With the many flashbacks that took place before the events on the Island, many other actors played relatives, friends, rivals or even lovers of 815 survivors.
Some of these people are recognisable names who went on to achieve fame in more bigger, more notable roles.
Read on to find out more about these ten lucky actors.
Zelijko Ivanek – Madam Secretary
On LOST, Ivanek played Edmund Burke, Juliet’s (Elizabeth Mitchell) ex-husband and former boss.
Prior to playing Edmund, Ivanek had guest-starred on other popular shows including 24 (as Andre Drazen) and 0Z (as Governor James Devlin).
Since appearing on LOST, Ivanek later reunited with Mitchell on the latter’s short-lived NBC series Revolution.
Between 2014 and 2019, Ivanek starred as Russell Jackson on the political drama Madam Secretary.
Jeremy Shada – Adventure Time
Jeremy Shada guest-starred in two episodes of LOST: “Fire + Water” and “Greatest Hits” as the younger version of Charlie Pace (Dominic Monaghan).
Shada’s real-life brother, Zack Shada, played Young Liam Pace.
Between 2010 and 2018, Shada voiced the lead role, Finn the Human on the Cartoon Network series Adventure Time.
Julie Bowen – Modern Family
Bowen guest-starred in multiple LOST episodes during the first three seasons.
She played the role of Sarah, one of Jack’s spinal patients, who later becomes his wife before they divorce.
In 2009, Bowen landed the role of Claire Dunphy on the multi-generational, mockumentary sitcom Modern Family, which aired on ABC until 2020.
RELATED: 15 Years On: How LOST Inspired Other Fiction
MC Gainey – Justified
Gainey played Tom Friendly, a member of The Others and one of the show’s few confirmed non-heterosexual characters, during the first four seasons across multiple episodes.
While Tom was an imposing villain, he pales when compared to the likes of Benjamin Linus or even the Smoke Monster version of John Locke.
In 2010, Gainey landed the role of Bo Crowder, one of the first season’s main antagonists, on Justified.
Nathan Fillion – Castle
On LOST, Fillion played Kevin Callis, a police officer who married Kate (Evangeline Lilly) while she was under a false name.
Previously, Fillion had appeared in the cult science-fiction series Firefly, as Captain Malcolm ‘Mal’ Reynolds.
From 2009 to 2016, Fillion played Richard Castle on ABC’s Castle. The character was a crime novelist who shadowed the NYPD.
Since 2018, Fillion has starred in The Rookie for ABC as John Nolan, who, at 45, is the oldest LAPD recruit.
Dylan Minnette – 13 Reasons Why
Prior to landing the lead role of Clay Jensen on Netflix’s 13 Reasons Why, Minnette appeared in a number of shows and movies including Drake and Josh, Fred Claus, Awake, Prisoners and Goosebumps.
One of Minnette’s more notable early roles was as David Shephard in the final season of LOST.
His character was the son of Jack (Matthew Fox) and Juliet (Elizabeth Mitchell) as well as the nephew of Claire (Emilie de Ravin), who only existed in the flash-sideways timeline and not in the “real” events.
RELATED: 13 Things You Didn’t Know About 13 Reasons Why
Greg Grunberg – Heroes
Grunberg, a longtime friend and collaborator of LOST co-creator JJ Abrams, appeared in the pilot episode as 815 flight pilot Seth Norris.
Abrams has cast Grunberg in many other projects, including Felicity, Alias and the recent Star Wars films.
Two years after appearing on LOST, Grunberg landed the role of police officer Matt Parkman on the NBC series Heroes. He would reprise this role in 2015 for Heroes Reborn.
Kim Dickens – Fear The Walking Dead
On LOST, Dickens played Cassidy, who was the mother of Sawyer’s (Josh Holloway) child, Clementine Philips.
Cassidy was also an acquaintance of Kate Austen, who was once again using a false name.
For the first four seasons, Dickens played the leading role of Madison Clark on the AMC series Fear The Walking Dead, before the character was killed off.
Patrick J. Adams – Suits
Canadian-born Adams played Peter Talbot, a man who had tracked down John Locke (Terry O’Quinn), in a guest appearance on LOST.
Peter was concerned that John’s father Anthony Cooper (Kevin Tighe) – who Peter only thought was someone John had donated a kidney to – was exploiting his mother financially.
After John mentioned this conversation to his father, Peter later showed up dead.
In real life, Adams landed the role of fraudulent lawyer Mike Ross on Suits, which ran from 2011 to 2019. Adams himself exited as a main cast member after seven seasons and returned for the finale.
Dean Norris – Breaking Bad
While guest-starring on LOST during season five, Norris played Howard Gray, a grieving father who hired Miles Straume (Ken Leung) to communicate with his late son.
In 2008, after playing a long succession of law enforcement roles, Norris landed the role of DEA agent Hank Schrader on Breaking Bad, playing the role for five seasons as the show became one of the most critically acclaimed of all time.
Norris had also appeared alongside future co-star Bryan Cranston in 2006’s Little Miss Sunshine although the two did not personally share scenes with each other.
LOST starred an ensemble cast, including Matthew Fox, Emilie de Ravin, Naveen Andrews, Jorge Garcia, Elizabeth Mitchell, Henry Ian Cusick, Michael Emerson, Terry O’Quinn and Daniel Dae Kim.