Courageous Nerd’s video tribute to actor Lance Reddick, whose death was announced in March 2023.
Acclaimed drama series LOST ended its run on ABC back in 2010. Here are 5 characters that could return, should the rumoured LOST reboot come to fruition.
Neil Hopkins is an American actor… although one of his most famous roles is as a Brit. He played musician “Liam Pace”, older brother to Dominic Monaghan’s Charlie on ABC’s LOST, between 2004-2010. Although Neil only appeared in 5 episodes, they spanned throughout the series’ entire run.
More recently, Neil Hopkins is starring as DC Comics villain Sportsmaster on Stargirl. The series was created by Geoff Johns and is airing on both DC Universe and The CW. Additionally, he plays the character’s civilian identity: Larry ‘Crusher’ Crock, a gym owner in Blue Valley, Nebraska.
Many thanks to Neil for taking the time to chat with Courageous Nerd. Among other topics, we discussed his roles on both LOST and Stargirl, what it’s like playing a supervillain, and the process of adopting Liam Pace’s Mancunian accent.
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.
Once Upon A Time aired on ABC between 2011 and 2018, featuring a large ensemble cast. Some of whom were well-known prior to appearing on the series, others less so. Once wasn’t their first rodeo.
Since each of their journeys on Once Upon A Time, have ended, many have moved on to new, different projects. Television, film, you name it.
Read on to find out what 13 cast members of Once Upon A Time were doing before and after the series aired.
Lee Arenberg (Grumpy)
Lee Arenberg played the dwarf Grumpy and his Storybrooke counterpart Leroy for over fifty episodes of Once Upon A Time as well as an appearance in Once Upon A Time In Wonderland. This makes him the series’ most frequently appearing guest-star.
Before landing this role, Arenberg was known for playing Pintel in the Pirates of The Caribbean film series, opposite Mackenzie Crook’s Ragetti.
He has also appeared on Disney’s Good Luck Charlie, American Gods on Starz and Showtime’s Californication.
Rebecca Mader (Zelena/Wicked Witch Of The West)
Mader joined the cast of Once Upon A Time in its third season, as the infamous Wicked Witch of the West. She was the main antagonist for that season’s second half.
Prior to this, Mader had played Charlotte Lewis on Lost, which Once Upon A Time co-creators Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz had written for.
In 2013, Mader had a small role in the Marvel Studios film Iron Man 3. She also starred in Work It, a short-lived comedy series on ABC.
Michael Socha (Will Scarlet)
Socha starred as Will Scarlet, one of Robin Hood’s Merry Men, in the fourth season of Once Upon A Time from 2014 to 2015.
He’d previously played the same character in the spin-off Once Upon A Time In Wonderland, which lasted for a single season.
Prior to appearing on either of these shows, Socha appeared in the This Is England series. Later, he appeared in the BBC miniseries World At War.
Meghan Ory (Ruby/Red Hiding Hood)
Meghan Ory’s Red Riding Hood (or Ruby as she’s known in Storybrooke) appeared regularly in the early seasons of Once Upon A Time but became a less frequent presence as the show went on in its later years.
Ory starred in the short lived espionage series Intelligence opposite Josh Holloway. Currently, she stars as Abby O’Brien in Chesapeake Shores.
She has also appeared as Hannah Lee in NCIS: New Orleans and in the Hallmark film The Memory Book.
Sean Maguire (Robin Hood)
Maguire joined Once Upon A Time in season three as the show’s second iteration of Robin Hood, taking over from future Lucifer star Tom Ellis.
As a young actor, Maguire starred for Aidan Brosnan in the BBC soap opera EastEnders for a year, in 1993.
He has also starred in two short-lived US sitcoms; Eve and The Class.
In 2020, Maguire played The Dark King in the fifth and final season of The Magicians.
Emilie De Ravin (Belle)
De Ravin made her debut as Belle during the first season of Once Upon A Time. She became a series regular from the second season onwards.
Although born in Australia, De Ravin was no stranger to American television. She had already appeared in the original Roswell series as well as five of Lost’s six seasons.
In 2010, De Ravin starred opposite Robert Pattinson in Remember Me.
Michael Raymond-James (Neal/Baelfire)
Raymond-James’ Neal Cassidy entered Once Upon A Time in the second season. He was subsequently revealed as Emma Swan’s past lover, Henry Mills’ biological father and the adult Baelfire, Rumplestiltskin’s son.
Already an established actor, Raymond-James starred as Rene in the firsr season of True Blood and later as Mitch Longo in the first season of Tell Me A Story.
He also starred in the NBC thriller Game Of Silence, which ran for a single season.
Colin O’Donoghue (Killian ‘Hook’ Jones)
O’Donoghue set sail on Once Upon A Time in season two, as the legendary Peter Pan villain Captain Hook, with the new name of Killian Jones.
A year earlier, Donoghue starred as a priest, Michael Kovak, opposite Anthony Hopkins in The Rite.
During the show’s run, he starred in Carrie Pilby, a 2016 comedy-drama film. He also played Peter in the post-apocalyptic thriller What Still Remains.
More recently, he portrayed JJ Sneed in an episode of Dolly Parton’s anthology series Heartstrings.
Lana Parrilla (Regina Mills)
Lana Parrilla was one of only two cast members to maintain her starring status in all seven seasons of Once Upon A Time, where she played Mayor Regina Mills and the Evil Queen.
Years earlier, Parrilla had briefly been a regular on 24 and guest-starred in Lost as a character named Greta.
Other past series regular jobs include runs on Spin City and Boomtown, which lasted a year each.
Robert Carlyle (Rumplestiltskin/Mr. Gold)
Carlyle also remained on Once Upon A Time, playing a myriad of characters which included multiple versions of Rumplestiltskin, his Storybrooke counterpart Mr. Gold and Weaver in the final season.
Scottish-born Carlyle is well-known for his roles in two 1990s films; Trainspotting (1996) and The Full Monty (1997), both of which are considered cult classics.
Just prior to joining Once Upon A Time, Carlyle played a scientist, Nicholas Rush, for two seasons on Stargate Universe before the show was cancelled.
Josh Dallas (Prince Charming/David Nolan)
Dallas, who played the heroic Prince Charming/David Nolan, completed his acting training in England. This experience as well as time afterwards amounted to eleven years across the pond, during which time he added Doctor Who to his resumé.
After returning to the United States, he played Fandral in the first Thor film. Commitments to Once Upon A Time prevented a return in the sequels.
In 2016, Dallas lent his voice to a pig in Zootopia, which starred a certain someone in his life.
Since 2018, Dallas has starred as Ben Stone in the NBC series Manifest.
Ginnifer Goodwin
Goodwin played heroine Snow White and her counterpart, school teacher Mary Margaret Blanchard, as part of the main cast for the first six seasons of Once Upon A Time. She later appeared as a guest in the series finale.
Between 2006 and 2011, Goodwin played Margene Heffman, one of three wives to Bill Henrickson (Bill Paxton) in the HBO series Big Love.
During Once Upon A Time‘s run, she also provided the voice of Judy Hopps, the lead character in 2016’s Zootopia, a Walt Disney Animation Studios film.
Since leaving Snow White behind, Goodwin has also portrayed Beth Ann Stanton on Why Women Kill and Genevieve Carson in Dolly Parton’s Heartstrings, in a different episode to Colin O’Donoghue.
Jennifer Morrison (Emma Swan)
Jennifer Morrison brought Emma Swan – The Savior herself – to Storybrooke and, indeed, to life.
However, prior to Once, Morrison had just completed a stint on another long-running series; House. She played Dr. Allison Cameron for the first six seasons and returned a guest thereafter.
Between House and Once Upon A Time, Morrison guest-starred as Zoey Pierson, Ted Mosby’s (Josh Radnor) latest love interest during the sixth season of How I Met Your Mother.
In 2011, Morrison starred in the MMA-based film Warrior, alongside Tom Hardy, Joel Edgerton, Nick Nolte and Frank Grillo.
Next: Could Any ‘Once Upon A Time’ Alumni join Josh Dallas on NBC’s ‘Manifest’ ?