It’s been 12 years since Oceanic Flight 815 crashed on that weird island on Sept. 22, 2004. Viewers became enthralled with the original cast of characters from the pilot episode–where are they all now? Let’s take another look at that original cast of characters, learn facts about each cast members that you definitely never knew, and see what they have all done since the show. So let’s celebrate the TV show that thrilled, haunted, and confused us more than most.
The character of Jack was supposed to die midway through the pilot episode. Steve McPherson, the then-president of ABC, argued that killing Jack would make viewers not trust the show.Next, see what Matthew Fox is doing now.
Following a pair of legal skirmishes in 2011 and 2012, Fox (seen on the right in 2012) has stayed mostly out of the public eye, apart from roles as an assassin in 2012’s Alex Cross and a paratrooper in 2013’s World War Z. Next, see which other character almost played the role of “Kate.”
The actress that eventually played “Sun” initially read for the role of Kate, since Sun didn’t exist at the time — there wasn’t even a Lost script yet. Evangeline Lilly (Kate) took home the original ”Dear Mr. Sawyer” letter as a keepsake during Season 1, but it burned in the fire that destroyed her home in 2006. Next, see how different Evangeline Lilly looks now!
Since Lost ended, Lilly became a mother and starred opposite Hugh Jackman in 2011’s Reel Steel and Orlando Bloom in 2013’s The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. She was most recently cast as Hope Van Dyne in Marvel’s Ant-Man, out in 2015. Next, you’ll never believe how “Sawyer” got the part.
Forest Whitaker was originally cast as Sawyer, but backed out to direct First Daughter. The story goes that, though Sawyer was originally meant to be an older city con artist from Buffalo, N.Y., Holloway forgot a line at his audition and subsequently kicked a chair and loudly swore in frustration. The writers reportedly liked the edge he brought to the character and decided to write Sawyer as more of a Southern con man instead. Next, see how different Josh Holloway looks now.
Holloway returned to television in 2013 with CBS’ Intelligence, where he basically played the Six Million Dollar Man. While the premiere drew stellar ratings, viewers bailed on subsequent episodes, leading to the show’s eventual cancellation. Next, learn more about the character “Charlie”
Before being cast as Charlie, Dominic Monaghan read for the part of Sawyer. Dominic Monaghan was snorting brown sugar in Charlie’s heroin-snorting scenes. Next, see how different Dominic Monaghan looks now!
Since 2012, the actor has hosted BBC America’s nature documentary Wild Things with Dominic Monaghan and in 2009, Monaghan appeared in ABC’s incredibly short-lived show FlashForward.
The writers created the character of Sun after their first impressions of Kim (when she read for the role of Kate). Yunjin Kim approached the director and told him that her onscreen husband wasn’t actually speaking Korean. Next, see how different Yunjin Kim is from her character in real life!
The only member of the principal cast who didn’t have to audition was Terry O’Quinn, who had worked with Abrams on Alias. Locke’s backstory was created because O’Quinn would take breaks in between scenes on the beach while listening to his iPod. “That guy has a secret,” Abrams told Lindelof. “You figure it out.” O’Quinn would walk 12 miles to and from set.
O’Quinn show-hopped following the end of Lost. 2012 brought ABC’s axed 666 Park Avenue, then a three-episode arc on TNT’s Falling Skies, and finally a season-long stint on Hawaii Five-O. Recently, he starred on Fox’s Gang Related, which was canceled in September.
Walt was 10 years old when the series started, but after two seasons, the actor who played him, Malcolm David Kelley, had grown tremendously. Hence, Walt being kidnapped at the end of Season 1. He was only able to return during flashforward scenes later on, since he’d aged appropriately by then.
After a real-life growth spurt forced Kelley to be written off the show, he transitioned to singing. Along with Tony Oller, he formed the pop duo MKTO. The group’s self-titled debut album dropped in January.
Abrams first noticed Jorge Garcia on an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm and was determined to cast him. Garcia initially read for the role of Sawyer because Hurley didn’t even exist yet. But Jorge Garcia was in the most episodes of Lost (118 of 121).
After a stint on FOX’s short-lived time-traveling crime drama Alcatraz in 2012, Garcia reunited with his Lost co-star Daniel Dae Kim on Hawaii Five-O in 2013.
Daniel Dae Kim (Jin) called Lindelof and Cuse (producer/ directors) before he bought a house in Hawaii (where they filmed) to ask them if they planned on killing Jin off.
Perrineau has worked steadily in film (2012’s Zero Dark Thirty) and television (he appeared on Sons of Anarchy in 2012) since the show ended. He can next be seen in NBC’s comic book series, Constantine.
Following a pair of legal skirmishes in 2011 and 2012, Fox (seen on the right in 2012) has stayed mostly out of the public eye, apart from roles as an assassin in 2012’s Alex Cross and a paratrooper in 2013’s World War Z. Next, see which other character almost played the role of “Kate.” 
The actress that eventually played “Sun” initially read for the role of Kate, since Sun didn’t exist at the time — there wasn’t even a Lost script yet. Evangeline Lilly (Kate) took home the original ”Dear Mr. Sawyer” letter as a keepsake during Season 1, but it burned in the fire that destroyed her home in 2006. Next, see how different Evangeline Lilly looks now! 
