13 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Lost

Published on June 23, 2015. Updated August 27, 2015

The ABC original drama aired from 2004 to 2010 and portrays the lives of survivors who crash on an unknown island in the South Pacific Ocean. Conflict arises among the survivors as they struggle to stay alive and discover how they came to be ‘Lost.’ The series six season run was a defining moment for TV series. It established a new standard thanks to the incredible writing and perfect cast. Combined, these two things gave us one of the most intriguing and addictive storylines. With one of the most memorable series finales of all time, the show really blew audience’s minds. If you’re ready for it, check out 13 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Lost.

13. Lose Your Cool, Get the Part

Josh Holloway was not what casting directors originally had in mind when filling the part of James ‘Sawyer’ Ford. They wanted a more mature, suave, and well-dressed character. Holloway was casted after he forgot a line during the try out and started kicking a chair and swearing loudly.

12. Lord of the Flies

There are striking similarities between Season 1 of Lost and William Golding’s book “Lord of the Flies” (1954). In the book, a group of school boys are stranded on an island and try to form a council and keep a signal fire going, hoping to be rescued. Eventually the boys split into two groups and tensions increase with fatal consequences. The book’s characters Ralph, Piggy, and Simon, are pretty close to the show’s Jack, Hurley and John respectively.

11. Brown Sugar

Dominic Monaghan (Charlie Pace) snorts brown sugar instead of heroin in his drug scenes. He must have gotten quite the sugar high.

Art Streiber / © ABC / Courtesy: Everett Collection

10. Eyeliner

The internet heated up over Nestor Carbonell’s eyeliner controversy. Rumors flew over whether Carbonell wore eyeliner and mascara for his role as Richard Alpert. Carbonell refuted all these accusations and claimed that makeup artists tried to tone down his naturally dark eye lines. The writers wrote Carbonell’s intense eyes into the script, which is why Alpert’s nickname is eyeliner.

Mario Perez / © ABC / Courtesy Everett Collection

9. Based on History

Several of the characters’ names are derived from famous philosophers. John Locke (1632-1704) is the name of a 17^th century philosopher and physician, whereas Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) (Alex and Danielle Rousseau) was an 18^th century political philosopher during France’s Enlightenment. Anthony Cooper (1621-1683) was taught by John Locke in real life and was the founder of the British Whig party.

Mario Perez / © ABC / Courtesy: Everett Collection

8. Speaking Korean

On Lost, Sun Kwon (Yunjin Kim) helps Korean-speaking Jin Kwon (Daniel Dae Kim) learn English. Off set, Yunjin, who speaks fluent Korean, supported Daniel while he re-familiarized himself with the Korean language.

Mario Perez / ©ABC / courtesy Everett Collection

7. Problems at the Border

Evangeline Lilly (Kate Austen) was born in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, and later moved to Kelowna, British Columbia, where she became a Ford model. Producers were nervous about casting a Canadian to play a lead, as the show was being filmed in Hawaii, and Lilly needed an employment visa to work there. The show saved filming Kate’s scenes for last while she waited for her documents.

Mario Perez / ©ABC / courtesy Everett Collection

6. Southern Style

Josh Holloway (Sawyer) was born in California and raised in Georgia. He has a natural Southern accent that he tried to conceal while filming Lost. Producer J.J. Abrams told him that he was hired because of his Southern drawls, but there are still some scenes in the pilot that don’t feature his accent.

Photo by Snap Stills / Rex Features

5. The Caves

The cave scenes are actually filmed on a sound stage that used to be Xerox building. The rocks that form the cave’s set are all made of rubber to prevent the mics from picking up sound as the actors walk.

Photo by Snap Stills / Rex Features

4. Hawaii Five-O

Lost is not the first show to feature Jorge Garcia (Hugo), Terry O’Quinn (John) and Daniel Dae Kim (Jin) as they all appeared on Hawaii Five-O.

3. Cha-Ching

The average ABC pilot costs in the neighborhood of $4 million, but Lost’s two-part pilot broke records and came with a $10-14 million price tag. The pilot had 18.65 million viewers, so it looks like it was worth it!

2. Killing the Hero

Michael Keaton was originally cast for the role of Jack, who was supposed to be killed off early in the first season. Writers decided they couldn’t kill the hero so soon in the series and Keaton backed out, because he didn’t want to sign on for a longer commitment.

Helga Esteb /

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1. Alias

Terry O’Quinn worked with producer J.J. Abrams on the hit show Alias and did not have to audition for the role of John Locke while Jorge Garcia (Hugo ‘Hurley’ Reyes) was the first cast member to sign on for the series.

Photo by Snap Stills / Rex Features