Terry O'Quinn Biography (Locke) - 'Lost' Actor Terry O'Quinn

From Bonnie Covel, former About.com Guide

Terry O'Quinn

ABC/Mario Perez

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Terry O'Quinn's 'Lost' Role:

John Locke, the mysterious prophet-type on the island and Man in Locke, the man who looks like Locke, but is actually the smoke monster.

Early Career:

Terry O'Quinn was a bodyguard.

Education:

He graduated from the University of Iowa in Iowa City.

Family:

He and his wife have two grown sons.

Of Note:

His birth name is Terrance Quinn.
He elongated his last name to "O'Quinn" from his real name of "Quinn" to distinguish himself from another person named Terry Quinn already acting in films.
He is a talented guitarist and singer.
Kevin Tighe and Swoosie Kurtz play his parents on Lost, but in real life, both are only eight years older than O'Quinn.
He didn't audition for his part. J.J. Abrams had him in mind from the beginning.

What ABC.com says:

Terry O'Quinn's impressive gallery of film and television characters includes many diverse roles. He rose to prominence as the outwardly gentle but actually maniacal master of the house in Joseph Ruben's chilling The Stepfather. Though he went on to play leads in other films like Prisoners of the Sun and The Forgotten One, his weight was more effectively felt in supporting roles, for example as Howard Hughes in Disney's The Rocketeer.

Terry O'Quinn's Other Roles:

Masters of Science Fiction: Albert Skynner (1 episode, 2007)
The West Wing: (2004/TV Episodes) General Nicholas Alexander
The Animated Alias: (2004/V) Voice of F.B.I. Asst. Director Kendall
Navy NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service: (2004/TV Episode) Col. Will Ryan
Law & Order: Criminal Intent: (2004/TV Episode) Gordon Buchanan
Alias: (2002-2004/TV Episodes)
Phenomenon II: (2003/TV)
Old School: (2003) Goldberg
JAG: (1995/2000) Captain/Admiral Thomas
The Locket: (2002/TV) Casey Keddington
Hometown Legend: (2002) Buster Schuler
The X Files: (2002/TV Episode) Shadow Man, (1995/TV Episode Lt. Brian Tillman)
Roswell: (2001/TV Episode) Carl
American Outlaws: (2001) Rollin H. Parker, Rain's Gopher
WW3: (2001/TV)
Semper Fi: (2001/TV) Cliff's father
Rated X: (2000/TV) J.R. Mitchell

Early Roles: Harsh Realm, Millennium, Murder in a Small Town, My Stepson, My Lover, On the Edge of Innocence, Shadow Conspiracy, Ghosts of Mississippi, Diagnosis Murder, The Client, Earth 2, Ray Alexander: A Menu for Murder, Tales from the Crypt, Matlock, A Friend to Die For, Justice in a Small Town, Don't Talk to Strangers, Heart of a Child, Lipstick Camera, MacShayne: Winner Takes All, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Tombstone, Amityville: A New Generation, Visions of Murder, Born Too Soon, The Good Fight, Wild Card, Sexual Advances, Trial: The Price of Passion, Deliver Them from Evil: The Taking of Alta View, The Cutting Edge, My Samurai, Company Business, The Rocketeer, Shoot First: A Cop's Vengeance, Son of the Morning Star, The Last to Go, Kaleidoscope, Prisoners of the Sun, Jake and the Fatman, Perry Mason: The Case of the Desperate Deception, The Forgotten One, Stepfather II, Blind Fury, Roe vs. Wade, Guts and Glory: The Rise and Fall of Oliver North, Young Guns, Stranger on My Land, Moonlighting, Black Widow, At Mother's Request, The Stepfather, SpaceCamp, Between Two Women, Women of Valor, An Early Frost, Silver Bullet, The Twilight Zone, Mischief, Right to Kill?

Last updated November 2010