Terry O'Quinn
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Biography
Throughout his decades-long career, intense character actor Terry O'Quinn made his mark playing men of determination - everything from law officers and military men to captains of business. Following his film debut in "Heaven's Gate" (1980), O'Quinn moved back and forth with ease between film and television, landing roles in TV movies like "Right to Kill?" (ABC, 1985) and "Roe vs. Wade" (NBC, 1989), while appearing in features like Stephen King's "Silver Bullet" (1985) and "Young Guns" (1988). He achieved cult popularity with "The Stepfather" (1987) and "The Stepfather 2" (1989), playing a sociopathic killer who murders his family. O'Quinn had noted supporting roles in studio films as well, playing Howard Hughes in "The Rocketeer" (1991) and Mayor Clum in "Tombstone" (1993) before landing a regular role as a mysterious ex-FBI agent on the mystery drama series, "Millennium" (Fox, 1996-99). But after a recurring role as FBI Director Kendall on "Alias" (ABC, 2001-06), O'Quinn became a favorite of series creator J.J. Abrams, who asked the actor to join the ensemble cast of the mystery sci-fi hit, "Lost" (ABC, 2004-2010). For six seasons, the actor captivated viewers as the faith-based Locke, who routinely butted heads with his other castaways while earning his place among fans as one of the most intriguing and popular characters on the series. At long last, O'Quinn had risen from a relatively unknown supporting player to a major Emmy Award-winning star.
Born Terrence Quinn in Newberry, MI on July 15, 1952 - he changed his surname to avoid confusion with model and fireman-turned-actor Terry Quinn - he developed an interest in acting while in high school. After attending Central Michigan University in Mt. Pleasant, MI and the University of Iowa, O'Quinn began pursuing work as an actor on stage in regional and national theater. While appearing in a play in Baltimore, MD, he landed a supporting role as an Army captain in Michael Cimino's revisionist Western, "Heaven's Gate" (1980) and contacted a local trainer named Lori for riding lessons. While waiting for his scenes to be shot, O'Quinn's play closed, and he found a job cleaning out Lori's stalls. Over time, the working relationship blossomed into romance, and the couple was married in 1979, shortly before he departed to shoot "Heaven's Gate." Unlike many participants in that film, his career survived the onslaught of negative press that followed its release. The couple also produced two sons; Oliver (born in 1980) and Hunter (born 1982).
O'Quinn busied himself with roles on stage (opposite Faye Dunaway in Sam Shepard's "Curse of the Starving Class") and on television and in film throughout the 1980s. He logged a year on the daytime soap "The Doctors" (NBC, 1963-1982) and landed appearances in several notable productions, including Robert Benton's "Places in the Heart" (1984) as a farmer with Ku Klux Klan connections; and a doctor in the AIDS drama "An Early Frost" (1986). His ability to project a sense of authority made him a natural choice for sheriffs and detectives, in such films as "Stephen King's Silver Bullet," (1985) and "Mrs. Soffel" (1984), as well as military officers and government officials in such feature fare as "Women of Valour" (1986) and "SpaceCamp" (1986).
The following year, O'Quinn caught the attention of critics and audiences alike as Jerry Blake, a homicidal maniac who marries into seemingly normal families and slaughters those who do not meet with his strict beliefs, in Joseph Ruben's underrated thriller "The Stepfather" (1987). O'Quinn received universally excellent notices and an Independent Spirit Award nomination for his chilling portrayal of a cold-blooded killer who lurks behind a mild-mannered facade. The picture gave his career a decent-sized boost. He co-starred in Bob Rafelson's excellent suspense film "Black Widow" (1987) as detective Debra Winger's boss, and as the lawyer who hires Emilio Estevez's posse of twenty-something gunfighters to bring down the heel (Jack Palance) who killed their mentor (Terence Stamp) in "Young Guns" (1988). O'Quinn also appeared in TV movies like "R vs. Wade" (NBC, 1989) and "Guts and Glory: The Rise and Fall of Oliver North" (CBS, 1989), starring as North's fictional superior, Aaron Sykes. He also found time for such lower-budgeted efforts as the disturbing horror film "Pin" (1988) and the inevitable and far inferior "Stepfather" sequel, "Stepfather 2: Make Room for Daddy" (1989).
O'Quinn's appearances in the 1990s seemed relegated to TV movies of varying quality such as "Son of the Morning Star" (ABC, 1991) as General George Custer's superior, the real-life General Alfred Terry. However, he did score a few feature highlights, including "Tombstone" (1993) as the mayor of Tombstone, AZ; as a judge in "Ghosts of Mississippi" (1996), and, in a reunion with "R vs. Wade" director Gregory Hoblit, the small role of Yancy in the twist-filled Richard Gere thriller, "Primal Fear" (1999).
By the mid-1990s, O'Quinn was also making regular appearances on episodic television series like "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (syndicated, 1987-1994) and "Homicide: Life on the Street" (NBC, 1993-99), and he made recurring appearances on "Earth 2" (NBC, 1994) and "JAG" (CBS, 1995-2005). Writer-producer "X-Files" (Fox, 1993-2002) creator Chris Carter took a liking to O'Quinn and cast him in different roles for two separate episodes of his paranormal hit series, as well as the 2003 feature film "X-Files: Fight the Future" as an agent with connections to the series' mysterious government agency "The Syndicate." Carter later cast him in "Harsh Realm" (Fox, 1999-2000) as Omar Santiago, a rogue military officer who uses a virtual reality training program to exert dictatorial control over the real world. The show lasted just nine episodes, but Carter's loyalty to O'Quinn carried him to their next joint effort, "Millennium" (Fox, 1996-99), as FBI profiler Lance Henriksen's former partner (and eventual antagonist).
Thing suddenly turned a corner when, in 2002, O'Quinn guest-starred in several episodes of producer J.J. Abrams' espionage-action series "Alias," starring as hard-nosed FBI Assistant Director Kendall, whose true position within the government provided many answers for Sydney Bristow (Jennifer Garner) during the two years that occurred between the series' first and second seasons. He also made several appearances as the Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff - replacing John Amos' well-liked Admiral Fitzwallace - on the fifth season of "The West Wing" (NBC, 1999-2006) and made an uncredited appearance as Luke Wilson's boss in the hit comedy "Old School." But despite the regular work, O'Quinn mentioned in an interview that this period was a difficult one for him. A call from the ever loyal Abrams to co-star (without audition) in his new drama was a welcome one.
That series turned out to be "Lost" - one of the biggest pop culture hits of the mid-2000s, and the show that gave O'Quinn the most exposure and meatiest role of his career. O'Quinn played John Locke, a troubled, middle-aged failure whose fears and sense of blind trust have left him the victim of a con artist who posed as his father and stolen his kidney and left him crippled. Once on the show's mysterious island, Locke found himself not only able to walk again, but with a unique connection to the territory's mysteries, which came to a head in the second season with the discovery of a foreboding hatch, complete with a computer that required constant re-setting - or would result in the destruction of civilization. Locke also formed a bond with the island's sinister inhabitants known as the "Others;" by the end of Season Three, it appeared that Locke would abandon his fellow castaways and join their ranks, only to leave them behind and return to his friends with dire warnings. Though O'Quinn occasionally found the character's behavior confusing and even off-putting, his performance was among the show's many highlights, and in 2007, it earned him an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama - he had been previously nominated for the role in 2005. O'Quinn also took home a Saturn Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award - along with his castmates - for his turn as the complicated Locke. In 2010, following the show's final season, O'Quinn earned another Emmy Award nod for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Cast (Special)
Cast (TV Mini-Series)
Life Events
1980
Made his feature film debut in "Heaven's Gate"
1980
Made his screen-acting debut in the television movie, "F.D.R."
1981
Portrayed Dr. Jerry Dancy on the NBC soap opera, "The Doctors"
1984
Co-starred in "Places in the Heart"
1985
Co-starred in John Erman's "An Early Frost" (NBC)
1987
Played opposite Bonnie Bedelia in Erman's "When the Time Comes"
1987
Played the main character in the horror film "The Stepfather"
1988
Played Alex McSween on the western "Young Guns"
1989
Featured in the NBC TV-movie, "Roe vs. Wade"
1991
Co-starred in Erman's "The Last To Go"
1991
Cast as mogul Howard Hughes in Disney's "The Rocketeer"
1995
Played the recurring role of Reilly on NBC's "Earth 2"
1996
Co-starred in Gregory Hoblit's feature directorial debut, "Primal Fear"
1999
Had a regular role on the short-lived Fox drama, "Harsh Realm"
2001
Cast in a villainous role in "American Outlaws"
2003
Played Luke Wilson's boss in the comedy, "Old School"
2004
Cast as the mystical patriarch, John Locke, on "Lost" (ABC), earned an Emmy (2005, 2010) nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
2011
Joined the second season of CBS' "Hawaii Five-0" in a recurring role as a Navy Seal Lt. Commander
2012
Played Gavin Doran on "666 Park Avenue"
2016
Co-starred on "Secrets and Lies"
2017
Played Howard Hargrave on "The Blacklist: Redemption"
2018
Starred on Stephen King horror anthology series "Castle Rock"
Family
Companions
