John Locke (Lost)

John Locke
Lost character
Terry O'Quinn as John Locke in 2005.
First appearance	"Pilot, Part 1"
Last appearance	"The End"
Portrayed by	Terry O'Quinn, Charles Henry Wyson (young), Caleb Steinmeyer (teenager)
Centric episode(s)	"Walkabout" "Deus Ex Machina" "Exodus, Part 2" "Orientation" "Lockdown" "Further Instructions" "The Man from Tallahassee" "The Brig" "Cabin Fever" "The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham" "The Incident, Part 1" "LA X, Part 1 & 2" "The Substitute" "The Last Recruit" "The Candidate" "The End"
Information
Full name	John Edward Locke
Aliases	Jeremy Bentham
Occupation	Box company office worker Substitute teacher (flash-sideways)
Relatives	Anthony Cooper (father) Emily Locke (mother)

John Locke is a fictional character played by Terry O'Quinn on the ABC television series Lost. He is named after English philosopher John Locke. In 2007, O'Quinn won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for his portrayal of Locke.

Locke is introduced in the first season as a mysterious, intellectual and stoic character with an affinity for living out in the wild, a penchant for hunting and tracking. He believes in mystical and spiritual explanations for why things happen on the island due to a self-described "miracle" happening to him after the crash of Oceanic 815. His stoicism and mystical outlook dominate his character and are the basis for many of his relationships and interactions on the show.

John Locke was born to teenager Emily Locke on May 30, 1956. In his early years he showed extreme promise in his intelligence. After being placed in government care as a ward of the state he found himself in a variety of foster homes. He was visited in one such home by Richard Alpert (Nestor Carbonell), who described Locke as "extremely special". Locke had a number of foster siblings over the years: Jeannie, who died as a child when she fell off of a set of monkey bars; Melissa, who was prone to bullying John; and an unnamed brother with whom Locke played the game Mouse Trap.

At age 16, Locke's high school teacher freed him from a locker and took him to his office, and kindly told him that being a sportsman, prom king, and a superhero were simply not who he was. Locke angrily replied "Don't tell me what I can't do!". It is implied here that Locke disliked being put down more than being physically bullied.

Around 22 years later, Locke was working in a toy store and was visited by his mother, who implied that he was conceived without a father. Curious, Locke hired a private investigator to track down the location of his father, Anthony Cooper (Kevin Tighe). Cooper welcomed Locke into his life, and the two bonded over hunting trips. Cooper soon revealed he needed a kidney transplant and Locke volunteered to donate one of his. Following the surgery Cooper abandoned Locke and refused to see him, at which point Locke found out that his father conned him for his kidney. Locke became very depressed and eventually sought group therapy, where he met his future girlfriend Helen Norwood (Katey Sagal). Helen helped Locke overcome his obsession with his father. However, Cooper later came to him for assistance and Locke helped him. Helen leaves Locke as a result.