Miles Straume

Miles Straume
Lost character
Ken Leung as Miles Straume
First appearance	"Confirmed Dead"
Last appearance	"The End"
Portrayed by	Ken Leung
Centric episode(s)	"Confirmed Dead" "Some Like It Hoth"
Information
Full name	Miles Straume
Occupation	Medium Dharma security officer
Former residence	Encino, Los Angeles, California, United States

Miles Straume is a fictional character played by Ken Leung on the ABC television series Lost. Miles is introduced early in the fourth season as a hotheaded and sarcastic medium as a crew member aboard the freighter called the Kahana that is offshore the island where most of Lost takes place. Miles arrives on the island and is eventually taken captive by John Locke (played by Terry O'Quinn), who suspects that those on the freighter are there to harm his fellow crash survivors of Oceanic Airlines Flight 815 and expose the island to the general public. Miles is on a mission to obtain Ben Linus (Michael Emerson); instead, he tries to cut a deal with Ben to lie to Miles's employer Charles Widmore (Alan Dale) that Ben is dead.

The writers created the role of Miles specifically for Leung after seeing him guest star on The Sopranos. Leung was the only actor to read for the part. They chose his name because it resembles "maelstrom", another word for a powerful whirlpool. Reaction to the character has been positive.

Miles was born in March 1977. As a child, he lives with his mother Lara Chang (Leslie Ishii) in Encino, California. Miles does not know his father, only being told by his mother that he is dead and did not care about them when he was alive, forcing them to leave him when Miles is a baby. Miles resents his father for never having been around and also has disdain for other fathers who mistreat their children. At seven years old, Miles discovers that he can hear the thoughts from before their death of those who are dead. He becomes a professional spiritualist and develops his ability so that he can access specific information from the deceased. In early December 2004, when he is twenty-seven years old, Miles is hired for $1.6 million by Charles Widmore to go on a freighter called the Kahana to an uncharted island to retrieve a mass murderer named Ben Linus, as Widmore believes that Miles will be able to communicate with those whom he had killed and gain information regarding his location. Before he leaves, Miles is briefly abducted by Bram (Brad William Henke) and his team. Bram claims to know about Miles's father and the source of his superpower and he warns Miles not to go on this mission, instead trying to convince Miles to join him.