Terry O’Quinn

Terrance Quinn – who would later use the stage name Terry O’Quinn – was born on July 15, 1952 in Newberry, Michigan, in the United States. Of Irish ancestry, his family is not that it was large, it was very numerous, eleven siblings no less. He would undertake college studies at Central Michigan University and the University of Iowa.

His physical power is obvious, as Terry is a black belt in karate and an accomplished boxer. His knack for self-defense and punching would make it easy for him to land some bodyguard jobs. But the truth is that acting as an escort was not the illusion of his life. Terry’s artistic sensibility had already appeared in his love of music, embodied in high school in percussion, and later singing and playing the guitar.

His first theatrical experience dates back to the 1970s, at university, not only as an actor, but also as a director of stage works, such as the musical “Orchestrina” written by him. Under his orders worked who would also be a movie actor Jeff Daniels .

In 1980 he made his first appearance in a film, the mythical and dilapidated western Heaven’s Gate . Also, in subsequent years, she had a presence in films of great interest, although his on-screen presence was minimal. I mean In a Place in the Heart and Mrs. Soffel , both from 1984, and The Case of the Black Widow (1987). On the other hand, his leading role as a disturbing psychopath in El padrastro (1987), highly praised, and which earned him a Spirit award, had more entity.

The small screen must have had a special pull for this sparse-haired actor, since he intervened in the 80s in episodes of Miami Vice , In the limits of reality and Moonlight . At the same time, he continued to contribute his discreet presence to titles such as the western Young Gun (1988), or the action film Blind Fury (1989).

The keynote of the 90s was not very different. Terry O’Quinn was a grown man, happily married to Lori O’Quinn since 1979, who had borne him two children. He earned a good living, and although he was not the king of the role in his films, he made his contribution very correctly, which was repeated in interesting titles such as the prison camp film Blood Oath (1990), the comic book Rocketeer (1991), the intriguing Spies Without Borders (1991), the sports drama Passion for Triumph (1992), the western Tombstone (1994), the courtroom films The Two Faces of the Truth (1996) and Ghosts of the Past(1996), the mysterious science fiction of the X-Files: The Movie (1998)… And at the same time, let me hit you, he was dedicated to the small screen, where he was seen in series such as Los Angeles Law and Star Trek: The Next Generation . But in this last field there were novelties, since he had a regular and not punctual presence in Millenium , Hars Realm and JAG Red Alert .

The ground was fertile for a television fiction genius, JJ Abrams , to notice him. First as the discreet presence that he used to represent, for Alias . And then, decisively important, for his Lost Locke , the quadriplegic with an inferiority complex, mocked by his father, and who unexpectedly becomes the undisputed leader with a mission on the island; the character has given O’Quinn an Emmy and a Saturn, accolades more than deserved. In addition, he has also had a place to walk as a general in the political intrigue of The West Wing of the White House .

As Lost draws to a close , where he has appeared in no less than 115 episodes, his fans are wondering where Terry O’Quinn will lead his career. Let’s trust that there are filmmakers capable of continuing to take advantage of his undeniable talent.