Terry O'Quinn (born Terrance Quinn; July 15, 1952 in Newberry, Michigan) is a prolific American character actor. With a ready smile, highish-pitched voice, and Midwestern accent, he has tended to play a lot of Wolf in Sheep's Clothing characters. His best-known role is cubicle slave turned jungle visionary John Locke (as well as the Man in Black posing as Locke) on Lost. Other high-profile roles have included the films The Stepfather and The Rocketeer, as well as such other series as The X-Files, JAG, Millennium, Alias, The West Wing, and Hawaii Five-0.
Partial filmography:
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Film roles
- Heaven's Gate (1980) as Capt. Minardi
- Without a Trace (1983) as Parent
- All the Right Moves (1983) as Freeman Smith
- Places in the Heart (1984) as Buddy Kelsey
- Mischief (1985) as Claude Harbrough
- Silver Bullet (1985) as Sheriff Joe Haller
- SpaceCamp (1986) as Launch Director
- The Stepfather (1987) and Stepfather II (1989) as Jerry Blake
- Black Widow (1987) as Bruce
- Pin (1988) as Dr. Linden
- Young Guns (1988) as Alex McSween
- Blind Fury (1989) as Frank Devereaux
- The Rocketeer (1991) as Howard Hughes
- The Cutting Edge (1992) as Jack Moseley
- Tombstone (1993) as Mayor John Clum
- Primal Fear (1996) as Bud Yancy
- Ghosts of Mississippi (1996) as Judge Hillburn
- The X-Files: Fight the Future (1998) as Special Agent Darius Michaud
- American Outlaws (2001) as Rollin H. Parker
- Old School (2003) as Goldberg (uncredited)
Television roles
- Tales of the Unexpected (1 episode, 1982) as Cop
- Miami Vice (1 episode, 1984) as Richard Cain
- The Twilight Zone (1 episode, 1985) as Dr. Curt Lockridge
- Remington Steele (1 episode, 1985) as Chuck McBride
- Moonlighting (1 episode, 1987) as Bryant Wilbourne
- Jake and the Fatman (1 episode, 1990) as Vincent Novak
- Son of the Morning Star (TV film, 1991) as Gen. Alfred Terry
- L.A. Law (1 episode, 1992) as Nick Moats
- Star Trek: The Next Generation (1 episode, 1994) as Adm. Erik Pressman
- A Friend to Die For (TV movie, 1994) as Ed Saxe
- Matlock (1 episode, 1994) as Malcolm Engle (uncredited)
- Tales from the Crypt (1 episode, 1994) as Insp. Martin Zeller
- Earth 2 (6 episodes, 1994–95) as Reilly
- Homicide: Life on the Street (1 episode, 1995) as Bailey Lafeld
- The X-Files (2 episodes, 1995–2002) as Lt. Brian Tillman/Shadow Man
- JAG (10 episodes, 1995–2002) as Capt. (later Adm.) Thomas Boone
- Diagnosis: Murder (1 episode, 1996) as Ronald Trent
- Millennium (41 episodes, 1996–99) as Peter Watts
- Harsh Realm (9 episodes, 1999–2000) as Gen. Omar Santiago
- Roswell (1 episode, 2001) as Carl
- Alias (18 episodes, 2002–04) as FBI Asst. Dir. Kendall
- The West Wing (7 episodes, 2003–04) as Gen. Nicholas Alexander
- Law & Order: Criminal Intent (1 episode, 2004) as Gordon Buchanan
- NCIS (1 episode, 2004) as Col. Will Ryan
- Lost (120 episodes, 2004–10) as John Locke/Man in Black
- Hawaii Five-O (16 episodes, 2011–18) as Joe White
- 666 Park Avenue (13 episodes, 2012–13) as Gavin Doran
- Falling Skies (3 episodes, 2012–13) as Arthur Manchester
- Gang Related (13 episodes, 2014) as Sam Chapel
- Phineas and Ferb (1 episode, 2014) as Prof. Mystery (voice)
- Patriot (18 episodes, 2015–18) as Tom Tavner
- Secrets & Lies (10 episodes, 2016) as John Warner
- The Blacklist (1 episode, 2017) as Howard Hargrave (uncredited)
- The Blacklist: Redemption (7 episodes, 2017) as Howard Hargrave
- Castle Rock (4 episodes, 2018) as Dale Lacy
- Perpetual Grace Ltd (10 episodes, 2019) as Texas Ranger Wesley Walker
- Emergence (5 episodes, 2019) as Richard Kindred
- FBI: Most Wanted (9 episodes, 2020–22) as Byron LaCroix
- Ultra City Smiths (6 episodes, 2021) as Capt. Krieger (voice)
- Resident Alien (8 episodes, 2021–22) as Peter Bach
- The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live (3 episodes, 2024) as Maj. Gen. Beale
Tropes:
- Production Posse: Between appearing in The X-Files, Millennium (1996), The X-Files: Fight the Future and Harsh Realm he was known as "Mr. Ten Thirteen
" - Stage Name: Born Terry Quinn, he threw an 'O' in because there was another actor named Terry Quinn.
- Star-Making Role: He was a familiar face on television for many years, but it was his role as John Locke on Lost that made him a household name.
