| Birth Name: | Terrance Quinn |
| Birth Date: | 15 July 1952 |
| Birth Place: | Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, U.S. |
| Years Active: | 1975–present |
| Children: | 2 |
| Occupation: | Actor |
Terrance Quinn (born July 15, 1952), known professionally as Terry O'Quinn, is an American actor. He is best known for his Primetime Emmy Award-winning performance of John Locke on the TV series Lost (2004–2010). In film, he is best known for playing the title role in The Stepfather (1987) and Howard Hughes in The Rocketeer (1991), with roles in other films such as Heaven's Gate (1980), Silver Bullet (1985), Young Guns (1988), Blind Fury (1989), Tombstone (1993), and Primal Fear (1996).
Other prominent television roles include Peter Watts in Millennium (1996–1999), FBI Asst. Director Kendall in Alias (2002–2004), Commander Joe White in Hawaii Five-0 (2011–2018), and Tom Tavner in Patriot (2015–2018).
O'Quinn was born at War Memorial Hospital in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, one of 11 siblings, and grew up in nearby Newberry, Michigan. He is of Irish descent, and was raised Catholic.[1] [2] He attended Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, and the University of Iowa in Iowa City. He changed his surname from Quinn to O'Quinn as another registered actor already had the name Terrance Quinn.[3]
In the 1970s, he went to Baltimore to act in the Center Stage production of Tartuffe. He remained at Center Stage for some years and often appeared with the late Tana Hicken, most notably as Benedick to her Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing. His first movie role was in Heaven's Gate.
O'Quinn began acting in the 1970s during his time at Central Michigan University. He not only was an actor but also playwright/director. He wrote and directed the musical Orchestrina. This musical featured five main characters: The Man (played by Jeff Daniels), The Boy (Harold Downs), The Woman (Ann O'Donnell), The Girl (Debbie Penwarden), and The Drunk (James Hilliker), plus a female and a male chorus. He was roommates at CMU with actor Brad Slaight.
Starting in 1980, O'Quinn has appeared in various feature films such as Silver Bullet, Tombstone, Heaven's Gate, Young Guns, Ghosts of Mississippi, alongside Rutger Hauer in Blind Fury, and as Howard Hughes in The Rocketeer.
O'Quinn also appeared in the Canadian horror movie, Pin (1988) alongside British-born Canadian actor, David Hewlett.
His early television roles include guest appearances on Tales of the unexpected (episode "In the Bag"), Miami Vice (episode "Give a Little, Take a Little"), Moonlighting, (episode "The Pegasus"), The Twilight Zone (1985 revival; episode "Chameleon"), (episode "Hate Crimes"), a recurring role on Earth 2, another recurring role as Captain (later Rear Admiral) Thomas Boone on JAG, as well as Colonel Will Ryan in episode 15 of season 1 on the JAG spin-off series NCIS (episode "Enigma").
Around 1995, O'Quinn made guest appearances in The X-Files and Harsh Realm, produced by Chris Carter, who also cast him in the film The X-Files: Fight The Future and then once again in the final season. In 1996 O'Quinn started acting in the television series Millennium as Peter Watts, also produced by Chris Carter. O'Quinn held this role for all three seasons of the series. O'Quinn holds the distinction of having played four different characters within the extended X-Files/Millennium continuum (the two shows being classed together since both Lance Henriksen's character of Frank Black and Charles Nelson Reilly's character of Jose Chung have appeared in both shows).[4] [5]
O'Quinn made his breakthrough by starring as the title character in The Stepfather, a deranged serial killer going by the name "Jerry Blake" (his character's real name and identity are never revealed), who is obsessed with having an ideal family. When a widowed mother and daughter do not comport with his expectations, he spirals into a spell of madness and attempts to brutally murder them. O'Quinn was praised by critics, including Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun-Times, who commented, "The Stepfather has one wonderful element: Terry O'Quinn's performance."[6] Ebert wrote, "He is a journeyman actor from TV and many movies, usually in supporting roles, and you may or may not recognize him. What's clear at once is that he is a strong actor, and given this leading role he brings all kinds of creepy dimensions to it. He has the thankless assignment of showing us a completely hateful, repellent character – and he approaches the task as an exercise in cloying middle-class good manners."[6] O'Quinn was nominated for both a Saturn Award and an Independent Spirit Award for his performance. A sequel, Stepfather II, was released two years later, in which his character escapes from an insane asylum. It grossed almost a million dollars less at the box office.[7] [8] Not impressed with the second movie, O'Quinn declined to appear in the third installment, in which the stepfather character was portrayed by Robert Wightman.
O'Quinn was approached by the director of the 2009 reboot of The Stepfather, Nelson McCormick, to make a cameo appearance in the film, but according to the producers O'Quinn turned down the offer.[9] [10]
After a string of recurring appearances on Alias (2002–2003), as the FBI Director Kendall, O'Quinn became a favorite of television producer J.J. Abrams. Following a seven-episode guest run on The West Wing in 2003–2004, O'Quinn received a call from Abrams indicating that the producer wanted to cast him in his new television drama Lost without any audition. In 2005 O'Quinn received an Emmy nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama for his work as John Locke on the series Lost. O'Quinn admitted on the TV Guide Channel that he did not have much faith in Lost at first, calling it "The Mysterious Gilligan's Island of Dr. Moreau".[11] The show, however, became one of the most popular on television, and on September 16, 2007, he won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Drama Series for his role, and was nominated again for an Emmy for the role in 2010, which he did not win. In a TV.com interview O'Quinn commented that the reason he felt comfortable playing this character is because he's a bit like him.[12]
O'Quinn has made a number of television appearances since Lost. From 2012–2013, O'Quinn starred in the short-lived series 666 Park Avenue as Gavin Doran. In 2012, he appeared in the second season of Falling Skies.[13] Additionally, O’Quinn starred for two seasons in Amazon Studios' Patriot.
In 2016, it was announced that O'Quinn would be joining the second season of Secret and Lies.[14] In 2019, O'Quinn starred in the only season of Perpetual Grace, LTD on Epix.
In February 2021, it was announced that O'Quinn was cast as Martin Queller in the Netflix thriller series Pieces of Her, which is adapted from the Karin Slaughter novel of the same name.[15]
In October 2023, during New York Comic Con, he was announced, to play the antagonist Major General Beale in The Walking Dead The Ones Who Live, created by Scott M. Gimple.
Terry joined the Cameo platform shortly after its launch in 2017. He has since been creating videos for fans and donating all of the proceeds to the Virginia Beach SPCA. Terry has raised thousands of dollars on Cameo, and continues to create videos weekly.[16]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Heaven's Gate | Capt. Minardi | ||
| 1983 | All the Right Moves | Freeman Smith | ||
| Without a Trace | Parent | |||
| 1984 | Places in the Heart | Buddy Kelsey | ||
| Mrs. Soffel | Detective Buck McGovern | |||
| 1985 | Silver Bullet | Sheriff Joe Haller | ||
| Mischief | Claude Harbrough | |||
| 1986 | SpaceCamp | Launch Director | ||
| 1987 | The Stepfather | Jerry Blake / Henry Morrison / Bill Hodgkins / The Stepfather | Nominated—Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead Nominated—National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Actor | |
| Black Widow | Bruce | |||
| 1988 | Young Guns | Alex McSween | ||
| Pin | Dr. Linden | |||
| 1989 | Blind Fury | Frank Deveraux | ||
| Stepfather II | Jerry Blake / Dr. Gene Clifford / The Stepfather | |||
| The Forgotten One | Bob Anderson | |||
| 1990 | Blood Oath | Major Beckett | ||
| 1991 | The Rocketeer | Howard Hughes | ||
| Company Business | Colonel Pierce Grissom | |||
| 1992 | The Cutting Edge | Jack Moseley | ||
| My Samurai | James McCrea | |||
| 1993 | Tombstone | Mayor John Clum | ||
| Detective Clark | Direct-to-video | |||
| 1995 | Shadow Warriors | Dr. Connors | ||
| 1996 | Ghosts of Mississippi | Judge Hilburn | ||
| Primal Fear | Bud Yancy | |||
| 1997 | Shadow Conspiracy | Frank Ridell | ||
| 1998 | The X-Files | Darius Michaud | ||
| 2000 | Rated X | J.R. Mitchell | ||
| 2001 | American Outlaws | Rollin H. Parker | ||
| 2002 | Hometown Legend | Buster Shuler | ||
| 2003 | Old School | Goldberg | Uncredited | |
| 2016 | New Life | Dr. Sumrall | ||
| 2024 | Unsung Hero | Grandpa James |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | F.D.R.: The Last Year | James Roosevelt | Television | |
| 1981 | The Doctors | Dr. Jerry Dancy | Soap opera | |
| 1982 | Tales of the Unexpected | Cop | Episode: "In the Bag" | |
| 1983 | Colonel Thomas Rhodes | Television film | ||
| ABC Afterschool Special | Mr. Jacobs | Episode: "The Hand Me Down Kid" | ||
| 1984 | Miami Vice | Richard Cain | Episode: "Give a Little, Take a Little" | |
| 1985 | The Twilight Zone | Dr. Curt Lockridge | Episode: "Chameleon" | |
| Right to Kill? | Jim Barrett | Television film | ||
| An Early Frost | Dr. Redding | Television film | ||
| Remington Steele | Chuck McBride | Episode: "Coffee, Tea or Steele" | ||
| 1986 | Between Two Women | Dr. Wallace | Television film | |
| Women of Valor | Major Tom Patterson | Television film | ||
| 1987 | Moonlighting | Bryant Wilbourne | Episode: "Take a Left At the Altar" | |
| At Mother's Request | Jeol Campbell | 2 episodes | ||
| When the Time Comes | Wes Travis | Television film | ||
| 1988 | Stranger on My Land | Connie Priest | Television film | |
| A Year in the Life | Keith | Episode: "Fathers and Other Strangers" | ||
| 1989 | Aaron Sykes | 2 episodes | ||
| Roe vs. Wade | Jay Floyd | Television film | ||
| 1990 | Jake and the Fatman | Vincent Novak | Episode: "You're Driving Me Crazy" | |
| Perry Mason: The Case of the Desperate Deception | Curt Mitchell | Television film | ||
| Kaleidoscope | Henry | Television film | ||
| 1991 | Son of the Morning Star | General Alfred Terry | 2 episodes | |
| The Last to Go | Daniel | Television film | ||
| Shoot First: A Cop's Vengeance | Sergeant Nicholas | Television film | ||
| 1992 | Deliver Them from Evil: The Taking of Alta View | Sergeant Don Bell | Television film | |
| Trial: The Price of Passion | Bob Altschuler | Television film | ||
| L.A. Law | Nick Moats | Episode: "Beauty and the Breast" | ||
| Sexual Advances | Cliff Ripley | Television film | ||
| Wild Card | Barlow | Television film | ||
| The Good Fight | Henry Cragin | Television film | ||
| 1993 | Born Too Soon | Dr. Friedman | Television film | |
| Visions of Murder | Admiral Truman Hager | Television film | ||
| 1994 | A Friend to Die For | Principal Ed Saxe | Television film | |
| MacShayne: Winner Takes All | Danny Legget | Television film | ||
| Admiral Erik Pressman | Episode: "The Pegasus" | |||
| Heart of a Child | Gordon Holc | Television film | ||
| Don't Talk to Strangers | Bonner | Television film | ||
| Justice in a Small Town | Harris Wiley | Television film | ||
| Tales from the Crypt | Inspector Martin Zeller | Episode: "The Bribe" | ||
| Matlock | Malcolm Engle | Episode: "The Dare" | ||
| 1994–1995 | Earth 2 | Reilly | 6 episodes | |
| 1995 | The X-Files | Lt. Brian Tillman | Episode: "Aubrey" | |
| Ray Alexander: A Menu for Murder | Frank Darnell | Television film | ||
| The Client | Bert Halliwell | Episode: "Pilot" | ||
| Bailey Lafeld | Episode: "Hate Crimes" | |||
| 1995–2002 | JAG | Capt./RAdm. Thomas Boone | 10 episodes | |
| 1996 | Dr. Ronald Trent | Episode: "The Murder Trade" | ||
| 1996–1999 | Millennium | Peter Watts | 41 episodes | |
| 1997 | My Stepson, My Lover | Richard Cory | Television film | |
| On the Edge of Innocence | David Walker | Television film | ||
| Breast Men | Hersch Lawyer | Television film | ||
| 1999 | Murder in a Small Town | Sidney Lassiter | Television film | |
| 1999–2000 | Harsh Realm | General Omar Santiago | 9 episodes | |
| 2001 | Roswell | Carl | Episode: "Michael, the Guys, and the Great Snapple Caper" | |
| Semper Fi | Cliff's Father | Pilot | ||
| WW3 | Eric Farrell | Television film | ||
| 2002 | The X-Files | Shadow Man | Episode: "Trust No 1" | |
| The Locket | Casey Keddington | Television film | ||
| First Monday | Sheriff Carl Richards | Episode: "Strip Search" | ||
| 2002–2004 | Alias | FBI Asst. Director Kendall | 18 episodes | |
| 2003 | Phenomenon II | Military Officer Jack Hatch | Television film | |
| 2003–2004 | The West Wing | General Nicholas Alexander | 7 episodes | |
| 2004 | NCIS | Col. Will Ryan | Episode: "Enigma" | |
| Gordon Buchanan | Episode: "Mis-Labeled" | |||
| 2004–2010 | Lost | John Locke/The Man in Black | 101 episodes Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor on Television Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series Nominated—Golden Nymph Award for Outstanding Actor – Drama Series (2007, 2009–11) Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (2005, 2010) Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor on Television (2006, 2008, 2011) Nominated—Teen Choice Award for Choice TV: Villain | |
| 2007 | Masters of Science Fiction | Major Albert Skynner | Episode: "The Awakening" | |
| 2011 | Mark Miller | Television film | ||
| Hallelujah | Del Roman | Pilot | ||
| 2011–2018 | Hawaii Five-0 | Commander Joe White | 16 episodes | |
| 2012 | Ring of Fire | Oliver Booth | 2 episodes | |
| 2012–2013 | Falling Skies | Arthur Manchester | 3 episodes Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Guest Starring Role on Television | |
| 2012 | 666 Park Avenue | Gavin Doran | 13 episodes | |
| 2014 | Gang Related | Sam Chapel | 12 episodes | |
| Phineas and Ferb | Professor Mystery (voice) | Episode: "Lost in Danville" | ||
| 2015 | The Adversaries | Charlie | Pilot | |
| Full Circle | Jimmy Parerra | 6 episodes | ||
| 2015–2018 | Patriot | Tom Tavner | 18 episodes | |
| 2016 | Secrets and Lies | John Warner | 7 episodes | |
| 2017 | The Blacklist | Howard Hargrave | Episode: "Isabella Stone (No. 34)"; uncredited | |
| Howard Hargrave | 7 episodes | |||
| Mysteries of the Missing[17] | Himself (host) | 8 episodes | ||
| 2018 | Castle Rock[18] | Dale Lacy | 4 episodes | |
| 2019 | Perpetual Grace, LTD | Texas Ranger Wesley Walker | 10 episodes | |
| Emergence | Richard Kindred | 5 episodes | ||
| 2020–2022 | Byron LaCroix | 9 episodes | ||
| 2021–present | Resident Alien | Peter Bach | 9 episodes | |
| 2021 | Ultra City Smiths | Captain Krieger (voice) | 6 episodes | |
| Christmas Sail | Dennis | Television film | ||
| 2022 | Pieces of Her | Martin Queller | 6 episodes | |
| 2024 | Johnathan Beale | 3 episodes |