Dear Mr. O'Quinn,

Greetings from Miami. I want to say that I deeply admire the work you're doing on this show and believe you're in the midst of creating a truly iconic character. What's most interesting to me (and if you've taken a look around the boards, most interesting to everyone else too) is the fact that John Locke is a consistent enigma and no one is quite sure what to make of him. =)

I'm really interested in the approach you're taking in order to give him that level of nuance with so little backstory and future information to go on. My questions are:

Since you've mentioned that you're only given bits and pieces of the character's backstory as you film each episode, how hard has it been, as an actor, to rely so heavily on the writers and the directors for the progression of your characterization? How has this unique set-up changed or affected how you approach creating your character? Have you made up your own backstory for Locke (and if so, would you be willing to share a little of that with us)? Have you ever run a possible approach to an aspect of the character by the production team and been told you're totally off the mark, or have your instincts been pretty good in that respect so far?

Hopefully these questions haven't been too esoteric! Anyway, I look forward to seeing more of Mr. Locke, International Man of Mystery Island in the near future. =)

Best of luck in all your endeavors,
Andrea

I've thought about all those questions a lot, Andrea, and have come to the conclusion that it's easier in many ways to have only a little personal history to remember and act upon. In another situation it might be a concern, but in this instance I think my character believes, at least for the moment, that the past has little relevence and that everyone on the island has the opportunity to begin again. The problem with inventing a personal history is that I would probably be dead wrong anyway. I'm quite happy just freewheeling, so to speak. As far as the performance ideas I've come up with; they're discussed on the set during rehearsal and performance with the director of the episode, who has discussed the aim of the script and the style of the show with the writers - producers. There's a good bit of preparation all in all.................so I guess I'd say that, surprisingly, I don't mind acting with no history, it's interesting........................and a lot of fun, actually.
Thank you for making me think about it,
Terry

Thank you very much for your thoughtful response! What you said made a lot of sense, though I can imagine that for less experienced or less confident actors, "free wheeling" an ongoing role like this and placing that much trust on one's instincts and/or the production team might still be a little bit daunting! It must also really help that Locke is such a purely existential character, as you said. Anyway, thanks again and best of luck from a big fan. =)