James "Sawyer" Ford
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| Sawyer | |
|---|---|
 Josh Holloway as Sawyer |
|
| First appearance | "Pilot, Part 1" |
| Centric episodes | "Confidence Man" "Outlaws" "Exodus, Part 1" "Exodus, Part 2" "The Long Con" "Every Man for Himself" |
| Information | |
| Name | James Ford |
| Age | 34 |
| Status | At survivors'camp |
| Profession | Confidence man |
| Portrayed by | Josh Holloway |
James Ford, better known by the alias "Sawyer," is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost played by Josh Holloway. Sawyer has appeared in more episodes than any other character to date.
Contents |
[edit] Fictional character biography
[edit] Prior to the crash
Native of Knoxville, Tennessee, and born around 1968, Sawyer — real name James Ford — is a con artist. He has taken on the alias of a con man known as "Sawyer" who was responsible for the destruction of his family.
The original Sawyer had an affair with the young James Ford's mother in order to con his family out of their life savings. This prompted James's father to commit murder-suicide on himself and James's mother. James dropped out of school in 9th grade.
Although vowing revenge on the original Sawyer, James finds himself in enough financial trouble that he is sucked into the world of con artistry himself. He adopts Sawyer's profession, alias, and modus operandi to survive, using his looks and charm to seduce women and divide families.
Sawyer's favorite con is one in which he, after waking up with a woman, pretends that he is late for an important meeting. He picks up a briefcase, which spills open and shows large bundles of fake cash. Although he pretends the woman wasn't "supposed to see that," he uses her interest as a means of getting her or her rich spouse to invest in a large, shady, and fake business deal.
In one of Sawyer's flashbacks it is revealed that he attempted to con a woman named Jessica and her husband, David, until he sees their young son. Recognizing a version of himself in the son, he bails on the deal, not wanting to ruin a family the way the original Sawyer ruined his.
One of Sawyer's cons, the divorced Cassidy Phillips, tells Sawyer that she didn't get a large settlement in her divorce. Cassidy, however, sees through Sawyer's favorite con immediately. Intrigued, she asks him to teach her his profession. Sawyer teaches her a few of his simple cons, and Cassidy quickly asks if they can pull off a "long con." She also reveals that she actually got $600,000 from her ex-husband.
Later, at the diner of Kate's mother, Sawyer is forced to continue his con on Cassidy despite his wishes to stop, because of threats from his partner "Gordy." Sawyer returns to the house and tells Cassidy to run, stuffing her money into a backpack and giving it to her. He admits to knowing about her money and tells her there is a car waiting to kill him if he doesn't bring the money. She takes off with the bag. Sawyer waits a comfortable amount of time before he simply walks into the house with the real bag full of money, (Cassidy's was a fake) and leaves.
In later flashbacks it is revealed that Cassidy pressed charges and sent Sawyer to prison. She tells him that she gave birth to his daughter, Clementine. While in prison, Sawyer meets a man named Munson who was sent to prison for white-collar crime. Sawyer cons Munson into telling him where the money is hidden. Sawyer takes a cut of the money and a commutation of his sentence for admitting where the money is hidden. He puts his money in an anonymous bank account for Clementine. In "Left Behind", it was revealed that Sawyer is actually the father of Clementine.
Shortly before the crash, Sawyer is told that the original Sawyer is in Australia. He goes to Australia, where he ends up drinking in the same bar as Christian Shephard, Jack's father. He doesn't tell Jack about the encounter until Exodus: Part 1. Sawyer eventually finds the man he believes ruined his family and shoots him multiple times in the chest. It is revealed that the man simply owed an important person money.
While still in Australia, an uncooperative Sawyer is dragged into a police station after a barfight (revealed in Boone's flashback in "Hearts and Minds"). A policeman informs Sawyer that the man he has head-butted in the bar was Warren Truss, the Australian Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. He is deported from Australia and banned from ever returning, thereby ending up on the fateful flight.
[edit] After the crash
[edit] Season One
On the island, Sawyer quickly begins to collect and hoard items from the plane crash. His actions are criticized by others as selfish and appalling; he defends himself by stating that they are "in the wild" now, and a different set of rules apply. Sawyer becomes the resident smart-talking rebel on the island, and a prolific source of colorful and usually insulting nicknames for other castaways. These characteristics make most of the other islanders dislike him. Michael, noting that the otherwise entirely self-centered Sawyer seems eager to volunteer for dangerous tasks, theorizes he may have a deathwish. Sawyer develops a particularly antagonistic relationship with Jack, who routinely demands that Sawyer release medical supplies for injured or sick castaways; the two men are also rivals for the attentions of Kate. When coincidence convinces Jack, Boone, and Sayid that Sawyer has asthma inhalers that Shannon desperately needs to breathe, Sawyer does not tell them that they are wrong ("Confidence Man"). He acts like he has them, and refuses to tell them anything. Sayid and Jack decide to torture Sawyer by forcing bamboo spikes underneath his fingernails. Sawyer taunts his captors, refusing to tell them anything until they finally threaten to gouge out his eye. Sawyer insists that he will only tell the truth to Kate (who he had been aggressively pursuing since the crash). Once she arrives, he extorts a kiss before admitting that he never had the inhalers. Sayid, in frustration, stabs Sawyer in the arm.
Kate recognizes that Sawyer purposely incites others into hostility against him because of his desire to be punished and hated by the survivors. He shows Kate a letter written to "Mr. Sawyer" describing the pain of a young boy whose life "Mr. Sawyer" ruined. At first, Kate thinks that the letter was written to Sawyer; then she notices the date on the envelope (1976) and realizes that Sawyer himself had written the letter to the real Mr. Sawyer as a child. As time passes, Kate and Sawyer develop an intimate friendship and learn that they share backgrounds as criminals and fugitives tormented by guilt.
Sawyer kills time on the island by reading books (such as Watership Down, which is "about bunnies," Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret - "predictable" - and A Wrinkle in Time) salvaged from the plane; this has caused him to develop hyperopia, forcing him to wear reading glasses made by Sayid. His voice also seems to entertain and comfort Claire's baby, Aaron. The Australian authorities had deported him under his real name, which is listed on the flight manifest. At one point, Hurley shares the passenger manifest list with Locke; Locke eventually reveals to Sawyer ("The Hunting Party") that he is aware of Sawyer's real name and occasionally calls him James.
Sawyer buys a place on Michael's raft in an attempt to escape the island. While on the raft, he is heard singing Bob Marley's "Redemption Song", in a bit of metaphorical happenstance. When Sawyer, Jin, Michael, and Walt encounter another boat at sea whose passengers demand that Walt come with them, Sawyer pulls a gun, given to him by Jack before they left, to protect Walt. He gets shot by "The Others" and goes overboard, with Jin diving in to try to rescue him.
[edit] Season Two
After the boat leaves, he climbs onto the wreckage of the raft with Michael and pulls the bullet out of his shoulder with his bare hands. Due to infection, shock, loss of blood, or any combination of the three, Sawyer becomes ill and passes out ("Abandoned"). Michael, Jin, and Mr. Eko make a stretcher for him and proceed to carry him back to their camp. Back at camp, he is taken to the hatch, where Jack declares him to be septic. Sawyer is feverish ("What Kate Did"), and he repeatedly whispers "I love her" to Jack. Several minutes later, he attacks Kate; he chokes her and asks why she "killed" him. She flees the hatch, believing that Wayne, a man she killed, is seeking her from beyond the grave. When she returns to explain herself to "Wayne" (in Sawyer's form), Sawyer awakens from the fever with no idea what she is talking about. After Kate leads him into the jungle, they are visited by a black horse, which is a part of Kate's past in her flashbacks.
Later, Michael locks Locke and Jack in the armory and leaves to find his son. Sawyer frees Locke and Jack and leaves with them to find Michael (who had left in search of his son). When the Others confront the hunting party, Sawyer is shot again, but this time the bullet only grazes his face. The apparent leader of the Others, whom Sawyer nicknames "Zeke", threatens Kate, who had secretly been following the team; Sawyer is visibly shaken and angered at the possibility of losing her, and hugs her when she is finally released. When they get back to camp, Sawyer comforts Kate by saying that he would have done the same thing that she did. In contrast, Jack is angry that she followed them after he had ordered her to stay behind.
Sawyer's antagonism with Jack continues unabated, and Jack again accuses Sawyer of stealing medicine ("The Long Con"). Sawyer decides to make an aggressive move against Jack and Locke, the only ones with access to the armory, to take control of all the survivors' guns. Secretly conspiring with Charlie, Sawyer arranges for Sun to be attacked by an unidentifiable assailant and then exploits existing tensions within the group. After suspicion turns inward, Jack decides to distribute the guns for self-protection. Sawyer goes to the hatch to warn Locke that Jack and other survivors are coming for the guns, and Locke decides to move them, leaving Sawyer in the hatch to press the button. Meanwhile, Charlie secretly follows Locke and discovers the location of the guns. Charlie and Sawyer move the guns to a different secret location, and Sawyer announces his accomplishment that night, when Jack and Locke are arguing over the guns (Sawyer: "There's a new sheriff in town"). When Kate confronts him to ask why he has to make everyone hate him, he replies that at least she still likes him.
Sawyer later loses the medical supplies to Jack in a poker game ("Lockdown"). When he asks Jack why he did not try to get the guns back, Jack replies, "When I need the guns, I'll get the guns." Ana Lucia later seduces Sawyer in order to steal a gun that he had refused to give her ("Two for the Road"). After Michael uses that gun to shoot Ana Lucia and Libby, Sawyer is faced with the dilemma of letting the dying Libby suffer or revealing the location of his hidden stash of goods and guns. Sawyer does not hesitate to do what is necessary to help Libby ("?"), revealing to Kate that his guns and supplies are all buried under his tent. Sawyer also expresses grief after Ana Lucia's death, and feels guilty that he was so passionate with her without even knowing her last name. He also tells Jack that he is the closest thing he has to a friend. Jack tells him that Ana Lucia's last name was "Cortes".
Unaware of Michael's treachery, Sawyer agrees to accompany Michael to recover his son and recruits Sayid for the team ("Three Minutes"). Michael's unexpectedly negative response to the offer of Sayid's assistance gives Sayid and Jack a warning sign that Michael has been "compromised," although they do not share this information with Kate, Sawyer, or Hurley. Sawyer kills one of the Others during a subsequent gun battle, and he is the first to get shot in the neck with a tranquilizer dart when the Others ambush them. Jack, Kate, Sawyer, and Hurley are held at gunpoint. Hurley is allowed to leave to tell the rest of the camp never to come looking for the other three, and Sawyer, Jack, and Kate are taken away by the Others. Michael is shown a boat, and Walt is inside. Michael and Walt leave the island for good.
[edit] Season Three
Sawyer wakes up in a large metal cage in the jungle ("A Tale of Two Cities"). He is briefly enlisted in another prisoner's unsuccessful escape attempt and is quickly recaptured by Juliet. He successfully solves the puzzle of the food dispenser (the cage, with its levers, feeders, and stimuli, is essentially a large Skinner Box, a behavioral test device), and eventually earns himself a fish biscuit, food pellets, and a small stream of water.
Kate is soon placed in a nearby cage, and Sawyer shares his fish biscuits with her. They are ordered to break and haul away rocks ("The Glass Ballerina"). Sawyer's unabated disobedience brings him into regular conflict with Pickett, the Other overseeing the work, who shocks him with a stun gun whenever he (or Kate) gets out of line. The pain provides little deterrence to Sawyer; after watching Kate become tired and despondent, Sawyer throws down his wheelbarrow and kisses her passionately. Pickett hits Sawyer over the head with an AK-47 rifle, but Sawyer fights off Pickett and several more Others and takes the gun. Juliet holds a gun to Kate and forces Sawyer to cease his attack. Later, he reveals to Kate that he had been testing the reflexes and abilities of their captors, and that, except for Juliet, most of the Others do not have much experience with actual fighting. After another escape attempt, Benjamin Linus cons Sawyer into thinking that the Others have implanted a pacemaker into his chest that would cause his heart to explode if his heartbeat reached an active rate (as it would, for example, during an attack or escape attempt). Ben also threatens to put one in Kate if Sawyer tells her what they have done, or if he does not cooperate ("Every Man for Himself").
The change in Sawyer's behavior frightens and confuses Kate; she wants him to tell her what happened to him, but he refuses in order to protect her. After Colleen is killed by Sun, Colleen's husband, Pickett, makes an unprovoked attack against Sawyer. Because he believes the story about the pacemaker, Sawyer does not fight back and is badly beaten. Pickett repeatedly asks Kate if she loves Sawyer; the beating does not stop until Kate admits that she loves him. She later says that she only said this to stop Pickett, although she voluntarily remains in her cage when Sawyer refuses to try to escape with her, despite his insistence that she look out for herself. Ben soon reveals that there was no pacemaker in Sawyer's chest, telling Sawyer that they had conned him in order to earn his respect. Ben also shows Sawyer that they are currently on an island that is entirely separate from the one where the castaways live, and that there is no place to run even if he breaks out of his cage.
Sawyer does not want Kate to lose hope, so he does not tell her the truth about their predicament immediately. After Kate becomes aware of Pickett's intention to kill Sawyer, she frees herself and Sawyer from their cages and tries to get him to run ("I Do"). He reveals that there is nowhere for them to run, and they decide to remain by the cages. They make love. However, Sawyer and Kate do not know that Jack had been watching them via a surveillance camera; Jack is crushed as he too loves Kate. Sometime afterwards, Sawyer asks Kate if she loves him. She smiles and kisses him, and he tells Kate that he loves her too. Pickett returns with a gun and drags Sawyer away from Kate; he is about to kill Sawyer when he receives word that Jack has taken Ben hostage in the middle of a surgery. Jack says that if Kate isn't freed, he will let Ben die on the operating table.
Sawyer attacks a distracted Pickett, disarming him and using the button to shock him before locking him in the cage. He and Kate then make their way to the beach ("Not in Portland"). Pickett catches them at the beach, and he destroys their radio. They escape into the jungle, where they encounter Alex. She leads them to a hiding place in the ground, and they lose their pursuers. Alex explains that she has a boat, but will only let them use it if they help her rescue Karl, her boyfriend, with whom Sawyer is familiar. Posing as Alex's hostages, he and Kate manage to get past the guard at the holding cells. They find Karl being brainwashed in holding cell number 23. Sawyer is almost hypnotized himself, but he snaps out of it in time to carry Karl from the room to safety. Back on the beach, they get the boat, with Karl in it, into the water. As they prepare to set sail, Pickett appears and holds them at gunpoint. Just before he fires, Juliet appears and shoots Pickett three times in the chest, killing him. She lets Sawyer and Kate escape with Karl but says that Alex must stay behind. He and Kate leave shortly after she radios Jack for the last time.
In "Stranger in a Strange Land", Sawyer convinces Kate to go back to their own island rather than returning to get Jack. Once back on the island, he offers Kate some food, but she declines, still feeling guilty about Jack. Karl wakes up, reminds them that they are lucky to be alive, and tells him and Kate about the Others. He says that they only work on the 'Alcatraz' island; they actually live on the same island as the crash survivors. The next morning, Kate tells Sawyer that Karl had escaped during the night. Sawyer eventually finds him in tears, and the two have a heart-to-heart. After this, he decides to free Karl, sending him back to his own village. Soon after, the two argue regarding their relationship and about rescuing Jack. Despite this upset, the two make their way back to the beach.
In "Tricia Tanaka Is Dead", Sawyer and Kate continue their journey back to camp. Along the way, Sawyer accidentally steps on a dart, to which Kate removes. She offers to reconcile, but he declines. They arrive on the beach soon after, and receive a warm welcome from everyone. Sawyer approached Charlie and Desmond about his stash, to which they admit to raiding the day before. Sawyer enters the jungle, only to receive an equally warm welcome from Hurley and Jin. Sawyer help overturn the van, but spends the rest of the time drinking the beer from inside. When Hurley leaves momentarily, Sawyer teaches Jin some short English phrases, which he considers "the only things women want to hear." When Hurley returns with Charlie, he and Jin push the van down the hill with the other two inside. After the van is working, the four of them engage in a session of joy-riding before returning to the camp with renewed hope.
In "Enter 77", Sawyer, after finding Paulo with one of his magazines, challengers one of the other survivors to a ping pong game to get his things back, which during his absence had been redistributed. If he wins, he gets his stuff back. But Sun says that if he loses, he's not allowed to use insulting nicknames for an entire week. Nikki also stands up to him, telling him that the stuff wasn't his at all, he just took it from the plane. Hurley accepts the challenge, and Sawyer loses. In "Par Avion", Sawyer stuggles to keep from calling anyone nicknames, particularly when questioning Claire's motives.
In "Exposé", Sawyer and Hurley are playing ping pong again when Nikki stumbles out of the jungle and collapses on the beach. Sawyer runs to get water, but Hurley says that she's already dead (unaware that she is actually temporarily paralyzed). The two of them, along with Charlie and Sun, attempt to figure out the cause of her "death." Sawyer and Hurley try to figure out her last words, deciding that she said "Paulo lied." Sawyer, Jin, and Hurley find Paulo in a jungle clearing, apparently dead, with one shoe off and wedged in some branches. Back on the beach, Sawyer begins digging a grave for Nikki and Paulo. He says that he found a gun on one of them, and that he suspects them of being in league with the Others. Later, Sun confronts Sawyer over her abduction stunt with Charlie. She tells him she won't tell Jin. She threatens that if she does tell Jin, the next grave dug will be Sawyer's. She slaps him in the face and leaves. At the funeral, Sawyer pours Nikki and Paulo's diamonds into their grave. They begin filling the grave, failing to notice that Nikki has opened her eyes.
In "Left Behind", Hurley tells Saywer that he [Sawyer] risks banishment if he doesn't make amends with his fellow castaways. After struggling to do simple tasks alone and failing, Sawyer gives in to Hurley's demands. He socializes with Claire, Desmond, and Charlie, with great success. Sawyer eventually discovers that there was no risk of banishment, and that Hurley had an ulterior motive for getting Sawyer more involved, in a positive way, with camp life. With Kate, Jack, Locke, and Sayid gone, Hurley thinks Sawyer is ready to assume the role of their temporary leader. Much to Sawyer's dismay.
[edit] Nicknames
Sawyer's quick wit and sarcasm rely heavily on popular culture, giving nicknames to many of his fellow castaways. While his nicknames for female characters, such as Sunshine, Freckles, Mamacita, Betty, Dimples and so on, are generally endearments, his nicknames for men are usually derogatory. He calls several of the men on the island "Hoss" and generally calls Hurley by names that indicate his weight, such as "Stay-Puft", "Jabba", Lardo and most recently "Jumbotron" and "International House of Pancakes". The nickname he uses most often is the affectionate "Freckles" for Kate. Many references are made to Star Wars, for example calling Michael and Jin "Han" and "Chewie". Several nicknames have been compiled in one of the extras of the season 2 DVD, entitled The World According to Sawyer.
[edit] Trivia
- The character of Sawyer was originally meant to be a slick, suit-wearing city con man. However, when Josh Holloway forgot a line at his audition and (ad-libbing) subsequently kicked a chair across the room in frustration and loudly swore, the writers liked the edge he brought to the Sawyer character and decided to write Sawyer as more of a Southern, edgy con man instead.
- Matthew Fox originally auditioned for the parts of both Jack and Sawyer. Jorge Garcia and Dominic Monaghan read Sawyer sides when they came in to audition because there was no existing script for their characters.
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ J.J. Abrams (Director) Josh Holloway (Actor). (2004) Lost Season 1 DVD [DVD]. Los Angeles: Buena Vista Home Entertainment..
- ^ J.J. Abrams (Director) Lloyd Braun (Director). (2004) Lost Season 1 DVD [DVD]. Los Angeles: Buena Vista Home Entertainment..
| Lost | |
|---|---|
| Production: | DVD releases • Episode list • Season 1 • Season 2 • Season 3 • Soundtrack |
| Main characters: |
Ana Lucia • Ben • Boone • Charlie • Claire • Desmond • Hurley • Jack • Jin • Juliet • Kate Libby • Locke • Michael • Mr. Eko • Nikki • Paulo • Sawyer • Sayid • Shannon • Sun • Walt |
| Supporting characters: |
Alex • Bernard • Christian • Cindy • Ethan • The Others • Pickett • Rose • Rousseau • Tom |
| Organizations: | DHARMA Initiative • Hanso Foundation • Oceanic Airlines |
| Elements: | Crossover list • DHARMA Initiative stations • Flight 815 • Mythology • Thematic motifs |
| Miscellaneous: | Gary Troup • In popular culture • Lost Experience • Rachel Blake • Video game |
