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Tom Friendly, often referred to as Tom, Mr. Friendly, or Zeke by Sawyer is a fictional character portrayed by M. C. Gainey on the
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(ABC)
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'' Lost''. The series follows the lives of around forty survivors from the crash of Oceanic Flight 815. The survivors find themselves on a mysterious tropical island, and interact with a group they dub the Others, who appear to have lived on the Island long before the crash. Tom is an influential member of the Others, introduced in the season one finale " Exodus: Part 2", where he kidnaps one of the survivors. The character makes another fifteen appearances before being killed in the season three finale " Through the Looking Glass". Tom appears twice in season four in the flashbacks of other characters. Gainey was initially credited as playing "bearded man" and then as "Mr. Friendly" throughout season two before the character was given a first name. In a montage of deceased characters shown at
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in 2009, the ''Lost'' producers present the character's full name as "Tom Friendly". Gainey accepted the role despite knowing nothing about it; his sole motivation was a chance to work again with ''Lost'' producer Carlton Cuse. Speculation over Tom's sexuality arose when he commented to
Kate Kate may refer to: People and fictional characters * Kate (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or nickname * Gyula Káté (born 1982), Hungarian amateur boxer * Lauren Kate (born 1981), American author o ...
that she was "not istype". Gainey began playing the character as such, and in season four Tom is shown kissing another man on the cheek. ''Lost'' producer
Damon Lindelof Damon Laurence Lindelof (born April 24, 1973) is an American screenwriter, comic book writer, and producer. Among his accolades, he received three Primetime Emmy Awards, from twelve nominations. In 2010, ''Time (magazine), Time'' magazine named ...
commented that this revelation was "not subtle, to say the least". Tom was received positively by critics, particularly in his first appearance.


Arc

In a flashback during " The Other Woman", set around three years before the crash of Oceanic Flight 815, Tom has a brief conversation with newly recruited Other
Juliet Burke Dr. Juliet Burke is a fictional character portrayed by Elizabeth Mitchell on the ABC television series '' Lost''. Created by J. J. Abrams and Damon Lindelof, the character was introduced in the third season as a member of the hostile group r ...
( Elizabeth Mitchell), where he mentions he is a patient of therapist Harper Stanhope ( Andrea Roth). Shown in flashbacks during "
Maternity Leave Parental leave, or family leave, is an employee benefit available in almost all countries. The term "parental leave" may include maternity, paternity, and adoption leave; or may be used distinctively from "maternity leave" and "paternity leave ...
", when
Claire Littleton Claire Littleton is a fictional character played by Emilie de Ravin on the ABC drama television series '' Lost'', which chronicles the lives of the survivors of a plane crash in the South Pacific. Claire is introduced in the pilot episode as a p ...
(
Emilie de Ravin Emilie de Ravin (; born 27 December 1981) is an Australian actress. She first gained recognition for playing Tess Harding on The WB's science fiction television series ''Roswell (TV series), Roswell'' (2000–2002). She went on to portray Clai ...
) is kidnapped by the Others a few weeks after the plane crash, Tom oversees
Ethan Rom Ethan Rom is a fictional character portrayed by William Mapother on the ABC television show '' Lost''. Introduced in the first season as the main antagonist, Ethan is the surgeon for the antagonistic and mysterious group known as the " Others". ...
's (
William Mapother William Reibert Mapother Jr. (; born April 17, 1965) is an American actor, known for his role as Ethan Rom on the television series ''Lost (2004 TV series), Lost'' and starring in the film ''In the Bedroom''. He is also known for the film ''Anothe ...
) progress at the Others' medical station. He criticizes Ethan for kidnapping Claire before making "the list". After forty-four days on the Island, the survivors finish building a raft, with Michael Dawson ( Harold Perrineau), his ten-year-old son Walt Lloyd (
Malcolm David Kelley Malcolm David Kelley (born May 12, 1992), sometimes credited as just Malcolm Kelley, is an American actor and singer best known for portraying the character Walt Lloyd on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC series ''Lost (2004 TV series), Lo ...
),
James "Sawyer" Ford James Ford, better known by the alias "Sawyer" () and later as "Jim LaFleur", is a fictional character on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television series ''Lost (2004 TV series), Lost'', portrayed by Josh Holloway. Created by Jeffrey Li ...
(
Josh Holloway Joshua Lee Holloway (born July 20, 1969) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as James "Sawyer" Ford on the ABC television show '' Lost'' (2004–2010) as Will Bowman on the USA Network science fiction drama ''Colony'' (2016 ...
) and Jin-Soo Kwon (
Daniel Dae Kim Daniel Dae Kim (born August 4, 1968) is an American actor. He is known for his many roles in network television and theater. In 2025, ''Time'' magazine listed him as one of the world's 100 most influential people. On television, he portray ...
) volunteering to sail it. Tom makes his first appearance in "Exodus: Part 2", where he arrives in a
motorboat A motorboat or powerboat is a boat that is exclusively powered by an engine; faster examples may be called "speedboats". Some motorboats are fitted with inboard engines, others have an outboard motor installed on the rear, containing the inter ...
, wearing a fake beard and old clothes, with a crew of Others who kidnap Walt and destroy the raft. When Michael goes searching for the Others in the jungle, Tom captures him, and then confronts the other survivors who are looking for Michael. Tom warns them not to come any closer to the Others and then leaves with Michael in tow. A deal is made for Michael to bring
Jack Shephard Dr. Jack Shephard is a fictional character and the protagonist of the ABC television series '' Lost'', played by Matthew Fox. ''Lost'' follows the journey of the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815 on a mysterious island and their attempts to sur ...
(
Matthew Fox Matthew Chandler Fox (born July 14, 1966) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Charlie Salinger on '' Party of Five'' (1994–2000) and Jack Shephard on the drama series '' Lost'' (2004–2010), the latter of which earned him G ...
),
Kate Austen Katherine Anne Austen is a fictional character on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television series ''Lost (2004 TV series), Lost'', played by Canadians, Canadian actress Evangeline Lilly. Character biography Prior to the crash Born in 19 ...
( Evangeline Lilly), Sawyer and Hugo "Hurley" Reyes (
Jorge Garcia Jorge Garcia (born April 28, 1973) is an American actor and comedian. He first came to public attention with his performance as Hector Lopez on the television show '' Becker'', but subsequently became best known for his portrayal of Hugo "Hurl ...
) to the Others in exchange for Walt. In the second season finale " Live Together, Die Alone", Michael successfully leads Jack, Kate, Sawyer and Hurley to the ambush point; various Others including Tom sedate them and take them to a pier. There, Tom knocks Jack, Kate and Sawyer unconscious and transports them to a small island nearby. In season three, Tom supervises an operation on Ben Linus (
Michael Emerson Michael Emerson (born September 7, 1954) is an American actor who is best known for his roles as Benjamin Linus on '' Lost'' (2006–2010) and as Harold Finch in the CBS series ''Person of Interest'' (2011–2016). Other prominent roles include ...
), the leader of the Others, which Jack is performing, and is coerced into letting Kate and Sawyer escape. He loses trust in Juliet, believing her to be plotting against Ben, and expresses his views to the Others' sheriff, before returning to the Island. Shown in a flashback during season four, Tom leaves the Island and tracks down Michael in Manhattan, where Michael is trying to kill himself. He tells Michael that the Island will not let him die and gives him the address of his hotel penthouse. There, Tom convinces Michael to work for Ben, and instructs him to get a job as a janitor on board a freighter that is about to set sail from
Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...
. When Michael arrives at the port Tom tells him to wait a day or two before activating an explosive device, to kill all the freighter crew, preventing them from reaching the Island. He returns to the barracks and is seen playing
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
with Jack. Shortly after this, he and the Others abandon the barracks, making camp in the jungle en route to the temple. Tom is shocked when Ben agrees to take one of the survivors,
John Locke John Locke (; 29 August 1632 (Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.) – 28 October 1704 (Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.)) was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of the Enlightenment thi ...
( Terry O'Quinn), to see
Jacob Jacob, later known as Israel, is a Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions. He first appears in the Torah, where he is described in the Book of Genesis as a son of Isaac and Rebecca. Accordingly, alongside his older fraternal twin brother E ...
, Ben's superior. His faith in Ben's leadership is shaken, and he ignores Ben's calls to intervene when Locke begins to beat another Other,
Mikhail Bakunin Mikhail Alexandrovich Bakunin. Sometimes anglicized to Michael Bakunin. ( ; – 1 July 1876) was a Russian revolutionary anarchist. He is among the most influential figures of anarchism and a major figure in the revolutionary socialist, s ...
( Andrew Divoff). When Ben returns from Jacob, he orders a raid on the survivors' beach camp that night; Tom is part of the party sent. In "Through the Looking Glass", the season three finale, Jin,
Sayid Jarrah Sayid Hassan Jarrah (, ''Sa‘īd Ḥassān Jarrāḥ'') is a fictional character from the ABC show '' Lost'' portrayed by Naveen Andrews. Appearances Prior to the crash Sayid originally served as a communications officer in Iraq's Special Re ...
(
Naveen Andrews Naveen William Sidney Andrews (born 17 January 1969) is a British-American actor. He is best known for his role as Sayid Jarrah in the television series '' Lost'' (2004–2010), for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and a Primet ...
) and
Bernard Nadler Rose and Bernard Nadler are fictional characters on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) television series ''Lost (2004 TV series), Lost'', played by L. Scott Caldwell and Sam Anderson respectively. Rose and Bernard visit a faith healer on thei ...
( Sam Anderson) are captured by the party, and Ben radios Tom to shoot them. This prearranged code is the signal for Tom to shoot three bullets into the ground, only pretending to kill the hostages, to mislead the rest of the survivors, who have been met by Ben. Afterwards Tom expresses regret at not finishing the hostages, as they killed seven of the Others. The arrival of Hurley in a van, along with Sawyer and Juliet, sees the rest of the attack party killed. Tom admits defeat and surrenders, but Sawyer shoots him in his heart, claiming his life as payment for taking Walt off of the raft. Juliet later buries Tom near the jungle along with his team of deceased Others.


Characteristics

When Tom is introduced in the first season finale, he wears a fake beard and old clothes. He continues to appear under this guise throughout the second season, only revealing his beard to be fake in the finale. M. C. Gainey, the actor who portrays Tom, was only informed that his character's beard was fake near the end of season two. The producers describe Tom as "friendly", earning him the nickname "Mr. Friendly". One critic has described him as "sarcastic" and "bright". Tom's dislike of blood causes him to struggle while supervising Ben's operation, which Emerson believes makes him "cuddly". Gainey does not think he is very similar to Tom, commenting, "He seems to be very loyal and I'm a very loyal person so I have that in common, but other than that, I don't really know what he's about. He seems much more socially awkward than I am." After Tom was revealed to be gay during season four, M. C. Gainey stated that "anytime you've got a group of people, somebody's got to be marching to a different drummer - that would be Tom Friendly."


Development

M. C. Gainey first met ''Lost'' producer Carlton Cuse while working on ''
The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr ''The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.'', often referred to as just ''Brisco'' or ''Brisco County'', is an American weird western television series created by Jeffrey Boam and Carlton Cuse. It ran for 27 episodes on Fox from August 27, 19 ...
''. Lindelof, Damon & Cuse, Carlton, (April 16, 2007) "Official ''Lost'' Audio Podcast", '' ABC''. Retrieved on December 27, 2008.Martell, Erin, (April 17, 2007)
Lost audio podcast recap: April 16, 2007
, ''
TV Squad Weblogs, Inc. was a blog network that published content on a variety of subjects, including tech news, video games, automobiles, and pop culture. At one point, the network had as many as 90 blogs, although the vast majority of its traffic could b ...
''. Retrieved on December 26, 2008.
The opportunity to work with Cuse again was motivation enough to take the part of Tom, even without a script or description of the character. Gainey watches every episode of the series, but admits to not knowing what is happening much of the time. In his first appearance, in the season one finale "Exodus: Part 2", Gainey was credited as "bearded man", and was lovingly called "Gay Tom" in season 4. then in his season two appearances as "Mr. Friendly". In the Official ''Lost'' Podcast, Damon Lindelof confirmed Mr. Friendly is not his real name, but is how the producers refer to him internally, because "he's so friendly"; Lindelof, Damon & Cuse, Carlton, (January 23, 2006) "Official ''Lost'' Audio Podcast", '' ABC''. Retrieved on December 27, 2008. however, his surname was later suggested to actually be ''Friendly'' during
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2009. He is nicknamed "Zeke" by Sawyer in " The Hunting Party", which led to some critics using this name for him. In the season two finale "Live Together, Die Alone", his name is revealed to be Tom. On his character's death, Gainey noted that "just because they kill you on this show, don't mean they don't need you anymore 'cause everybody's got a past.""''Lost'' on Location: 'Meet Kevin Johnson' ". ''Lost: The Complete Fourth Season – The Expanded Experience'', Buena Vista Home Entertainment.
Featurette In the American film industry, a featurette is a kind of film that is shorter than a full-length feature, but longer than a short film. The term may refer to either of two types of content: a shorter film or a companion film. Medium-length film ...
, disc 6. Released on December 9, 2008.
In the third season premiere "
A Tale of Two Cities ''A Tale of Two Cities'' is a historical novel published in 1859 by English author Charles Dickens, set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution. The novel tells the story of the French Doctor Manette, his 18-year-long impr ...
", Tom tells Kate that she is not his type. This comment resulted in online discussion in regard to Tom's sexual orientation,'' CTV'', (November 14, 2006)
The Others
. Retrieved on March 31, 2008.
and Lindelof and Cuse hinted that a ''Lost'' character would later be outed. Gainey joked, "if ate'snot your type, you're gay", and began playing the character as such. Elliot, Preston & Morrison, Steve, (February 22, 2007)
''The Preston and Steve Show''
. Retrieved on December 26, 2008.
He tried to subtly flirt with Jack, claiming that this attraction "got imthrough the first half of the season." In the fourth season episode " Meet Kevin Johnson", Tom is seen kissing his New York lover Arturo (Francesco Simone). After the broadcast of "Meet Kevin Johnson", Lindelof and Cuse confirmed that the line from the third season premiere is an allusion to Tom's sexuality, but felt that it needed to be explicitly confirmed in the show, although Lindelof noted that the confirmation scene in "Meet Kevin Johnson" "was not subtle, to say the least". Lindelof, Damon & Cuse, Carlton, (March 21, 2008)
Official ''Lost'' Audio Podcast
, '' ABC''. Retrieved on March 24, 2008.
''Lost'' writer
Edward Kitsis Edward Lawrence Kitsis (born February 4, 1971) is an American screenwriter and television producer, best known for his work with his writing partner Adam Horowitz on the popular ABC drama series '' Lost'' and ''Once Upon a Time''. Early life a ...
stated that "It was great to see omand realize that... he is a true gentleman."


Reception

Chris Carabott from
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"loved" Tom's first appearance because "It's a great scene and our first introduction to The Others besides Ethan's infiltration of the camp." Gainey found the fan reaction to his first appearance "really tough", because "everywhere ewent people would just give imdirty looks and they were like 'What are you going to do with that boy?'", but he noted this gradually improved after his appearances in season two. Erin Martell from AOL's
TV Squad Weblogs, Inc. was a blog network that published content on a variety of subjects, including tech news, video games, automobiles, and pop culture. At one point, the network had as many as 90 blogs, although the vast majority of its traffic could b ...
listed Tom in her five "most entertaining guest roles" from the first three seasons, commenting "I am counting his first episode as my favorite. For my money, there was nothing more disturbing than when Gainey showed up out of the blue and uttered the words, 'We're gonna have to take the boy.' I could not get that scene out of my head for days after 'Exodus' aired. Ben has made Tom seem relatively less menacing over time, but I have a feeling that the terrifying, bearded sea captain is still in there somewhere." In her review of the season four episode "The Other Woman", Nikki Stafford of '' Wizard'' called the return of her "favorite Other" (Tom) a "highlight". Following his posthumous flashback appearance in "Meet Kevin Johnson", Martell said "Now I feel even worse about his death. He wasn't just one of Ben's scary, Walt-napping minions. He had a heart." Tim Goodman from the ''
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'' thought the revelation that Tom is gay was a "unique and funny twist".Goodman, Tim, (March 21, 2008)
''Lost'': The Spoiled Bastard
, ''
San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. ...
''. Retrieved on December 28, 2008.
Jay Glatfelter of
The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers p ...
noted this revelation "seemed a little oddly placed, kind of like 'Let's make one of our characters gay just for the heck of it' but still it's cool that the show has a perfectly normal (well for an 'Other') not over-the-top gay character."Glatfelter, Jay, (March 21, 2008)
On ''Lost'': 'Meet Kevin Johnson'
,
The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers p ...
. Retrieved on March 21, 2008.


References


External links

* {{good article Lost (2004 TV series) characters Fictional gay men Fictional kidnappers Fictional LGBTQ characters in television American male characters in television Television characters introduced in 2005