Tom Friendly

Tom Friendly
Lost character
First appearance	"Exodus: Part 2"
Last appearance	"Meet Kevin Johnson"
Portrayed by	M. C. Gainey
In-universe information
Gender	Male

Tom Friendly,^[1] often referred to as Tom, Mr. Friendly, or Zeke by Sawyer is a fictional character portrayed by M. C. Gainey on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) television series 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 Comic-Con in 2009, the Lost producers present the character's full name as "Tom Friendly".^[1]

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 that she was "not [his] type".^[2] Gainey began playing the character as such, and in season four Tom is shown kissing another man on the cheek. Lost producer Damon Lindelof commented that this revelation was "not subtle, to say the least".^[3] Tom was received positively by critics, particularly in his first appearance.