Michael Dawson/Walt Lloyd: Michael Dawson is the estranged father to Walt Lloyd, in fact Walt first met his biological father the day before the place crash when Michael came to take him after his mother's death. Walt being twelve in the first season posed a problem for casting, there weren't too many good child actors at the time of this 1954 production. Fortunately I found one who was the right age and had some of the chops it would take to play the role of Walt, Brandon De Wilde from Shane and later Hud. Michael on the other hand was easy for me to cast. His bottomed out dead beat dad looking to redeem himself and learning on the fly how to be a dad while on a deserted Island made Michael one of the best characters in Lost's first season (again, much credit to the original actor, Harold Perrineau and his tremendous performance, particularly in the first Michael flashback). Second season Michael is where his character takes probably the biggest twist in series history by collaborating with the "Others" to retrieve his kidnapped son; doing so by killing two of the survivors' own and freeing Ben, then know as Henry Gale. He does this as a father desperate to do anything to save his son, yet tragically though this does work out for him, Walt never forgives his father once he finds out what he did to get them off the island. He resurfaces again in season 4 as a repentant man trying to make up for the lives he took and the friends he betrayed. As I said earlier Michael was perhaps the easiest character to cast, for his role I chose my favorite actor, one whose abilities I feel would suit him perfectly for this role,despite the fact that he rarely got to display his multifaceted acting range:John Wayne. What makes Duke perfect for this part is probably his troubled family life. It was well known he constantly had marriage troubles (he was married and divorced 3 times), this and that he had an excessive work schedule that stemmed from agents and lawyers loosing most of his money; forcing him to work much more than most any other actor of his time. These two things caused a strain between he and his children whom he loved dearly. I believe this comes across most clearly in his 1953 film Trouble Along the Way, where he plays a down on his luck single dad/football coach battling over custody rights. The love he has for his daughter and the fears he has about not providing enough for hear make for an honest and touching role. He was always wonderful playing melancholic characters, and I fully believe given the opportunity he could definitely take on the role of Michael; even at the end of season 2 when Michael gets discovered by his fellow survivors for his double cross. You could also see traces of Michael's character through Duke's performances in Island in the Sky, The High and the Mighty, 3 Godfathers, Sands of Iwo Jima, Circus World and The Searchers.
Michael Dawson/Walt Lloyd: Michael Dawson is the estranged father to Walt Lloyd, in fact Walt first met his biological father the day before the place crash when Michael came to take him after his mother's death. Walt being twelve in the first season posed a problem for casting, there weren't too many good child actors at the time of this 1954 production. Fortunately I found one who was the right age and had some of the chops it would take to play the role of Walt, Brandon De Wilde from Shane and later Hud. Michael on the other hand was easy for me to cast. His bottomed out dead beat dad looking to redeem himself and learning on the fly how to be a dad while on a deserted Island made Michael one of the best characters in Lost's first season (again, much credit to the original actor, Harold Perrineau and his tremendous performance, particularly in the first Michael flashback). Second season Michael is where his character takes probably the biggest twist in series history by collaborating with the "Others" to retrieve his kidnapped son; doing so by killing two of the survivors' own and freeing Ben, then know as Henry Gale. He does this as a father desperate to do anything to save his son, yet tragically though this does work out for him, Walt never forgives his father once he finds out what he did to get them off the island. He resurfaces again in season 4 as a repentant man trying to make up for the lives he took and the friends he betrayed. As I said earlier Michael was perhaps the easiest character to cast, for his role I chose my favorite actor, one whose abilities I feel would suit him perfectly for this role,despite the fact that he rarely got to display his multifaceted acting range:John Wayne. What makes Duke perfect for this part is probably his troubled family life. It was well known he constantly had marriage troubles (he was married and divorced 3 times), this and that he had an excessive work schedule that stemmed from agents and lawyers loosing most of his money; forcing him to work much more than most any other actor of his time. These two things caused a strain between he and his children whom he loved dearly. I believe this comes across most clearly in his 1953 film Trouble Along the Way, where he plays a down on his luck single dad/football coach battling over custody rights. The love he has for his daughter and the fears he has about not providing enough for hear make for an honest and touching role. He was always wonderful playing melancholic characters, and I fully believe given the opportunity he could definitely take on the role of Michael; even at the end of season 2 when Michael gets discovered by his fellow survivors for his double cross. You could also see traces of Michael's character through Duke's performances in Island in the Sky, The High and the Mighty, 3 Godfathers, Sands of Iwo Jima, Circus World and The Searchers. 
Walt never forgives his father once he finds out what he did to get them off the island.
ReplyDeleteActually, Walt began asking about his father's whereabouts, which meant that he had eventually forgave Michael.