Sayid Jarrah

                

Sayid: Sayid is the survivors tactician.  His previous experience in the Republican Guard during the Gulf War proves valuable to survival on the island, from fixing radios, electronics, and mapping the island to strategic defense against the other.  Immediately after the crash he is accused of causing the plane crash because of post 9/11 stereotypes of Muslims.  This theme doesn't get much play after the first episode, but his experience fighting against Americans in the Gulf War is brought up throughout the run of the series.  In essence though despite all of the skills he possesses Sayid is a man searching for his lost love Nadia.  What makes Sayid such a great character throughout the run of the series is his tragic love story he shares with the character of Nadia and his continuous attempts at reconciliation with his past.  Similar to Kate except he's never run from anything, he knows what will make him whole, what will make him good.  Being reunited with Nadia.  The best parallel with post 9/11 attitudes towards middle-easterners and how Americans would interact with a former Republican Guard, and the post war era, is obviously how Asian American's were treated, and how the rest of the survivors would have to accept that Sayid fought for Imperial Japan.  I can't think of a better actor for the down-dated role of Sayid than Toshiro Mifune.  Mifune Often type-casted as a rogue samurai displayed much range throughout his career, and in his illustrious collaboration with the great Akira Kurosawa.   For the role of Nadia, I would choose his Scandal co-star, and popular Japanese singer Shirley Yamaguchi.