They needed a Josh Holloway type. The guy they cast looks too dopey.
Bingo. That's what bugged me about the lead - he's too wholesome and plastic. He didn't grab me as someone who had something going on inside, that might be interesting to find out more about. The guy needs to be more messy.
I think it's very difficult to make a show where the supposed hero is a very unlikable character
Sawyer isn't
very unlikable. More like edgy, and less so than Tony Soprano, Walter White or Dexter Morgan (who get away with being nastier because they're on cable). From the start, there was a definite conflict noticeable about Sawyer. He seemed to be a disgusting racist redneck hick. But he was also witty, charming, apparently more intelligent than he let on, and there was a hint that he was a deeply wounded person putting on a front to keep the world at bay.
That's how you create an edgy character who isn't instantly likable, who the audience will spark to regardless, so that they keep watching, because they see that the likable qualities may be just under the surface. It's a tricky thing to pull off and shows like
Dexter and
Lost make it look easy, but it's worth trying if the alternative is a boring lead who makes everyone change the channel.
the flagrant, in-your-face grade-A-asshole way Sawyer acted before he came to the island.
It doesn't matter how he acted before he came to the island. The first time we saw Sawyer was on the island. That's when the audience would either accept or reject him. A big reason why the audience didn't reject him is because of Holloway's performance. He played the character as a raging buffoon but also with another level that was just barely noticeable. The right actor is absolutely vital to creating this type of character, which is why the actors performing the characters I've noted above keep getting Emmy nominations and awards - if they weren't at that level, the character would have failed immediately.
