17 Years Later, Titus Welliver's Lost Role Is Hard To Forgive

Published Jul 31, 2026, 7:30 PM EDT Faith Roswell is a Senior Writer on Screen Rant's Classic TV team. Since earning her degree in Creative Writing over a decade ago, Faith has written articles on film and TV from a variety of different angles. Faith now combines her knowledge of psychology with her love of monster movies to give more insight into what makes the best ones. You may have read her Screen Rant lists and features covering horror, sci-fi, and fantasy, or read her Amazon Top 10 book, "Movie Monsters of the Deep." Faith has had an extensive career as a writer, appearing on BBC live radio, researching true crime for Rotten Mango podcast, and writing for publications including Mental Floss, Atlas Obscura, and The Daily Jaws before beginning here at Screen Rant. As a TV show that bent both minds and genres, Lost has an impressive legacy. More than a compelling and tangled mystery, Lost's main characters showed many of the show's actors in a different light. Some, like Dominic Monaghan, were already famous through one major role, with Lost showcasing their versatility, while the series gave lesser-known actors like Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje the opportunity to shine. By the time that Titus Welliver appeared in Lost, it was no secret that the series had cast an extremely accomplished actor. However, the writers made a mistake, giving him an unforgivable role. The mystery of The Smoke Monster was one of Lost's most compelling storylines, with the deadly cloud of black smoke appearing in season 1. Still, it took the show's entire run to finally reveal its true nature as it took on human form as The Man In Black, becoming the series' main antagonist. This is where Titus Welliver comes in, as he played The Man In Black before the character possessed Locke. Now, a harsh reality of rewatching Lost's finale 17 years later is the fact that the role was a waste of Titus Welliver and his character. Lost Badly Wasted Titus Welliver After Casting Him As The Man In Black Compared to some of the other cast members, Titus Welliver might not have been a major star when he was cast in Lost. That said, the actor was hardly unknown, playing Silas Adams in the critically-acclaimed Western series Deadwood, Officer Jake Lowery in the cop drama Brooklyn South, and numerous film and TV roles that made use of his skill for playing unusually intense villains. Detective Harry Bosch might now be considered Titus Welliver's best TV character, but The Man In Black could have been much more compelling than he was, had Welliver had more screentime. IMDb reports that Titus Welliver appeared for just under 19 minutes in Lost. Lost had several villains, but the show's "big bad" should logically be expected to appear more, with a greater role in the story, especially towards the end of the show. The threat of The Smoke Monster grew throughout the series as it was revealed that it was the embodiment of evil, but despite being such a formidable enemy, Welliver was barely used at all. While turning the fan favorite John Locke into a villain through being possessed by The Man In Black was a smart and interesting writing choice, this meant that Welliver played the character for just three episodes. Titus Welliver Proves Lost Wasted Too Much Time It always seemed inevitable that Jack and Locke would have a showdown by the end of Lost, and the final battle between the two made sense for the story. That said, this could have been achieved without minimizing Welliver's role in the show. If he had appeared onscreen earlier as a minor character rather than the terrifying Man In Black, the reveal could have set up another major twist in a series so full of surprises. With Welliver's impressive performance in Lost often being considered better than Bosch, an alternative could have been for The Man In Black to be more fully fleshed out as a character in his own right. This could also have been done earlier, showing him as a human rather than just the Smoke Monster. Some viewers and critics felt that Lost wasted time with its now-infamous "flash sideways" and could have struck a better balance between the characters' emotional journeys and their storylines. This goes for The Man In Black too. Welliver's role in Lost did not do justice to him as an actor, and both he and the character deserved more of a focus. While a rewatch makes it clear that Lost's main villain is not The Man In Black but The Mother, the casting itself is unforgivable. The show is still one of the greatest mystery series ever to be made, but it is not without flaws, and with Welliver commanding every scene he was in for the roughly nineteen minutes he appeared onscreen, one of the biggest mysteries in Lost is how the creators managed to overlook him. Release Date 2004 - 2010-00-00 Network ABC Showrunner Damon Lindelof, Carlton Cuse Cast Matthew Fox Jack Shephard Evangeline Lilly Kate Austen A mystery sci-fi television series about a group of plane crash survivors trapped on a mysterious island. As they strive to endure extraordinary challenges, the island's enigmatic nature steadily unravels.