Lost/Anthony Cooper

Anthony Cooper
Lost
Actor	Kevin Tighe
First Appearance	1x19 - Deus Ex Machina
Last Appearance	3x19 - The Brig
Series Billing	Series: Guest
Episode Count	6
Notable Episodes	1x19 - Deus Ex Machina 2x17 - Lockdown 3x13 - The Man from Tallahassee 3x19 - The Brig

Anthony Cooper, an alias, is the father of John Locke. The man's real name is unknown. He is an unrepentant and immoral con man who scammed a kidney from his son, even though all Locke wanted was a father figure. He is played by Kevin Tighe, and has appeared in six episodes to date.

Note: Anthony Cooper is an alias and his real name is unknown. As Locke knew his father as "Anthony Cooper", he will be referred as such for this article.

Basic Information

Before Oceanic 815

In the early to mid 50's, Anthony Cooper met a woman named Emily Locke and the two had a relationship. Cooper didn't know she was pregnant until a year after his son, John Locke, was born. He only found out when Emily came to him for money and told him she put the baby up for adoption. The two parted ways, but Emily would still contact him whenever she needed money.

Cooper became a con man and traveled the country going from con to con. At one point, he went by the name of "Tom Sawyer". During that time he ran a con in Jasper, Alabama and had an affair with a married woman named Mary Ford. He conned her and her husband out of all their life savings and then left. When Mary's husband found out about the affair and that all his money had been lost, he killed her and then shot himself, leaving their eight year old son, James Ford, behind.

In the late 90's, Cooper learned his kidneys were failing and he needed a transplant. Contacting Emily, Cooper set into motion an elaborate con to get a kidney from a compatible donor - his son. Emily made contact with John and piqued his interest in finding out who his biological father was. With the help of a private investigator, John found Cooper and the two met. He invited John out on hunting trips, all under the guise of bonding with his long-lost son. For one such trip, Cooper "accidentally" gave John the wrong time to arrive so Locke would find him hooked up to a dialysis machine and learn that his kidneys were failing. As Cooper had planned, John agreed to give him a kidney in order to save his life. After the operation was successfully completed, Cooper left his son at the hospital for private care at his residence, and didn't want to see John ever again.

John was crushed by his father's deception. Unwilling to let it go, he would frequently drive past Cooper's guarded residence or park outside for hours at a time. Cooper thought it might stop when he moved, but his son continued to show up. At first he thought it was funny, but then it became annoying and he confronted Locke. He told him that he's not the first person that's been conned; Locke needed a father figure and he needed a kidney, and that was it. Making it painfully blunt to Locke, Cooper told him to get over what happened and not to come back - he wasn't wanted.

His son eventually moved on with his life and stopped bothering him. However, Cooper performed a "retirement con" on two dangerous men, taking them for $700,000. Fearing for his life, Cooper faked his own death and then approached John, asking him to retrieve the money from a safe deposit box in exchange for a $200,000 share. Whether or not his son agreed to his offer, Cooper was going to the airport to skip town. The next day at his motel room, Cooper was pleasantly surprised to discover his son with the money. He gave Locke his share of the money, but was puzzled when he refused the money. As he left the room to head to the airport, he found Helen blocking his way. Upset and angry at Cooper for involving himself in John's life again and disappointed in Locke, she slapped Cooper and left. Getting into a taxi, Cooper watched Helen walk away from Locke's marriage proposal, once again leaving Locke's life shattered.

Cooper's "retirement" was short-lived as he resurfaced in California under the alias of Adam Seward, a retired computer programmer from Ontario, Canada. He met Mrs. Talbot, a woman worth over $200 million, and after only two months got her to agree to marry him. Mrs. Talbot's son, Peter, thought something was off about Adam and, after doing some digging, discovered he was once named Anthony Cooper and had a kidney transplant from a man named John Locke. After Peter talked with Locke, Locke confronted Cooper and demanded he break off the engagement so as not to ruin the Talbot's lives like he ruined his. Afterwards, Locke learned Peter was mysteriously killed and confronted Cooper once more. Cooper claimed to have no part in Peter's death, that he's a con man and not a murderer. He claimed Mrs. Talbot called off the engagement in the wake of her son's death but, when Locke tried to use a phone to call her and confirm the claim, Cooper pushed his son through an eighth story window. Locke survived the fall, albeit paralyzed from the waist down, but Cooper was able to escape prosecution by fleeing the country to Mexico and disappearing.

After Oceanic 815

Season Three

After Locke destroyed the Others' submarine, Ben Linus believed Locke did it because he was afraid of his father and the island was the one place he couldn't get to. At the barracks, Ben had Richard Alpert unlock a door to a room, and inside was Anthony Cooper.

The Others moved out of the barracks to a new location, bringing Cooper and Locke with them. They made camp in a large clearing, but Cooper was left gagged and tied to a pillar, a remnant of some ruins. Ben attempted to get Locke to kill Cooper, but, despite Cooper's needling of his son, he wasn't able to go through with it. Locke was left behind with Cooper when the Others continued their journey. Cooper was taken to the Black Rock, a 19^th century sailing vessel mysteriously marooned in the jungle of the island, and locked inside the vessel's brig. Sawyer was brought to see Cooper under the pretense that he was Ben. Sawyer discovered that Cooper wasn't Ben but, when he questioned Cooper at length, realized Cooper was a con man who once went by the name of "Tom Sawyer". Cooper was forced to read the letter Sawyer wrote to him when Sawyer was young, but was dismissive of it and Sawyer's apparent revenge kick. He tore the letter to pieces. This act enraged Sawyer and he choked Cooper to death with a length of chain in the brig.

Episode Appearances

1. 1x19 - Deus Ex Machina
2. 2x03 - Orientation
3. 2x17 - Lockdown
4. 3x13 - The Man from Tallahassee
5. 3x19 - The Brig
6. 6x14 - The Candidate

Character History

Information is shown in chronological order.

• 1x19 - Deus Ex Machina: Through Cooper's machinations, Locke is conned out of his kidney.
• 2x03 - Orientation: Cooper tells Locke to get over the fact that he got conned.
• 2x17 - Lockdown: Fakes his own death after conning two men out of $700,000 as a retirement con. Asks Locke to get the money out of a safe desposit box before he leaves.
• 3x13 - The Man from Tallahassee: Pushes Locke out of an eighth story window, paralyzing him from the waist down. Shows up on the island.
• 3x19 - The Brig: Is killed by Sawyer in the brig of the Black Rock, after Sawyer discovers that he is the real Sawyer who conned his parents and caused their deaths.

Quotes

• 1x19 - Deus Ex Machina: "You have a family of your own? [...] Me neither. I tried it a couple times. Didn't take. Do you hunt? [...] You're not one of those animal rights nut-jobs, are you?"
• 2x03 - Orientation: "There is no "why". You think you're the first person I've ever got conned? You needed a father figure and I needed a kidney, and that's what happened. Get over it. And John, don't come back. You're not wanted."