Top 5 Terry O'Quinn performances

I know I need to see more of him, but Terry O'Quinn is an actor I always look forward to seeing in anything (though it's been nearly 15 years since he's even appeared in a movie) and consider extremely underrated in a mainstream sense. I'm trying to avoid using too many TV performances for this list, but there are a few that are just hard to ignore. So I'm compromising and going with quality over quantity. Anyway, here are my top 5 favorite Terry O'Quinn performances.



5. Pin (1988)

Though he isn't in this movie much, it's O'Quinn's performance (and character) who really sets the tone for this psychological horror film about a kid who believes his father's (O'Quinn) medical assistant dummy is alive. He made this movie, and his performance was just great.


4. Star Trek: The Next Generation (1994)

Here he makes a single appearance as Riker's old captain in the season 7 episode 'The Pegasus', a secretive and dishonorable man, who puts what he believes to be right over everything else. Though he isn't in it for more than one episode, this single role proves to be one of the best of his career and a major highlight of the final season of one of my favorite shows.


3. The Rocketeer (1991)

While that hack DiCaprio was up for an Oscar for his performance as Howard Hughes, and Jason Robards took on the role as well, I still think my favorite Howard Hughes is this one. I am biased, considering how much I love this movie, but O'Quinn was pretty much perfect here.


2. Lost (2004-2010)

I tried my hardest not to include this (considering how far downhill this show went in its later seasons), but I really can't consider this a real best of list without this in my top 5. The best performance in the show, O'Quinn instantly stood out as one of the most dynamic characters on TV, and an intense believer in the magic of the island. He took what could've sucked and made it great.


1. The Stepfather (1987)

And even though Locke is great, this is easily my favorite performance of his career. I consider this an above average horror-thriller, but O'Quinn gives a top 10 contender for best performance in a horror movie. This is one of the most intense and disturbing performances I've ever seen and instead of hamming it up as most actors would have done he makes it believable -- and that just makes it even scarier. This wouldn't have worked as well with any other actor, as he balances crazy killer with normal suburban man perfectly. It's a truly remarkable bit of acting, not to be missed.