Miles Straume
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| Miles Straume | |
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| First appearance | "Confirmed Dead" |
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| Centric episode(s) |
"Confirmed Dead" |
| Information | |
| Name | Miles Straume |
| Former residence |
Inglewood, California, USA |
| (Former) profession | Medium |
| Portrayed by | Ken Leung |
Miles Straume is a fictional character played by Ken Leung on the ABC television series Lost. Miles is introduced early in the fourth season as a hotheaded and sarcastic medium aboard the freighter 130 kilometers offshore of the island. Miles arrives on the island and is taken captive by John Locke (played by Terry O'Quinn), who suspects that those on the freighter are there to harm his fellow crash survivors of Oceanic Airlines Flight 815 and expose the island to the general public. Miles is on a mission to obtain Ben Linus (Michael Emerson) and kill all other islanders; instead, he cuts a deal with Ben to lie to Miles's employer Charles Widmore (Alan Dale) that Ben is dead.
The writers created the role of Miles specifically for Leung after seeing him guest star on The Sopranos. Leung was the only actor to read for the part. They chose his name because it resembles "maelstrom", another word for a powerful whirlpool. Reaction to the character has been positive.
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[edit] Arc
In early December 2004,[1] Miles goes to the house of a grieving woman named Mrs. Gardner (Azure McCall) to communicate with her dead grandson. Miles apparently speaks to the grandson's spirit by using a electro-magnetic field (EMF) generator and finds a large amount of drugs and money. Miles keeps the money, but gives Gardner a refund for half what she paid him. Matthew Abaddon (Lance Reddick) later selects Miles, along with Daniel Faraday (Jeremy Davies), Charlotte Lewis (Rebecca Mader) and Frank Lapidus (Jeff Fahey) to retrieve Ben from the island and kill all other islanders once the task is accomplished. Miles and the others journey on the freighter called the Kahana until Frank flies them on December 21, 2004 via helicopter to the island.[2] Miles is taken prisoner by Locke and kept in a boathouse near the Barracks.[3] The next day, Kate breaks him out so that he can speak to fellow prisoner Ben. Miles tells Ben that he will lie to his employer Widmore that Ben is dead in exchange for $3.2 million in the next week.[4] Miles is caught by Locke and taken back to boathouse, where an armed grenade is temporarily placed into his mouth.[5] After some of his fellow freighter crew attack the Barracks, Miles leaves with James "Sawyer" Ford (Josh Holloway), Claire Littleton (Emilie de Ravin) and Aaron for the beach.[6] He is still on the beach when the freighter explodes and the island is "moved" on December 30, 2004.[7]
[edit] Characteristics
Miles is hotheaded and initially hostile toward the survivors,[8] after one of them kills his colleague Naomi Dorrit (Marsha Thomason). But he, too, is disrespectful of Naomi after she dies, referring to her dead body as "just meat" and telling Kate "sure I'm affected [by Naomi's death]. She was hot and I dug her accent." Upon learning that Miles has been captured by Locke, Frank informs Sayid that "that guy's nothing but a pain in my ass."[3]
Miles sarcastically nicknames his acquaintances,[9] prompting critics, fans and characters to compare him to the character Sawyer[10] and give him a nickname of his own: "mini-Sawyer".[11] Actor Leung has said that "Miles doesn't know how to be social, which is great, because I don't know how to be social."[12] He has also stated that Miles "trust[s] the dead more than the living" and is intrigued as to whom Miles grieves for.[13]
[edit] Development
The day after the April 22, 2007 episode of The Sopranos titled "Remember When" aired, Lost's co-creator Damon Lindelof met with fellow executive producer/writer/show runner Carlton Cuse and said that "there's an actor on th[e] show [last night]—I'm not going to tell you who he is—and I wonder if he has the same impression on you that he had on me".[14] Cuse correctly guessed Ken Leung, who had guest starred as one-time character Carter Chong.[15] In mid-May, they contacted Leung's agent and were informed in July that he was available and interested in working on Lost. To limit the leak of spoilers, Lindelof and Cuse auditioned Leung with a character and scene created specifically for the audition that would not be used in the show but was "analogous to the role [that they] really want[ed]."[16] Leung believed that he was auditioning for the role of Russell, a brilliant mathematician in his late thirties with immense knowledge across various scientific fields, limited social skills and broken personal relationships.[17] Leung was the only actor who tried out for this part, as writers had written the (originally recurring guest) role of Miles for him and had he not accepted the job, the character would have been completely rewritten.[14] The name Miles Straume was simply chosen because the writer-producers thought that "it would be cool if his name sounded like 'maelstrom'".[18] Costume designer Roland Sanchez based Miles's wardrobe choice after that of The Rolling Stones member Keith Richards; specifically a picture in which he wore a sleeveless vest. Sanchez believed that Miles fit the haggard look and bought an Armani Exchange jacket, cropped the sleeves and added a hood and this outfit assisted Leung's understanding of Miles.[19] The writers planned for an episode in the late fourth season to focus on Miles's backstory;[20] however, this will be moved to the fifth season as a result of the Writers Guild of America strike.[21]
[edit] Reception
After four appearances, Leung was nominated for the J. C. Penney Asian Excellence Award in the Supporting Television Actor category,[22] but he lost to Rex Lee, who plays Lloyd on HBO's Entourage.[23] According to Jon Lachonis of UGO, Miles and the other new characters have been well received by fans.[24] Maureen Ryan of The Chicago Tribune said that Leung is "terrifically intense" in his portrayal.[25] Paige Albiniak of the New York Post praised the cast addition.[26] Diane Werts of Newsday thought that "Ken Leung and Michael Emerson may be the two current most interesting actors in this mix".[27] Alan Sepinwall of The Star-Ledger commented that "Miles the dustbusting ghostbuster is easily my favorite [of the characters introduced in 'Confirmed Dead'] … why not throw in a medium [among the show's science fiction phemonena] … I love the sarcastic energy he brings. Sawyer and Ben can't be the only ones getting the good one-liners".[28] After Miles's introduction in the second episode of the fourth season, Jeff Jensen of Entertainment Weekly wrote that Leung made "a strong impression" and was well cast.[29] Chris Carabott of IGN stated that "Leung does an adequate job of getting Miles' arrogant brand of confidence across."[30]
[edit] References
- ^ Sarnoff, Elizabeth (writer) & Vaughan, Brian K. (writer) & Williams, Stephen (director), "Meet Kevin Johnson". Lost, ABC. Episode 8, season 4. Aired on March 20, 2008.
- ^ Goddard, Drew (writer) & Vaughan, Brian K. (writer) & Williams, Stephen (director), "Confirmed Dead". Lost, ABC. Episode 2, season 4. Aired on February 7, 2008.
- ^ a b Kitsis, Edward (writer) & Horowitz, Adam (writer) & Bender, Jack (director), "The Economist". Lost, ABC. Episode 3, season 4. Aired on February 14, 2008.
- ^ Sarnoff, Elizabeth (writer) & Nations, Greggory (writer) & Williams, Stephen (director), "Eggtown". Lost, ABC. Episode 4, season 4. Aired on February 21, 2008.
- ^ Lindelof, Damon & Cuse, Carlton, (March 21, 2008) "The Official Lost Audio Podcast", ABC. Retrieved on March 31, 2008.
- ^ Goddard, Drew (writer) & Vaughan, Brian K. (writer) & Williams, Stephen (director), "The Shape of Things to Come". Lost, ABC. Episode 9, season 4. Aired on April 24, 2008.
- ^ Lindelof, Damon (writer) & Cuse, Carlton (writer) & Bender, Jack (director), "There's No Place Like Home". Lost, ABC. Episode 14, season 4. Aired on May 29, 2008.
- ^ Jensen, Jeff, (February 22, 2008) "Not What We Eggspected", Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved on April 13, 2008.
- ^ Godwin, Jennifer, (February 15, 2008) "Sayid in a Tux? Lordy Lord, Our Prayers Have Been Answered!", E!. Retrieved on April 12, 2008.
- ^ Martell, Erin, (February 8, 2008) "Lost: 'Confirmed Dead'", TV Squad. Retrieved on March 10, 2008.
- ^ Carabott, Chris, (February 22, 2008) "Kate Causes Trouble for Locke and His Group", IGN. Retrieved on February 23, 2008.
- ^ Malcolm, Shawna, (February 7, 2008) "Lost Exclusive: Meet Four New Characters!", TV Guide. Retrieved on March 16, 2008.
- ^ Keck, Will, (February 13, 2008) "Meet Three More of the 'Freighter People' from Lost", USA Today. Retrieved on March 16, 2008.
- ^ a b Jensen, Jeff, (August 29, 2007) "Lost: Five Fresh Faces", Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved on August 30, 2007.
- ^ Ausiello, Michael, (August 19, 2007) "Sopranos Scene-Stealer Gets Lost!", TV Guide. Retrieved on April 3, 2008.
- ^ Littleton, Cynthia, (October 12, 2007) "Lost: The Weight of the Wait", Variety. Retrieved on October 13, 2007.
- ^ Ausiello, Michael, (August 1, 2007) "Lost Introduces the Other Others!?", TV Guide. Retrieved on January 19, 2008.
- ^ Jensen, Jeff "Doc", (February 20, 2008) "Lost: Mind-Blowing Scoop From Its Producers", Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved on March 17, 2008.
- ^ Sanchez, Roland, (February 8, 2008) "The Official Lost Video Podcast", ABC. Retrieved on March 17, 2008.
- ^ Jensen, Jeff "Doc", (April 10, 2008) "Secrets from the Set!", Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved on April 12, 2008.
- ^ Lachonis, Jon "DocArzt", (March 13, 2008) "Darlton Lost Interview", UGO. Retrieved on March 22, 2008.
- ^ Niwa, Grace, (April 5, 2008) "And the Nominees Are…", Asians in America. Retrieved on April 12, 2008.
- ^ Asian Excellence Awards, (May 1, 2008) "2008 Winners". Retrieved on May 12, 2008.
- ^ Lachonis, Jon "DocArzt", (February 13, 2008) "Rebecca Mader Lost Interview", UGO. Retrieved on March 16, 2008.
- ^ Ryan, Maureen, (March 19, 2008) "Lost is Back to Being an Unmissable Addiction", The Chicago Tribune. Retrieved on June 6, 2008.
- ^ Albiniak, Paige, (February 24, 2008) "10 Reasons Why Lost is Found", New York Post. Retrieved on April 12, 2008.
- ^ Werts, Diane, (February 22, 2008) "Lost Gets Lost in Kate-Dom", Newsday. Retrieved on February 26, 2008.
- ^ Sepinwall, Alan, (February 7, 2008) "Who Ya Gonna Call? Miles!", The Star-Ledger. Retrieved on April 12, 2008.
- ^ Jensen, Jeff "Doc", (February 7, 2008) "Chute First, Ask Questions Later", Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved on March 15, 2008.
- ^ Carabott, Chris, (February 6, 2008) "Four New Characters Join the Cast", IGN. Retrieved on March 10, 2008.
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| Production | DVD releases • Episode list • Music • Season 1 • Season 2 • Season 3 • Season 4 |
| Main characters | Ana Lucia • Ben • Boone • Charlie • Charlotte • Claire • Daniel • Desmond • Hurley • Jack • Jin • Juliet Kate • Libby • Locke • Michael • Miles • Mr. Eko • Nikki • Paulo • Sawyer • Sayid • Shannon • Sun • Walt |
| Supporting characters | Alex • Bernard • Christian • Ethan • Rose • Rousseau • Tom |
| Groups | Dharma Initiative • Hanso Foundation • Oceanic Airlines • The Others |
| Miscellaneous | Awards • Find 815 • Lost Experience • Lost: Missing Pieces • Lost: Via Domus • Mythology |
