Harold Perrineau Speaks out About His ‘Lost’ Exit

Harold Perrineau is speaking out about his Lost exit after almost 20 years, and it’s a lot to take in. The actor portrayed Michael Dawson on the beloved ABC drama for three seasons total, leaving after Season 2 and returning for Season 4 before Michael was ultimately killed off. Now, he is opening up about his exit in the new book, Burn It Down: Power, Complicity, and a Call for Change in Hollywood.

It was previously revealed that allegations were made against the for the hostile and toxic work environment on the set of the series. Via Entertainment Tonight, the excerpt, which was in Vanity Fair, Perrineau got candid about his experience on the show in its early seasons and how little in-depth they explored with his character, even when it came to storylines such as Michael’s son going missing. He even expressed his concerns about the script to co-showrunners Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, and the script was later revised to focus its flashbacks on Michael, despite them claiming that the episode wasn’t centered on him. 

He didn’t want to be known as “the Black guy” on Lost and was willing to do the work it took to make sure his character got proper stories, as he allegedly told the duo. Following the phone call and revision, though, Perrineau said he “felt like they were suddenly mad at me.” Reportedly, the actor claims that Cuse told him he wouldn’t be asked back for the third season and alleged that he didn’t know if Michael would return to the series.

“I was f–ked up about it. I was like, ‘Oh, I just got fired, I think,’” Perrineau shared. “I was like, ‘Wait a minute, what’s happening?’ [Cuse] said, ‘Well, you know, you said to us, if we don’t have anything good for you, you want to go.’ I was just asking for equal depth.” Not only that, but he claims that the EP’s response was, “‘Well, you said you don’t have enough work here, so we’re letting you go.’”

While the excerpt has sources claiming that Lindelof said that Perrineau called him a racist, and so he “fired his ass,” he responded to the allegations by saying it “breaks my heart” and doesn’t recall saying those words after the actor departed. Perrineau did end up coming back for Season 4, but unfortunately, it didn’t last long, as Michael was killed by a bomb in Season 4, Episode 14.

It’s disappointing to hear about Perrineau’s experience on Lost. However, following his Lost exit, he has been plenty busy on both the big and small screens, so maybe it worked out for the better in the end. Burn It Down: Power, Complicity, and a Call for Change in Hollywood is available now.