Starring roles aren’t exactly insurance policies anymore

Maybe it started with Joss Whedon killing off beloved main characters Angel, Joyce Summers, Tara, and even Buffy in “Buffy the Vampire Slayer." Reaching further back, the trend may have started when Lt. Tasha Yar was killed, twice, on “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” and when Jadzia Dax was murdered on “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.” Wherever it started, deaths of major characters in television series seem to be en vogue. At the head of this movement is the ABC series “Lost.”

In a recent interview with SciFi Wire, “Lost” star Josh Holloway said that he and the rest of the cast constantly live with the knowledge that no one is untouchable on the show.

"I feel like in the current atmosphere of TV shows, they’re willing to kill a main character without a problem. So that’s always a possibility," he said. "I think the nature of the show and the organic way that they write, and still continue to create, is they’re willing to let someone shine. If they shine, they’ll write for them. If they don’t, they’ll move on. It’s kind of the reality of what we do."

So far, there have been five “star” casualties on "Lost." These include the accidental death of Boone (Ian Somerhalder) in a fallen airplane; the shooting deaths of Shannon (Maggie Grace), Ana-Lucia (Michelle Rodriguez), and Libby (Cynthia Watros); and the mysterious bludgeoning of Mr. Eko (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje) by an ominous black cloud. While such choices may be related to longer-range story arcs, the reasons for the decisions to kill these characters has been the subject of much speculation ranging from possible actor disgruntlement to actor misbehavior on and off the set. The characters played by Rodriguez, Watros, and Akinnuoye-Agbaje all met their fates after each actor was arrested for traffic violations, including DUI charges against both women.

In the current season, Sawyer (Holloway) and Kate (Evangeline Lilly) had consummated their passion inside the cage where he’d been held captive by The Others since the beginning of the season. Holloway said that while he was never sure it was going to happen, he had always hoped Kate would choose Sawyer over her other potential love interest, Jack (Matthew Fox).

"It’s great, because neither of us really know where it’s going, so we don’t know exactly what to fully invest in, which actually plays on camera," Holloway said. "It’s nice kind of not knowing. And one minute we’re really kind of close and sappy, and the next minute we’re like, ’Who are you?’ It’s that thing. But our friendship has deepened quite a bit. We’ve been working together constantly and having to discuss these things and how we’re going to do them and so forth. So it was good. And we’re really proud of the way that love scene turned out, because we wanted it to be different. We wanted it to take some time and have some moments in the middle of it. Not just this crazy furious thing. Because it’s been such a long time coming."

Since the beginning of Season 3, most of the story has focused on the trials of Sawyer, Kate, and Jack at the hands of he Others. Holloway said that he missed working with the rest of the cast "very much" in the early part of the season, but hinted that there may be a reunion coming soon.

"I’m looking forward to getting back to that," he said.

"Lost" returns Feb. 7 at 10 p.m. ET on ABC.