- Played by Matthew Fox.
BEFORE THE CRASH
- Son of Christian and Margo Shephard.
- Learned at an early age that he would always have problems dealing with situations that he couldn't fix.
- Spinal surgeon, just like father.
- Met Desmond while running in a stadium, just after twisting his ankle.
- Married Sarah, a woman whose life he saved.
- Kisses Gabriela Busoni, the daughter of Angelo Busoni, whom he fails to save.
- His wife Sarah left him for another man.
- Betrayed his alcoholic father to the hospital board after Christian accidentally killed a patient while operating under the influnce. Jack stopped defending his father after finding out that the patient was pregnant.
- Jack's betrayal caused a permanent rift between the two men, even though both wanted to make amends.
- Learned to play poker, and spot cheating and sleight of hand in Phuket (Thailand). Also took some flying lessons.
- Went to Australia to find his missing father only to discover he'd drunk himself to death. Blames himself for his father's death.
- Has a tattoo on his left shoulder that translates to: "Hawk in the expansive sky" or "Eagles high up cleaving the sky" and another tattoo on his left forearm. He did not have the tattoos at time of separation from Sarah; not indicated when he got it. One of his tattoos appears to be a large number 5 with what seems to be an illustration of a compass dial around it.
- Was bringing father's body home from Australia for burial.
- Met Ana-Lucia at the bar in Sydney airport.
- Had a ticket for seat 23A on Flight 815, but moved to 23C to talk with Rose.
- Sat across the aisle from Rose on the plane.
- On the plane, when he tried to go to the bathroom, he was stopped by a running Charlie.
- Because he was stopped by Charlie, he did not go to the bathroom and was able to buckle his seatbelt. If he had gone to the bathroom, he may have died or been caught in the tail section.
- He cannot let anything go. He wants to control everything, but has trouble understanding he can't do that.
ON THE ISLAND
- Saved Rose via CPR, when her heart stopped.
- Reluctantly accepted the role of leader on the island.
- Made the decision to burn the fuselage, thus cremating the passengers who didn't survive.
Jack's shirt from Season 1. Picture taken by Circeus in the ABC Commissary at Disney's MGM Studios
- Euthanized Edward Mars after a botched mercy killing attempt by Sawyer.
- Solves disputes with reason but not afraid to use guns or torture if necessary.
- Has a very hard time letting things go and relying only on faith.
- Saw his father walking around or standing in the distance on many occasions.
- Saved Boone from drowning after Boone failed to rescue a drowning woman, Joanna. After returning Boone to the beach, Jack swam back out to save the woman but failed to get to her in time. Later Jack derided himself in front of Kate for being unable to rescue her.
- Found his father's coffin, but not the body.
- Discovered caves with fresh water supply for shelter.
- Succeeded in moving a large group of the survivors from the beach to the caves.
- Trapped by cave-in, rescued by Charlie.
- Tried but failed to save Boone's life.
- Held Locke responsible for Boone's death. Even after Locke explained what actually happened, this (combined with the fact that Locke was keeping the hatch a secret, caused Jack to distrust Locke.
- Competed with Sawyer for Kate's attention.
- Kept Locke from being pulled down into a hole by the Monster.
- Led an expedition to find Michael after he ran off.
- Confronted the Others in the course of that expedition.
- trouble trusting Locke, ever since Boone's death.
- Was trying to create an army with the help of Ana-Lucia.
- Let the Countdown Timer run out to pressure Locke into giving him the combination to the arsenal so he could stop Sayid from torturing Henry Gale, but doesn't know what happened when it ran out.
- In an ever increasing game of one-upmanship with Locke.
- Won his medical supplies back from Sawyer in a poker game.
- Offered the faux Henry Gale to the Others in a trade for Walt; they did not accept.
- Found Michael after he ran out of the jungle, and brought him back to the hatch. He and Kate tended to Michael's wounds.
- Went with Locke and Kate to retrieve the rest of the guns from Sawyer after Michael announced a plan to take on the Others. Pulled a gun on Sawyer to get him to comply.
THEORIES
- Jack's last name, Shephard, tells us that he's 'leading the herd'. Jesus is also called 'The Good Shepherd'.
- Jack and Claire are half-siblings.
- Jack has stolen Locke's mojo. Recently he has been enjoying a lot of luck, in each case, confidently predicted.