Mr. Eko

Mr. Eko Tunde is a fictional character, played by Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje on the ABC television series Lost. He is introduced in the second season episode "Adrift" as one of the plane-crash survivors from the plane's tail section. Flashbacks reveal that he became the leader of a gang of guerrillas to save his brother when he still lived in Nigeria. He assumed his brother's identity and became a priest after his brother was killed in a botched drug smuggle; Eko killed two guerrillas in defense, was ostracized, and left Nigeria to become a priest in Australia. After investigating the alleged miracle of a girl who came back to life after drowning in Australia in 2004, Eko boarded Oceanic Airlines Flight 815. This plane crashed and left Eko, along with a few other survivors, on a deserted island.

Lost creators Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse were fans of Akinnuoye-Agbaje's work on HBO's Oz, and asked him to portray the character. Although Akinnuoye-Agbaje was not initially interested in joining the cast, he was persuaded by Cuse and Lindelof, but for a shorter period than they had in mind. Akinnuoye-Agbaje had a lot of influence on his character, changing the character's name and making adjustments to Eko's personality. After appearing on the show for one season, Akinnuoye-Agbaje asked Cuse and Lindelof to write his character out of the show because he did not feel at home in Hawaii. They decided a "shocking and emotional death" would be the best way for the character to depart: after seeing his brother on the island, Eko chases him until he stumbles upon the smoke monster, which brutally murders him.