James Ford, better known by the alias Sawyer, and known to the DHARMA Initiative as Jim LaFleur, is one of the middle section survivors of Oceanic Flight 815. His rural Southern accent, selfishness, machismo, and folksy use of oft-abrasive nicknames belied his sophisticated and tender sides as an avid reader and a caring lover—elements of his personality that started to become more apparent as he spent more time on the Island.

On the Island, Sawyer used his skills as a confidence man to accomplish various ends. He hoarded material possessions to leverage power, leading to his involvement in several "A-missions". His acts of rebellion led him to, at various times, become the most hated survivor on the island.

AKA

Sawyer
James 'Jim' LaFleur
Redneck Man

Age

39

Birth

December 1968

Place

Jasper, Alabama, USA

Reason in Australia

...to find and kill the original Sawyer

Reason For Trip

...being deported after being arrested in Sydney.

James Ford, better known by the alias Sawyer, is one of the middle section survivors of Oceanic Flight 815. His rural Southern accent, selfishness, machismo, and folksy use of oft-abrasive nicknames belied his sophisticated and tender sides as an avid reader and a caring lover—elements of his personality that started to become more apparent as he spent more time on the Island.

On the Island, Sawyer used his skills as a confidence man to accomplish various ends. He hoarded material possessions to leverage power, leading to his involvement in several "A-missions". His acts of rebellion led him to, at various times, become the most hated survivor on the island, though he still formed bonds with several survivors.

Before the crash

James Ford was born in December 1968 in Jasper, Alabama. When he was eight, a man known as "Sawyer" slept with his mother, claiming he'd take her out of Alabama. The man swindled the family out of all their savings, enraging James's father. He shot his wife then turned the gun on himself, while young James hid under the bed and watched. At the funeral, James began writing a letter to the con man, vowing to find him one day and kill him. A stranger gave him a pen when his dried out, and he finished the letter, though he promised his uncle he wouldn't.

James dropped out of school in the ninth grade. At 19, he was $6,000 in debt, and he tried the confidence trick his nemesis has used to obtain the money. He later adopted the name of his enemy. Though he continued tracking the original Sawyer to take revenge, he became the very man he hunted.

After Sawyer crashed on the Island, his drifter instincts took over and he began looting and hoarding from the wreck. This included stealing from the luggage compartments and even pawing through corpses' wallets, giving him a shady reputation in the camp. However, Sawyer soon became bored of keeping to himself and accompanied the group of survivors heading for higher ground to use the radio transmitter. On this trip, he began to know Kate. He also shot a polar bear, revealing that he had stolen a firearm from the U.S. Marshal after the crash. He later shot the dying marshal in the chest with this gun, but he missed the heart, hitting the lung instead.