James Ford, better known by the alias "Sawyer", is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost played by Josh Holloway. Sawyer is portrayed as a conniving, overly sarcastic flirt who keeps stashes of washed ashore items. His flashbacks typically depict a more sensitive side to him. Prior to the crash Sawyer was born in Alabama in 1969 as James Ford. At a young age, James' parents were conned by a man under the alias of "Sawyer"; as a result, his father killed both his mother and himself. At the time of his parents' death, James and his family were living in Knoxville, TN according to the letter Sawyer carries. James claims to have dropped out of high school, but has a "high school transcript." James vows to avenge his parents' deaths by searching for the original Sawyer, but finds himself in financial difficulty; he adopts the profession and alias of the man responsible for his parents' death, and uses his looks and charm to seduce women and divide families. Thus, "becoming the man he was hunting." His favorite con would be to wake up next to his victim and pretend to be late for an important meeting; as he rushes to get ready, his briefcase will spill open, revealing large bundles of fake cash that the woman "wasn't supposed to see," and uses her interest as a means of getting her or her rich spouse to invest in a large, but fake, business deal. On one occasion, he carries out this con up until he sees that the targeted couple has a child, and bails on the deal in order to spare the child the same torment that he went through. On another occasion, Sawyer carries out the same con on a divorced woman named Cassidy; however, she sees through his con the moment the briefcase falls open, mentioning that she didn't get a large settlement from the divorce. Instead, she asks him to teach her his profession. After learning a few basic tricks, Sawyer is soon asked by Cassidy to pull off a "long con," revealing that she actually received $600,000 from her ex-husband. While visiting the diner of Kate's mother, Sawyer is forced to resume his con on Cassidy, even when he considers stopping. Sawyer returns to Cassidy and tells her to run, giving her a bag full of money. He reveals that he knew about her settlement and that a car is waiting outside; he will be killed if he doesn't bring the money to the car. As Cassidy takes off with the bag of fake money, Sawyer enters the house with the real money and deposits it for his partner to collect.<br><br> Cassidy presses charges against Sawyer for conning her, and he is sent to prison. Cassidy visits him and informs him that she has since given birth to a girl named Clementine. While in prison, Sawyer befriends a man named Munson, who was sentenced for a white-collar crime. He cons him into revealing where Munson hid the money that he stole; as a result, Sawyer's sentence is cut short, and the money he receives is deposited in an anonymous bank account for Clementine by his request. Later, as Sawyer is seducing another woman, his partner informs him of the whereabouts of the original Sawyer who conned his parents. Sawyer travels to Australia to confront the man, and shoots him. Before he dies, Sawyer realizes that his partner had conned him into killing someone who owed money to an important person. Sawyer also encounters and drinks with Christian Shephard at a bar. While still in Australia, Sawyer is arrested, at the same station visited by Boone, for assaulting Warren Truss during a bar fight. As a result, Sawyer is deported from Australia and banned from returning; he leaves on board Oceanic Flight 815, his seat number being 15D.