Joshua Lee Holloway (born July 20, 1969) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as James "Sawyer" Ford on the ABC television show Lost (2004–2010), as Will Bowman on the USA Network science fiction drama Colony (2016–2018), and as Jim Ellis in the Max crime series Duster (2025). He also had a recurring role in the third and fourth seasons of the Paramount Network western series Yellowstone (2020–2021).
Early life
Holloway was born in San Jose, California, the second of four boys of a nurse mother and a surveyor father. His family moved to the Blue Ridge Mountains of Georgia when he was two. He was raised in Free Home, Georgia. Holloway is related to Baptist preacher Dr. Dale Holloway, and author and World War II prisoner of war Carl Holloway. He is also a descendant of Robert E. Lee.
Career
Holloway moved to Los Angeles, where he began a successful career as a runway and print model, including for brands Dolce & Gabbana, Calvin Klein and Donna Karan. Nevertheless, he found time to star in the thriller Whisper and he also ventured into the world of video games in Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars. In the game, he plays the role of a Brotherhood of Nod intelligence officer named Ajay whose primary role is to assist players by supplying information that is crucial to upcoming battles. In May 2007, 20th Century Fox approached Holloway for the second time and offered him the role of Gambit in X-Men 4. In 2005, People magazine named Holloway one of the "50 Most Beautiful People in the World". In January 2006, In Touch Weekly named Holloway the "hottest hunk" on television. In the same month, Holloway was voted the seventeenth-sexiest guy worldwide by British readers of OK! magazine. In the same year, he was voted the second-sexiest star in Hollywood by Us Weekly.
In March 2007, Holloway was selected as the new face for Davidoff's fragrance Cool Water worldwide. In Spring 2008, Holloway was selected as the first male spokesperson for Magnum ice cream of Turkey. Previous Magnum spokespersons include Eva Longoria and Elizabeth Hurley. In the same year he made the top ten list of TV Guides Sexiest Stars.
Holloway appeared in the 2009 film Stay Cool, a comedy written by the Polish brothers. Artist Salvador Larroca is believed by Comic Book Resources columnist Timothy Callahan to have used Holloway as the model for his rendition of Tony Stark during his run on Iron Man, which began in 2008. In June 2010, Holloway won a Saturn Award for "Best Actor on Television" for his role on Lost. In September 2010, Holloway was added to the cast of Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, which was released in December 2011. In 2014, Holloway starred in the lead role in the CBS television show Intelligence as a cybercrime agent who can "access the entire electromagnetic spectrum" with his mind.
In 2016, Holloway began starring in Colony as Will Bowman, a former FBI agent who, in a bid to protect his family, is forced to collaborate with the occupational government to bring down the growing resistance movement inside the L.A. colony in the near future. Colony marked a Lost reunion for Holloway and executive producer Carlton Cuse.
In 2021, Holloway was cast as the lead in the television show Duster (2025).
In April 2025, Holloway signed on to star in and produce Flint, a feature film adaptation of a Louis L’Amour novel.
Personal life
At the end of shooting the Lost pilot in Oahu, Hawaii, Holloway proposed to his Indonesian long-time girlfriend, Yessica Kumala. The couple married on October 1, 2004. They have two children.
Filmography
Film
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 2001
| Cold Heart
| Sean Clark
|
|-
| rowspan="3" | 2002
| Moving August
| Loren Carol
|
|-
| Mi Amigo
| Younger Pal
|
|-
| Against All Evidence
| Uncredited
|
|-
| 2003
| Doctor Benny
| Pheb
|
|-
| 2006
| Just Yell Fire
| Himself
|
|-
| 2007
| Whisper
| Max Truemont
|
|-
| 2009
| Stay Cool
| Wino
|
|-
| 2011
| Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol
| IMF Agent Trevor Hanaway
|
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2013
| Battle of the Year
| Jason Blake
|
|-
| Paranoia
| FBI Agent Gamble
|
|-
| 2014
| Sabotage
| DEA Agent Eddie "Neck" Jordan
|
|-
| 2024
| Getting Lost
| Himself
|
|-
| 2026
| He Bled Neon
|
| Post-production
|-
| TBA
| One Second After
| John Matherson
| Post-production
|}
Television
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 1999
| Angel
| Good-Looking Guy
| Episode: "City Of"
|-
| 2001
| Walker, Texas Ranger
| Ben Wiley
| Episode: "Medieval Crimes"
|-
| 2002
| Sabretooth
| Trent Parks
| Television movie
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2003
| CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
| Kenny Richmond
| Episode: "Assume Nothing"
|-
| '
| Lana's Boytoy
| Episode: "Separation Anxiety"
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2004
| NCIS
| Sheriff
| Episode: "My Other Left Foot"
|-
| Good Girls Don't
| Eric
| Episode: "Addicted to Love"
|-
| 2004–2010
| Lost
| James "Sawyer" Ford
| Main role
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2011
| Community
| Black Rider
| Episode: "A Fistful of Paintballs"
|-
| Five
| Bill
| Television film
|-
| 2013
| Yo Gabba Gabba!
| Farmer Josh
| Episode: "Farm"
|-
| 2014
| Intelligence
| Gabriel Vaughn
| Main role
|-
| 2016–2018
| Colony
| Will Bowman
|-
| 2020–2021
| Yellowstone
| Roarke Morris
| Recurring role (seasons 3–4)
|-
| 2025
| Duster
| Jim Ellis
| Main role
|-
| 2025
| The Paper
| Himself
|Episode: "Scam Alert"
|}
Music videos
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Notes
|-
| 1993
| "Cryin'"
| Thief
| Acting debut
|-
|}
Video games
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Notes
|-
| 2007
| Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars
| Ajay
|
|}
Awards and nominations
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Award
! Category
! Nominated work
! Result
|-
| rowspan=2|2005
| Screen Actors Guild Awards
| Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
| rowspan=10 |
|
|-
| Teen Choice Awards
| Choice TV: Male Breakout Star
|
|-
| rowspan=2| 2006
| Saturn Award
| Best Supporting Actor on Television
|
|-
| Teen Choice Awards
| Choice TV: Chemistry <small>(shared with Evangeline Lilly and Matthew Fox)</small>
|
|-
| 2007
| rowspan=2| Saturn Award
| Best Supporting Actor on Television
|
|-
| rowspan=2| 2008
| Best Supporting Actor on Television
|
|-
| Teen Choice Awards
| Choice TV Actor: Action
|
|-
| rowspan=2| 2009
| Saturn Award
| Best Actor on Television
|
|-
| rowspan=2| Teen Choice Awards
| Choice TV Actor: Action
|
|-
| 2010
| Choice TV Actor Fantasy/Sci-Fi
|
|}