Hugo "Hurley" Reyes is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost, played by Jorge Garcia. For most of the show's run, Hurley served as the show's comic relief, but occasionally, and most notably in the final season, he was shown in a more serious light. In the series finale, he takes over as the Island's protector from Jack Shephard (Matthew Fox) then takes Benjamin Linus (Michael Emerson) as his adviser, the same way Jacob (Mark Pellegrino) took Richard Alpert (Nestor Carbonell). He was cited as an unlikely hero among the show's characters.
His storylines mostly involved his mental illness, his belief that his lottery win is a curse to those around him, his relationship to The Numbers, and his short-lived relationship with Libby (Cynthia Watros).
Character biography
Prior to the crash Hurley is Mexican-American and lives in Los Angeles with his mother (Lillian Hurst). His father left the family when he was a child, at which point Hurley began overeating. He was involved in an accident in which a deck collapsed as he stepped onto it, killing two people. Even though there were too many people on the deck prior to his arrival, Hurley feels great guilt because of his weight.
He sinks into a depressive state, so his mother checks him into a psychiatric institution. There, he creates an imaginary friend called Dave (Evan Handler) and meets Leonard Simms (Ron Bottitta), a patient who keeps mumbling the numbers 4, 8, 15, 16, 23 and 42. Hurley's condition eventually improves; he leaves the institution and he resumes his job at a fast-food restaurant.
He uses the numbers 4, 8, 15, 16, 23 and 42 in the lottery, and wins a record jackpot of $114m. Hurley immediately begins experiencing bad luck: his grandfather Tito dies of a heart attack, the priest at Tito's funeral is struck by lightning, there is a fatal fire at a shoe factory he owns, the house he buys his mother burns down; his brother, Diego, is dumped by his girlfriend for a waitress; and Hurley is wrongfully arrested for being a drug dealer. Insurance and legal settlements mean these events only add to his net worth but as his wealth increases, so does his bad luck.
Hurley suspects the numbers he used to win the lottery are cursed, so he visits the institution again to speak with Leonard. He tells Hurley the man who could explain the mystery of the numbers, Sam Toomey, lives in Australia. Before Hurley can travel to Australia, his father (Cheech Marin) returns to the family. He convinces Hurley to go to a psychic to cure his curse, but Hurley discovers his father has paid the psychic to lie.
Once in Australia, Hurley visits Sam Toomey's wife (Jayne Taini), who reveals that Sam was driven to suicide to escape his constant bad luck. Hurley had to go back to Los Angeles because it was his mother's birthday. Halfway through the return flight, however, the plane he was on hits turbulence, splits in mid-air, and crashes on an island in the South Pacific.
After the crash
Season 1 During the chaos post-crash, Hurley looks after Claire, a pregnant woman, at the request of Jack, a doctor. Hurley helps the group ration the remaining food and water from the plane; he slips Claire an extra ration for the baby. Hurley moves into the caves with some of the other survivors, where he discovers a pack of golf clubs and decides to create a golf course to ease the stress and tension of being stranded. When Claire claims to have been attacked one night, Hurley creates a census and discovers that Ethan, a fellow survivor, was never on the flight. When Hurley looks at the maps that Sayid recovered from Rousseau, Hurley discovers a sheet of paper containing the cursed numbers (4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42). He treks into the jungle in search of Rousseau, with Jack, Sayid and Charlie in pursuit. After being separated from the rest of the group, Hurley eventually encounters Rousseau, who reveals that the numbers brought her to the island, and agrees that they are cursed. That night, during a heart-to-heart, he tells Charlie about his wealth. Charlie does not take him seriously, and storms off. One morning, Rousseau arrives on the beach and warns the camp that the Others are coming. She then leads Hurley, Jack, Kate, Locke and Arzt to a wrecked slave ship called the Black Rock, which contains some dynamite. After Arzt dies when dynamite he is holding explodes, Hurley blames himself and his bad luck.
Season 2
Hurley is brought into the hatch the survivors have found, and is given the task of checking the food inventory, and brings Rose to help. Hurley, believing everyone will hate him, attempts to blow up the food with dynamite, but Rose manages to talk him out of it. Hurley decides to distribute the food freely, explaining there is no feasible way to ration it. Shortly after the arrival of the tail-section survivors, Hurley takes a liking to Libby and the two bond. However, Sawyer eventually discovers Hurley has secret food stash, and blackmails him into helping him track a tree frog that is annoying him. One morning, he and Libby go jogging together, where Hurley tells her about the food stash. The two of them destroy it together. At a cliff-top, his imaginary friend Dave convinces him that he is still at the institution in a coma and the only way to "wake up" is to jump off the cliff. Hurley is about to jump when Libby stops him and makes him see reason. The two kiss before returning to camp. He then plans a surprise picnic for her, but forgets to bring blankets. Libby offers to retrieve them from the Hatch; however, after collecting them she is shot and killed by Michael. When Hurley learns of Libby's shooting he rushes to her side. After speaking at Libby's funeral, he agrees to help Michael rescue his son from the Others, who he has blamed for Libby's shooting. After trekking across the jungle Jack exposes Michael as a traitor. Hurley confronts Michael, and later Jack, for bringing them along on a mission when he knew it to be a trap. Eventually, they are ambushed by the Others, who tie, gag and blindfold them before bringing them to a pier. Hurley is released and instructed to return to his camp and tell his people that they can never come to this part of the island.
Season 3 As Hurley approaches the beach camp, he encounters Desmond, who mentions a speech by Locke about rescuing Jack, Kate and Sawyer. When Locke gives this speech later, Hurley suspects Desmond of being able to see the future, so he and Charlie devise a plan to draw the truth from him by getting him drunk. Later, Hurley discovers an old Dharma Initiative van. He, Sawyer, Jin and Charlie attempt to fix it, culminating in Sawyer and Jin pushing the van down a steep hill so Hurley can jumpstart it. Just as they are about to crash, Hurley defies his curse and miraculously starts the van. Later on, a cocky Sawyer bets against the camp that he can beat their best player in Ping Pong. Hurley defeats Sawyer, causing him to refrain from using nicknames for a week. Later, Hurley and Sawyer discover Nikki stumbling out of the jungle, then collapsing. He mistakes her for dead and finds Paulo in the jungle in the same situation. After failing to find a certain cause of death, Hurley gives them a funeral, but fails to notice Nikki open her eyes seconds before being buried. Hurley cons Sawyer into being decent to his fellow castaways as Hurley believes Sawyer to be the camp's new leader until Jack returns. The next day, Desmond asks Hurley to join him, Jin and Charlie on a hike. On their trek, they notice a parachutist bailing out of her helicopter, prompting them to head inland. They find Naomi hanging from a tree, and the four cut her loose. The four carry her back to the beach, where they hide her in Hurley's shelter. Later, Hurley and the others are shown Jack's plan to deter the Others from carrying out their kidnapping. Just as Charlie and Desmond set off to the Looking Glass, Hurley offers to join them, but his offer is declined. He instead accompanies Claire to the radio tower. As Sawyer and Juliet head back to the beach, Hurley again offers his services, but again his help is denied. Hurley heads for the van and drives it onto the beach, killing an Other, giving Sawyer and Juliet time to deal with the rest.
Season 4 Hurley and Jack speak on the radio, and Jack tells Hurley they were successful and that rescue is imminent. However, Desmond returns to shore with news of Charlie's death, devastating Hurley. On the way to Jack, Hurley falls behind and runs after the group in a panic, only to find Jacob's mysterious cabin. Hurley sees inside and runs away, screaming for help, only to bump into Locke. Locke and Hurley agree that the freighter Jack called is not rescue and become determined to stop Jack. When the survivors are reunited, Locke suggests the group take refuge at The Others' village, an offer Jack refuses. The group divides, with Hurley following Locke. Hurley travels with Locke's group and quickly becomes disturbed by Locke's ideas and methods, especially when Locke takes freighter member Charlotte hostage. Once they reach the village, Hurley and Sawyer become roommates, which irks Sawyer. When playing RISK with Sawyer and Locke the phone alert rings, so he hides in Ben's house with everyone. Later Hurley follows Ben's instructions and flees the house with everyone else. Once Ben catches up to them, Locke and Sawyer argue over who is keeping Hurley when Sawyer decides he's going back to Jack and the beach. Hurley convinces them to stop arguing and goes with Locke and Ben to find Jacob. Afterward, Hurley follows Ben and Locke to the Orchid Station, where Ben and Locke must move the Island. Sawyer and Jack find him; Ben tells Jack and his companions to leave the Island. Hurley follows them to the helicopter, where Lapidus is waiting. Hurley, Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Sayid, Sun, Aaron and Lapidus then fly off the Island, towards the freighter. Whilst in the air the island vanishes and the freighter explodes, forcing an emergency landing into a raft. Penelope Widmore's rescue boat rescues them, and Hurley, along with the rest of the Oceanic Six, move on to Sumba, where civilization awaits them.