2019 marks 15 years since Lost first gripped the nation with its jaw-dropping twists, mind-bending mysteries and intriguing ensemble of characters. (It also marks 9 years since the show left most fans underwhelmed with a final episode that prioritised sentiment over any semblance of logic.)

One of the most fascinating figures from the show's early days was Walt Lloyd, the estranged son of Michael Dawson (Harold Perrineau) who appeared to display paranormal abilities, including telepathy and astral projection.

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The origins and exact nature of Walt's powers were among the points left unresolved when Lost ended – since the on-screen and off-screen timeframes didn't match up, Walt actor Michael David Kelley visibly aged faster than his character was supposed to, and, no longer able to convincingly play a 10-year-old, he was written off the series.

Walt sailed away from the island with Michael, with a post-series epilogue released to DVD revealing his ultimate fate: having landed in the same mental hospital where Hurley (Jorge Garcia) once resided, an older Walt is taken back to the island by Hurley and Ben (Michael Emerson), where Hurley – now 'protector of the island' – promises him he will have "a job".

So that's the character's fate resolved. But what happened to Michael David Kelley after Lost?

Well, first of all, he looks like *this* now.

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Yep, that's little tiny Walt from Lost, today. Time marches on mercilessly, he's 26 and you are very, very old.

Moving on... unlike many young stars, Kelley – who'd been acting from age 5 – made a relatively smooth transition from child actor to adult performer and has been working pretty consistently since his original departure from Lost in 2006.

He recurred as the character Benjamin Cooley in four episodes of TNT crime drama Saving Grace between 2007 and 2010, and played the regular role of Finn Katins in all 18 episodes of Teen Nick series Gigantic (2010-2011).

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He's also guested in episodes of The Closer (in 2011), Bones (2015), Insecure (2017) and Blindspot (2017) and most recently completed filming on the movie Real Talk.

Besides acting, Kelley's also pursued a music career. In 2012, Kelley and his former Gigantic co-star Tony Oller formed the pop duo MKTO. The duo were signed to Columbia Records and released their self-title debut album in April 2014.

Turns out Walt's other super-ability was the power of song – MKTO's catchy, Bruno Mars-esque single 'Classic' was a hit, reaching number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100.

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The pair announced their split in March 2017, but were back together by June 2018, signing a new deal with BMG. Their new single, 'How Can I Forget', was released last September and is, again, quite the bop.

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If reading this has left you feeling thoroughly aged, we recommend finding nostalgic comfort in this YouTube super-cut of every time Michael said "Walt!" on Lost. My son! My boy! WAAAA-AAAAA-LT!

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