Mr. Enigma: Michael Emerson of ‘Lost’

In 2001, he won an Emmy for playing the perversely charismatic serial killer William Hinks on The Practice. Apparently, perverse charisma is Michael Emerson’s calling; he’s since earned two Emmy nominations playing the prevaricating and perversely charismatic cult leader Benjamin Linus on Lost—a character that was never intended to be full-time, but, as viewers have come to learn, there’s no denying Ben Linus. Emerson talked with Michael Alan Connelly about the new season.




What’s changed for Ben in Season 5?
He now operates in the other world, off the island. He is less secure and less well fortified, so he has fewer resources. The stakes of his activities may be higher because of the desperation factor, and the quality of having to improvise. He’ll carry on what seems to be his calling or his life’s work or his war, whatever it is—I’m not sure exactly what it .is

That makes two of us. Do you feel the show loses any power now that the characters are off the island?
I think we had a smaller definition of the island than the writers meant. When the island disappeared, everywhere became the island. They’re playing around with the island as some kind of portrait of a thing, but not the thing itself. Wherever we go, it goes also. [Laughs.] Boy, that’s kind of a squirrelly answer. Maybe this is a better overarching image for the season: There’s a great push to reunite—to try to put things and partnerships back together that have fallen apart.


The Others stole away to a place called the Temple. Will we be seeing more of them and learning about the Temple?
Yes and yes. I think we’re going to find them to be less malevolent as time goes by.


If you could get the writers to answer one burning question, what’s at the top of your list?
I’d ask the same big question everyone has: What’s the real deal? Where are we really?


Ben is often reading or quoting authors. Do you take the time to read the books he does?
There are no accidents in the world of props on Lost—the books are carefully chosen. This season, there’s a scene where I’m reading Ulysses by James Joyce. It’s on my winter reading list.



You came to the show late. Did you fit right in?
Not really. It’s a tight-knit cast. The show has generations of actors—I think I’m the third generation, which is Ian Cusick, Elizabeth Mitchell, and me. We hang out a bit; ours is a more shared experience, not being one of the original lovable Lost-aways. I’ve had a solitary time in Hawaii [where the show is shot], which is consistent with my character.



What TV shows do you watch?
Battlestar Galactica, which, like Lost, balances science fiction, adventure, and metaphysics in a good way. And I was thrilled by Deadwood. I love shows where language isn’t just a medium of communication. Deadwood’s was more brutal than any I’ve heard on TV, but it was also more lyric.

Source: nymag.com

Jin Returns, kind of, well maybe, ish

Los Angeles, CA (CNS) - "Lost," ABC's show about the islands of misfits, will return soon for its fifth season and many fans are wondering about the whereabouts of Daniel Dae Kim, better known as Jin. When seen on last year's season finale of "Lost," it looked as if Jin was blown to pieces.

Celebrity News Service is just as anxious to see if Jin survived the explosion. Was all that screaming -- and darn good acting by the way -- of his TV wife Sun for naught? Sun is played by Yunjin Kim.

Word in Hawaii, where the show is filmed, is that Jin will reappear in the February 11 episode. Since it is "Lost," however, we won't know for certain if he is alive, dead, in a flashback, a figment of our imagination or possibly reincarnated. In a recent interview Daniel Dae said fans hoping for a Jin-Sun reunion shouldn't hold their breath. Remember when Sun went to Jin's grave with the baby and Hurley? It seems that is the only place she will see Jin for a while.

In real life, Daniel Dae is busy getting ready to star as the King of Siam in Rodgers and Hammerstein's "The King and I." He will make his theatrical singing debut in London at the Royal Albert Hall for two weeks in June.

Source: allheadlinenews

Jorge Garcia talks LOST...again

The final finale of "Lost" isn't expected 'til 2010, but already things are heating up on ABC's one-of-a-kind series, which begins airing its fifth season Jan. 21 with a three-hour premiere. Jorge Garcia -- aka Hurley -- reports that the cast did a lot of guessing about the mysteries surrounding their characters and their strange island surroundings "during Season 1, but after that it slowed down. Last season, when they announced there was going to be an ending, we started guessing again. There's definitely a sense of pacing that is going toward something on the show. We're excited, like Season 1."

According to him, "The stories are crazy this year. This one definitely takes it to another level." As for himself, the challenge in playing his lottery-winning, formerly institutionalized character remains "to try and make Hurley's craziness come from a real place. That has been a big challenge for me as an actor, along with some of the physical stuff. You have no idea how hard it is to march with purpose in sand in tennis shoes when you have to do it over and over again."

Source: National Ledger

Clues To Lost Season Five: Who's Back, Who's Dead And What Does It Mean?

Although season five of Lost is still a little over four months away, the online speculation and clue-wrangling has already started. The latest piece of evidence: an interview with Francoise Chau, who plays the notorious one armed man, Dr. Candle. We decided to round up all the theories and leaked messages over the last few weeks, and combine them to try and make sense of the show's penultimate season. Spoilers ahead.

First and Foremost, What's The Status Of All The Characters:

On The Disappeared Island:
Juliet, Charlotte, Locke, Miles and Sawyer

Off The Island:
Walt, Ben, Jack, Kate, Sayid, Desmond, Hurley and Sun

Don't Know If They Are Alive Or Dead:
Locke (as well, because he's dead in the future), Claire, Michael, Daniel and Jin

There Will Be No More Flash Forwards and Flash Backs

At Comic Con and in many other interviews both Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse have stated that there won't be any flash forwards or flashbacks. Instead, there'll be an unspecified new format, reminiscent of the episode "Ji Yeon." This season will tie all the strings together.

Updated:
Sorry the Charlie info was a bad tip on my part, I got that mis-information in a jumbled rumor. The correct spoiler rumor is from Dark UFO (many apologies in the world of spoilers some times rumors run wild). This is still unverified rumor but it was Daniel Dae Kim spotted on the island of Hawaii NOT Charlie.

Jin May Be Back:

As opposed to the false tip I followed it looks like Jin has been allegedly spotted on the island of Hawaii NOT Charlie. Daniel Dae Kim was spied by Dark UFO spies and they believe that he's filming and will be in many important moments in the future season. Sorry about the confusion.

Which Carlton Cuse Confirms to IF Magazine:

“The people that are off the island, the island seems to be drawing them back and Ben [Michael Emerson] makes it clear they need to go back to the island,” says Cuse. “So hopefully that’s a lot of what you’ll see of in Season 5 — the journey of how those six return to the island.”

Dr. Candle, Tells Us Nothing But Gives Us Hope For Some Answers:

In an interview with lostspoilers.org, Francois Chau, the famous Dr. Candle from all of the Dharma how-to videos, explains that he knows a bunch, but isn't saying anything. He knows who the crying baby is in the video shown at Comic-Con, for instance. But he does give us hope of further time travel and island moving explanations. Chau explains that we've only seen little bits of the many Orchid videos he filmed, and we should be learning a lot more. Also some of the orientation flicks will have other Losties cameoing. (I assume old Dharma friends.)

Welcome Newbies:

More bad characters mean more meddling and evil-doing. Huzzah! We are desperate for a new batch of baddies. Truth be told, I growing tired of the slow-burn of storylines about Jack's dad. I welcome Ilanna and Caesar. They both sound dangerous and well equipped at killing characters off. But my guess is, they'll probably turn out to be good guys, since this information was leaked so early. Also these two new characters (as well as the free-for-all final episode) seems to throw off the theory that there needs to be a certain number of people on the island, or bad things happen. Or maybe that's why Locke ends up dead: because the Oceanic Six left.

Will This Be The Year Jack Grows A Pair?:

The name of the first episode of season five has been revealed as "Because You Left." Which makes me crazy happy, because maybe for the first time Jack will sack up and get some self awareness and cojones. Sure, can be the take-charge leader guy, but usually his decisions are clouded with insecurity and arrogance. He's got to learn to sit and think, and then take the big step. I hope that calling out Jack hard core, and blaming him for everything that went wrong, will knock some sense into him. That doesn't mean I think the various messes are all his fault, but I don't mind him getting blamed for it all. It may just shake him the right way.

What's With All The Bad Apples On That Boat?:

The one thing I'm most excited about are both producers promised that they would be further explaining the role of everyone on the freighter. I'm dying to know more about Miles and the crazy Hawaiian shirt pilot." Please give me more ghost hunters and lost parents of angry red-heads. But if they kill off Daniel, I'll quit you, Lost.

Source: io9.com