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

Lost Wins 4 Saturn Awards

ABC's “Lost” steered the island toward four trophies at the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror’s 34th annual Saturn Awards.

Winning for network television series, actor Matthew Fox, supporting actor Michael Emerson and supporting actress Elizabeth Mitchell, “Lost” returned to form at the Saturn Awards after losing out in several categories to NBC’s “Heroes” and Showtime’s “Dexter” last year.

Losties on The big Screen

With the Lost season 4 finale come and gone, what's a TV fan to do during the long summer and fall months while waiting for Lost's return in 2009? Why, head to a cool air-conditioned theater and watch the Lost cast take on big movie roles, of course.

Already this summer Jack (Matthew Fox) ditched the beach and took a break from fretting over the island's insistence that he return so that he could play Racer X in Speed Racer. Before that he could be seen in the twisty turvy thriller, Vantage Point. But Lost's grizzled doctor isn't only one who is taking the leap from small screen to big.

Though Claire is currently kicking it in Jacob's cabin, actress Emilie de Ravin has been busy on film sets. Coming up for her this August is a role in The Perfect Game, a film set in 1957 that tells the true story of a rag-tag group of kids from Monterrey, Mexico who shock the world by playing a string of perfect little league baseball games, the only perfect game ever pitched in the Championship. Emilie de Ravin will be playing a character named Frankie, though the extent of her role is not currently well known.

Kate (Evangeline Lilly) meanwhile will be seen in the film Afterwards. Romain Duris stars as a New York lawyer who divorces his longtime love and is then granted the ability to know when people are going to die. As to how Evangeline Lilly's character will be involved in the film we don't yet know, but we do know the film will also feature John Malkovich as a doctor / mysterious mystical messenger, and who doesn't want to see that?

Sayid will take a break from assassinating Ben's foes when Naveen Andrews takes on a new role in the film Animals. Starring alongside Buffy the Vampire Slayer actor Marc Blucas, Naveen Andrews will play an animalistic man who is part of a subculture that Blucas's character is drawn into by the alluring Nicki Aycox (Supernatural). Touted as a humorous, sexy thriller, this flick will be one to watch out for later this year.

Coming in July is Felon, featuring a very much not exploded Michael (Harold Perrineau). Also starring Val Kilmer and Stephen Dorff, Felon is a drama about a man convicted of killing an intruder who must cope with life in the violent penal system.

Benjamin Linus's off-island world tour continues when Michael Emerson takes on a role in Ready? OK! A comedy about a single mom trying to deal with her son's feminine interests, this film seems destined to fit in the Little Miss Sunshine mold. Expect a lighter Michael Emerson here than the captivating creep he plays on Lost.

Former Lost actors are also keeping busy. Lost's Boone (Ian Somerhalder) will soon be making appearances in The Lost Samaritan, about a man who is targeted by assassins after he stops to help someone in need, and The Tournament, about a group of assassins drawn together in a giant battle royale. Meanwhile his TV sister Maggie Grace will play former spy Liam Neeson's kidnaped daughter in Taken.

With these movies and more on the way next year as the talented Lost cast takes on new roles, we'll all have plenty to watch to keep us distracted during the long wait before Lost season 5 begins airing in 2009. At least, that's what we here at BuddyTV keep trying to tell ourselves.


Source: BuddyTV