Happy Birthday, Michael Emerson

Hope that you enjoy yourself today!

Michael Emerson Interview

Details Concerning Michael Emerson's New Play

Preview by Dave ZuchowskiContributing writer
Published: June 19. 2008 6:00AM

Gearing up for the theater's 25th season, Vivienne Benesch and Ethan McSweeny, co-artistic directors of the Chautauqua Theater Company, are promising a summer of great writers, great actors, and great theater.

"In the past 25 years, we've gone from being one of the youngest members of the Chautauqua arts community to becoming one of its four major pillars," said Benesch.

The season kicks off on Tuesday with Arthur Miller's classic American masterpiece, "Death of a Salesman" (June 24-July 6), with Stuart Margolin cast in the title role of Willy Loman.

"Stuart is returning for the fourth consecutive year, and I can't say enough about him as an actor," said McSweeny, who'll direct the production.

"He's been an inspiration to both Vivienne and myself as well as the entire company. I believe he'll be the best Willy Loman audiences have seen since Lee J. Cobb in the original Broadway production."

Starring in Craig Lucas' "Reckless" (July 19-27), Benesch will return to the Bratton Theatre stage for the first time in a decade as Rachel, the role she filled 20 years ago as a Chautauqua Conservatory student.

"Rachel is a woman not sure if she's running away from or to her dreams," she said. "The play is a dreamscape that includes both fantasy and comedy and is an incredible journey of self-discovery. 'Reckless' is one of my favorite plays, and Rachel one of my favorite roles."

If there's anything comparable to an official birthday party for the CTC's 25th season, it's got to be the July 24 performance of "Every Good Boy Deserves Favor," which will mark the first time the company has ever performed on the Chautauqua Amphitheater stage.

That evening, the company's actors will team up with the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra in a one-night-only performance of Tom Stoppard and Andre Previn's rarely seen work featuring Michael Emerson of "LOST" and multi-award-winning actor Brian Murray.

The CTC will close out the season with Shakespeare's most beloved comedy "A Midsummer Night's Dream" (Aug. 9-16), performed by actors of the CTC Conservatory.

"It doesn't matter how many times you see the play, the fantasy world a production creates is always going to be unique," said McSweeny. "I believe our creative production team will bring a special vibrancy to each of the three disparate elements of the comedy -- the fairies, the lovers, and the mechanicals.

Along with full productions, the CTC will also feature a new play workshop series, which corresponds with the Chautauqua Institution's weekly morning lecture theme.

The summer's first new play offering, "Variations on a Theme" by Anna Ziegler, was chosen to complement the Week Three theme, "On Writing." The second play, "Sick" by Zayd Dohrn, reflects Week Six's theme, "Healing the Globe."

"The 2008 season is not only a summer of dreams on stage, it's also a season of dreams of what the CTC can do in our next 25 years," said Benesch.

The skinny
The 2008 Chautauqua Theater Company will present "Death of a Salesman" (June 24-July 6), "Reckless" (July 19-27), "Every Good Boy Deserves Favor" (one night only on July 24), "A Midsummer Night's Dream" (Aug. 9-16).

For a season brochure or to make reservations, call (716) 357-6250 or visit tickets.ciweb.org.

Source: Erie Times-News

Co-artistic director keeps busy locally and away

ROBERT PLYLER

Posted July 12, 2008

CHAUTAUQUA - Lovers of theater should get out their calendars and mark them well. The Chautauqua Theater Company has a number of events coming up which you will want to circle in red.

I recently enjoyed dinner at a lakeside restaurant, learning about these events from a beautiful actress. Her name is Vivienne Benesch, and she has performed often at Chautauqua. In recent years, though, she has saved her performances for other stages to work at her position as artistic director of the entire theater program, both the many performances and presentations of the company and the teaching conservatory.

She shares the job with her life partner, Ethan McSweeny, whose directing for the New York City stage has been featured in this column within the past year.

But now, beginning one week from today, she will return to the stage of the Bratton Family Theater in a role she played here more than a decade ago: the leading role in Craig Lucas' play ''Reckless.''

Reckless

Craig Lucas writes as though he believes if you want real life, you can watch the news. Plays are for examining the hearts and minds of people. He prefers to show us characters who don't know themselves, who live the lives Socrates proclaimed as being not worth living. He then introduces a supernatural element which takes his characters out of their downhill coast through life, and makes them think about how they should live and how that compares with how they do live.

''Reckless'' begins on Christmas Eve. Rachel is a suburban housewife, in bed in her comfortable, tastefully furnished bedroom, chattering to her television-watching husband about their two sons and how much she just loves Christmas. Then the sounds of an intruder are heard downstairs and her dependable old husband informs her that, in fact, he has recently hired a professional hit man to remove her from his life. Perhaps she ought to escape through the window.

So, out Rachel goes, into the snow in her nightgown, to a world of situations and people she never dreamed existed.

The role of Rachel is something of a milestone in Benesch's career. ''I came to Chautauqua to study in the conservatory, but I wasn't at all certain that I wanted to make a career of it,'' she remembered. ''I was assigned to perform this role, and it was a lot of work and took a great deal of mental and physical investment, and the reward was so great, it made up my mind, once and for all.''

We talked during a brief break in long days of rehearsal. How does she feel about the role, compared to her first attempt at it? She replied, ''It's been a particular experience of nostalgia, trying new things, and remembering what worked and didn't work before. The good news is that I have a great deal more life experience and a great many more acting tools with which to approach Rachel's big adventure.''

And the bad news? She laughed, ''I'm not as young as I was then, and I get tired sooner.''

How does she feel about the role? ''I like Rachel. In some ways, she reminds me of myself. I talk in short bursts and I get off the subject very easily and move along to a new idea. Ethan laughs that I'm the actress and he's a director, but he talks in complete ideas and full sentences, while I'm all over the place,'' she said.

''At the beginning, Rachel is just content to slide along and do things she has always done. Suddenly, she needs to draw on what she knows and what she can do, and it shows her what she's done right and what she should have done different - what she really needed to prepare herself to do. I love roles like that.'' And what should audience members expect? ''The set is just wonderful. It's the most complex and unusual set we have ever made in our little scene shop. There are Christmas trees flying through the air and all kinds of unexpected elements.''

''Reckless'' will open next Saturday and play through July 27, with afternoon and evening performances.

Every Good Boy ...

The actress lights up with enthusiasm as she reports that on July 24, they will officially celebrate the company's 25th anniversary.

"People who really love theater can make an entire day of it," she said. ''They can pack a lunch and come to a 'Brown Bag' discussion of Tom Stoppard's play, 'Every Good Boy Deserves Favor,' at noon."

Following that will be an afternoon performance of "Reckless," then a joint performance of the company with the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra in the Amphitheater at 8:15 p.m. And, it all ends with a big block party, put on by the Friends of the Theater.

While they have played parts in segments of performances, this will be the first time the company has given a full-length performance in the 5,000-seat Amphitheater.

Let me tell you a few things I was able to learn about ''Every Good Boy ...''

First, anyone who has ever learned to play the piano was taught that the lines for the right hand, on a sheet of music paper, represent the notes E-G-B-D-F. Chances are excellent that their teachers made them repeat the sentence ''Every Good Boy Deserves Favor,'' of which each first letter spells out the notes to be played.

The play is written for actors and a symphony orchestra. The words are by Stoppard, and the music was created by Andre Previn.

History has made the whole thing sort of a period piece, on its first level of meaning, because it is about the life of a creative person in the Soviet Union, which no longer exists, of course. The play's deeper meanings, of course, are still workable and intact.

The communist Soviets believed their system of belief, in which nobody had a single thing which everyone else didn't have, was moral and good. Therefore, anyone who strived for more or was willing to accept less was a threat to the system, and any idea which supported more or less was also a threat. Threats must be destroyed for the good of the system.

Also, they believed since anyone who disagreed was marked for destruction, anyone who took such a step must be insane, because working harder or creating something, or saving or slacking off, amounted to suicide. A series of camps were built in the freezing wasteland of Siberia, where those people were sent for ''re-education.'' These camps have come to be known by the term ''Gulag,'' an acronym for the Russian equivalent of ''Chief Administration of Corrective Labor Camps.''

By 1956, between 15 and 30 million people died in those camps. That is far more than died in Hitler's camps.

Stoppard presents a play in which a Soviet citizen, accused of being creative, is locked in a cell with a genuinely mentally ill person who shares the same name and same doctor. The cellmate believes he is playing the triangle in a symphony orchestra, which he hears in his head. The CSO will portray the imaginary symphony.

The Soviet system no longer exists, at least not in the same form. But the play remains a cautionary tale, that art and creativity are always in danger, liberty is always one gossamer thread from being lost, and Voltaire's admonition that even if we don't agree with a word someone else says, we must be prepared to fight to the death for his right to say it. That is the ultimate test of a free society.

Fans of the popular television series ''Lost'' will be interested to know that actor Michael Emerson, who portrays Benjamin Linus, one of ''the others,'' will perform the leading role. Ethan McSweeny will direct.

The Lovely Ms. Benesch

Benesch is of Belgian descent. Half of that tiny country speaks French - hence the French-sounding name. She is a graduate of Brown University and New York University's master of fine art program. She also studied at Chautauqua.

''When I was studying here, I was told, more than once, that if I decided to become a professional actor, no one would know what to do with me for 10 years. You see, even when I was 20, I wasn't really a 'twenty-something' type, and character roles are written for older actors. I decided I had the best chance in classical roles, and I did a whole lot of Shakespeare,'' she said.

That decade, as Rosalind in ''The Merchant of Venice'' and the Princess of France in ''Love's Labour's Lost,'' taught her a great deal about directing, and she has done quite a bit of it in recent months.

''I've made a number of decisions which were good, by themselves, but which are now causing me some problems in my career,'' Benesch said. ''I've done a lot of directing, including 'The Seagull' and Shakespeare's 'Richard III.' I appeared in a film. I performed for six months in the London revival of Edward Albee's play 'The Lady from Dubuque,' with Dame Maggie Smith. Just before coming to Chautauqua, I played the title role in Bernard Shaw's 'Major Barbara' at Washington, D.C.'s Shakespeare Theatre, and now I'm away in this green, leafy place,'' she said.

All of those are major accomplishments, but they have taken her name and face away from the theater scene in New York City, and now, when the summer season ends, she has to go back there and begin making the rounds of auditions, almost like a beginner.

Well, not quite like a beginner. Directors might just remember that she won a ''Best Actress'' OBIE award a few years ago for portraying the English eye doctor who finds herself treating the mother of an African dictator, not unlike Idi Amin, in Lee Blessing's play ''Going to St. Ives.'' The Obie is the highest award given for productions presented ''Off-Broadway'' in New York City.

They might remember her in a leading role in the recent revival at the giant American Airlines Theatre on Broadway, of Arthur Miller's autobiographical play ''After the Fall,'' in which she performed opposite television's ''Six Feet Under'' heartthrob Peter Krause.

I could go on listing major roles for the rest of the column, at Lincoln Center, Minneapolis's Guthrie Theatre, the New York Theatre Workshop, the Public Theater, Hartford Stage, American Conservatory Theatre and many, many more. Yet, they say that an actor is only as successful as his or her most recent role.

And if she had her ''druthers,'' what would she like to be doing, come autumn? ''Ideally? I'd like to have a good role in a play, come the evening, and a film role during the day,'' she said.

What effect on her role as artistic director of the Chautauqua Company is played by the fact that she was a student here, herself? She pauses a moment and says, ''Being the head of this company kind of tears us in two directions. We want to give performances which will thrill the crowds and build the hunger of audiences, both inside Chautauqua and in the surrounding area, as well, for good theater.

''We also want to challenge the young actors in the conservatory, and help them build the skills they need to succeed in a very difficult career. No one meets every challenge they face. We could play it safe, give them small roles that don't make them stretch, save money on their teaching.

''Having been on both sides of the line, I know that the teaching part of the job is as important as the putting on of plays. One of the reasons we're able to attract really successful people to come here to perform and to do technical work is that they love working with such talented young actors and getting to teach students who are burning to learn,'' she said. ''Sometimes it tears us in half, but in the end, doing one thing well makes the other go well, also.''

Having dinner with beautiful actresses is a tough job, but as the old saying goes, ''Somebody has to do it.'' I'm just glad it was me.

View Blog

Source: Observer Today

Congratulations, Michael Emerson

Larger view is here: http://michaelemerson.net/coppermine/displayimage.php?album=lastup&cat=0&pos=0

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Michael Emerson's Reaction to Having Been Nominated for an Emmy


"I was laying in bed and I heard the phone ringing and I jumped up outta there because I thought, `Oh god, I know what this is.' My agent would've let me sleep, I think, if I had not gotten the nomination. I figured it was the beginning of a busy day. To start with, I couldn't find the phone! So I wasn't able to answer, so I called him back and he gave me the news." — "Lost" star Michael Emerson, nominated for supporting actor in a drama series.


Source: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5ittu1DWMqF4ymGN8EBWRJpNMSNmwD91VO7SG0

A Michael Emerson Sighting

I confess I love LOST. I watched the first three seasons on my computer via iTunes—one episode after the other. It took me 2 months to get through them all. The show is totally addicting. Anyway we all ran into Michael Emerson and Kings the other day during lunch. Dope!

Source: Matt's CoopBlog

An Interview with Michael Emerson (Ben Linus/Fake Henry Gale, Lost)

Rachel Thomas, about.com

When Lost hit the airwaves back in 2004, it instantly became a mega-hit. Fans from all over the world have united with one common goal in mind -- to solve the many, many mysteries the brilliant men behind the show have created to keep fans entertained well beyond the twenty-two hours a season the show is on the air. During season two, we were introduced to the very creepy and very mysterious Ben Linus/Fake Henry Gale, played by Emmy-winning actor Michael Emerson. Fans couldn't get enough of this intriguing character, so the producers took a character only slated for three episodes, turned him into a series regular and made him the apparent leader of "The Others."

I had the very fortunate opportunity to chat with Michael about his character, his experience in theater and how he prepares to play such a creepy guy.

I found Michael to be extremely intelligent, very funny and one of the most likable actors I've ever met.

Q: You have an extensive theater background, what are some of your favorite roles?

Michael: "My sort of debut or breakthrough into being a working actor came in New York in a play about Oscar Wilde called Gross Indecency: The Trials of Oscar Wilde. I did that off-Broadway for a couple of years and I did it in L.A. and San Francisco as well. I'll always think warmly about that. It's the one that allowed me not to go back to my day job. I was also thrilled to do my first Broadway show, I was in The Ice Man Cometh in 1999 with Kevin Spacey. That was really a dream come true, thinking and hoping for so many years, imagining what it would be like to be on a Broadway stage and there I was."

Q: Are you still active in theater during your hiatus?

Michael: "I am - I will be, I hope to be. I feel like the theater is my artistic home. I'll be anxious to get back on the stage again."

Q: When your time on LOST comes to an end, will you pursue TV/Movies or theater?

Michael: "I expect I'll pursue a little of everything. One of the good things, I hope, about being more visible now is it will help me to get the better roles on the stage which are difficult to get."

Q: How did you land the role of Henry/Ben on Lost?

Michael: "It came, which is unusual because I usually have to jump through hoops of fire to get everything, but it came as an offer. Originally it was not to have been an important part, it was supposed to be a guest turn. I was supposed to do three episodes and then go away, but something clicked - they liked the character, they liked me, they liked how it worked in the storytelling and here I am a series regular. It came to me as an offer because I think the writers and producers had seen me on The Practice when I played William Hinks. It was a dangerous character because it was ambiguous."

Q: How upfront have the executive producers been with you about the secrets of the show?

Michael: "It never really gets discussed. The most I hear about it is when we do panels like we did this past weekend. Sunday was the winter press tour, a big ABC event where the critics can ask questions of the producers and the cast. I heard a lot of things there I would never have known otherwise. Future storylines and arcs don't get discussed. I think while there may be an outline, that outline only exists in the minds of Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof. It's probably best that none of the rest of us really know it. As far as the day-to-day shooting, the episodic scripts, those are sort of made up on short notice. There's not any documentation to give away."

Q: Were you a fan of the show before you became Henry/Ben?

Michael: "Yeah, ours was a Lost household. I will confess that my wife was more passionate about it than I was. She's been watching it religiously since the pilot, which she claimed at the time was the best pilot she's ever seen."

Q: Does she try to get the secrets out of you?

Michael: "[laughs] We share privately, certain spoilers, short-term spoilers. I may know something that's happening next week, that sort of thing."

Q: Where is your favorite shooting location in Hawaii?

Michael: "Well, for my personal comfort, I like shooting at the studio because it's air conditioned and you don't have to walk on pines or rocks or anything. For the beauty and majesty, there's a number of just majestic locations we work on. There was a scene in the fourth episode this third season where Sawyer and I wound up on a cliff to look out over the ocean. This was a place on Oahu called Makapu'u and it's just breathtaking. It's a little hard to stay focused on your work when you're up on a place like that. It's grueling work when you go up to those places because all your comfortable trailers and vans and trucks can't go up there, so you hike in and hike out. We ate our lunch under the hot sun, so it's sort of a rough day's work, but beautiful."

Q: What can you tell us about the upcoming season of Lost?

Michael: "February 7 we return and we're now on at a later hour (10pm EST), which I think is better because it allows us to be sexier and bloodier than it has been previously. We're in the middle of a surgical hostage drama in the operating room and it's only going to get worse before it gets better. Ben is a little bit out of commission now, which creates a sort of vacuum in the power structure with The Others. We may meet some new Others, some new and dangerous people may appear. I think it's fair to say the Lostaways aren't going to suffer the kidnapping of their friends for very much longer and there's going to be some kind of conflict coming."

Q: You're such a nice guy, how do you prepare for creepy guy?

Michael: "I don't make any effort to play the result of the character, I just try to play the text and the situations as best I can and to be cool about it."

Q: Do you think any of the fans have figured out the real secret of Lost?

Michael: "I don't think so and this subject came up at the panel discussion over the weekend. What the writers said was that there is no single, all-encompassing framework or answer, that it's a combination of elements and if you hit on one or two things, you wouldn't have the whole picture."

Q: What is the relationship between Ben and Juliet?

Michael: "They seem to have a professional relationship that's warm and respectful, they have a high regard for one another.

There seems to be a little bit of unanswered romance in the air somehow. Someone feels a little more warmly about someone else than the other one does."

Q: Do you visit the fan sites?

Michael: "I don't go on much because I'm a little bit of a lud, I'm not real good with the computer. I have a brother who is, he'll alert me to certain tidbits occasionally if they're sort of strange or exciting."

Q: Will Ben make it through the rest of the series?

Michael: "Oh gosh, I don't know. I'm a gypsy actor by trade and I tend not to have a high expectation of survival. So often in show business, it's over very quickly. I wouldn't set down roots exactly in Hawaii, although I like my job and I don't have any reason to think they don't have a good, long storyline in mind for my character. I think it's good to accept that our work is sort of transient. My guess is that there will be some very high level casualties this season on Lost."

Q: Do the writers really put as much effort into every little detail as the fans think they do?

Michael: "I think most of that stuff is intentional, I don't think it costs them much effort. I think they have fun, I think they're really bright and quick about things. I don't think they're laying awake at night coming up with that stuff, I think it just falls out of them everyday. Some of those details have more weight than others, but very little of it is just a tease. Most of them are parts of some set of images or a set of references or parallel that are informative or enriching to the telling of the story."

Q: Have you had any interesting fan encounters?

Michael: "Most of mine tend to be of a fairly predictable sort, which is that people are delighted to be afraid of me. Even authority figures, like security people at the airport - it's funny and it makes people happy to have someone who scares them."

Q: What do you know about the end date for Lost?

Michael: "I think it's still really being loosely talked about. What they spoke about was sort of abstract idea of why don't we set an end date to give ourselves a deadline so we don't meander with this show for years and years and years and to sort of raise the stakes, to know we only have this amount of time to complete it and also to signal to the audience that we don't mean to tease you forever, that we do have a plan. I don't know how many years they'll allow themselves to wrap up the story. I think they feel like they're in mid-story right now, so it's sensible as writers and entertainers to think how they might wrap it up."

Q: What would people be surprised to learn about you?

Michael: "I expect because of the character I play, I think they'd be surprised to find out how mild-mannered I am in real life."

Q: Is there anything you'd like to say to the fans?

Michael: "I hope they'll go ahead and continue enjoying the ride like we do!"

SOURCE: About.com

Michael Emerson Is Interviewed by TV Guide 411

and

Michael Emerson Speaks Out on Behalf of the WGA Strike

Michael Emerson and other stars speak out in support of the writers at the WGA Rally in New York.

Michael Emerson, together with his wife, Carrie Preston, to act in a new movie

Michael Emerson, together with his wife Carrie Preston and brother-in-law John Preston, will be acting in a new production by Daisy3 Pictures: Ready? OK! James Vasquez, who was the principle actor in 29th and Gay is the director and the writer as well. Filming began on June 23, 2007.

According to imdb.com, "Ready? OK! centers around an over caffeinated single mother (Carrie Preston) and her 9 year son (Lurie Poston), who has big aspirations of becoming a cheerleader. With the recent death of her absent father, her twin brother (John Preston) returns home, and they are all forced to deal with the idea of 'family' - but the big question is, will her probably gay little boy earn enough money to make it to Winter Cheer Camp?"

Michaelemerson.net is mentioned on radio

I created http://michaelemerson.net website, and it is mentioned in a radio show. In fact, Michael Emerson was interviewed when they mentioned it. Here's the link for you to listen:

http://www.prestonandsteve.com/audio/580.mp3

Interview With Lost's Michael Emerson

I guess that, since THE MAN BEHIND THE CURTAIN is a Bencentric episode, we will be seeing a lot of interviews with Michael Emerson and some with Carrie Preston. Here's one with Michael....

Friday, May 04, 2007

Interview With Lost's Michael Emerson

I always thought Michael Emerson was a good actor and a great villain ever since he joined the cast of "Lost" as Ben Linus, leader of The Others.

But Emerson is a better actor than I thought. If you expect him to be creepy and evil like his alter ego, you couldn't be more wrong — he's a very pleasant fellow with a good sense of humor.

I spoke with Emerson because his wife, Macon-born actress Carrie Preston, will appear in the May 9 episode of "Lost," in which she plays Emily, the mother of the Ben character in a series of flashbacks.

But I took advantage of the opportunity to speak to Emerson about what it was like to be a member of the cast of one of TV's most talked-about shows, especially since he started out as a guest star whose part grew and grew.

Emerson got the role in part because of his Emmy-winning work in 2001 on "The Practice."

Though Preston was reluctant to do an interview initially because she was worried she might reveal too much of what happens, Emerson was more comfortable talking about the show, although he said revealing something is also in the back of his mind.

"It's hard to tell," he said. "I'll say something, then I always wonder, 'Can I say that?' But I've never heard of a big reveal anywhere."

Perhaps part of the way the producers of the show ensure its secrecy is by keeping the rest of the cast as in the dark as the viewers. Emerson said he and the other stars have no idea what is coming up next, and often spend as much time trying to figure out the show's meaning as do the fans.

"It's very much a mystery to the cast," he said. "We only know what is going on when we get the script in our hands. We don't know what is going to happen in two or three or four episodes. The writers might give you a clue, but they tease you with it. They'll say something cryptic like 'Be ready for a big change.' You get greedy to get your hands on a script, because you want to see if you live or die."

Death has been a big part of the series during its three seasons, killing off castaways Boone, Shannon, Mr. Eko, Ana Lucia, Libby and Arzt. TV Guide is reporting four more deaths this season on "Lost" following the killing of Locke's father this past Wednesday night. Is Emerson worried about Ben's survival?

"Luckily, the season finale is pretty much in the can," he said with a laugh. "Anyone who is alive in the finale will probably live on into next season."

Just because the finale is shot, however, doesn't mean that what will happen still isn't a mystery to Emerson. He said only the actors involved in the final scene know how the season ends for sure - the rest of the cast has a blank page on their scripts.

"Only the regulars involved know," he said. "We're sitting around trying to figure out what is going on. I can say there is a big revelation in the final episode this season, but only the actors involved have seen it. I'm going to have to tune into the season finale!"

Emerson and Preston met 12 years ago working in a production of "Hamlet" together as part of the Alabama Shakespeare Festival. As a couple, they worked together in "29th & Gay," which Preston directed, and "Straight-jacket." Other movies Emerson has done include "Saw," "Unfaithful," and "The Laramie Project." On the TV side, he has had guest roles on "Law & Order: SVU," "Without a Trace" and "The X-Files."

Emerson said he and most of the cast try to avoid reading the various Web sites and message boards devoted to "Lost."

"I think most of the cast tries to keep their distance from that," he said. "It kind of blurs the boundaries a little bit. If you go there, you have to use your e-mail address, and suddenly you're a pen pal to the world. It raises some privacy issues. Most of us have friends who check on things.

"One of the reason I don't look at the chat spaces is that even if you look at just one, it can be annoying or discouraging. There might be a thread saying, 'Is Michael Emerson the second- or third-ugliest man on TV?' Who needs to hear that?" Emerson added with a laugh.

The only problem with Emerson's success on "Lost" is that it ties him up for long periods of time, making it difficult to do other work.

"It's interesting to have a stable job after having an unusual life as a gypsy actor," he said. "The show shoots in the mid-Pacific, away from other opportunities. It's all 'Lost,' all the time. It's a little bit of a tradeoff."

But for Emerson, playing Ben has its own rewards. Even though the character is shrouded in mystery, he is able to take a straight approach into playing him.

"I'm surprised such a thing has happened for me," he said of Ben's popularity. "I knew it was a good character from the first time I read it. But I was surprised the way he took off.

"(The writers) came up with a good thing, because they had not put a face on the enemy. It was something people craved. ... I play pretty much everything straight. The story is the context on how they apply the mystery."


SOURCE: http://tvguymacon.blogspot.com/2007/05/interview-with-losts-michael-emerson.html

Carrie Preston, Michael Emerson's wife, to play his mother on LOST

Well, it's official Carrie Preston will play Ben's mother in "The Man behind the Curtain," the Bencentric episode of LOST.


Posted on Fri, May. 04, 2007

Macon native to guest star on 'Lost'

By Phillip Ramati - pramati@macontel.com

Actress Carrie Preston, above, will play the mother of Ben, her real-life husband's character on the show 'Lost.'

Once, while hanging out with her husband, actor Michael Emerson of the hit TV series "Lost," Carrie Preston joked that a good part for her would be playing his character's mother.

The Macon-born actress got her chance and will appear in Wednesday's episode.

Emerson said Preston's "Lost" appearance came from an off-the-cuff suggestion.

"Carrie sent a wish to the universe, and like so many of her wishes, it came true," Emerson said. "She joked that she wanted to play the part of my mother in a flashback. There was never a formal pitch or anything. I might have mentioned it at a party or something, and maybe a keen producer heard it, and lo and behold, it was something they already had on their mind."

Because of the nature of "Lost," which features episodes full of plot twists and big revelations, Preston is close-mouthed about details of her appearance.

"I'm sworn to secrecy," she said.

Wednesday's episode revolves around Emerson's character, Ben, the leader of the mysterious "Others" who live on the island with the show's castaways. One of the series' hallmarks is flashback sequences that provide background information about the show's characters.

Preston appears as Ben's mother, Emily, but didn't have scenes with her husband. Instead, she's in scenes with another actor who is playing the part of the young Ben.

Preston said although they don't share any scenes in next week's "Lost" episode, they've shared them before.

"We shot a movie called 'Journey' and one called 'Straight-Jacket,' we did a commercial, we've done two productions of 'Hamlet,' " she said. "It's fun being on the same call sheet as him."

It was playing Ophelia in "Hamlet" 12 years ago at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival where Preston, a Central High School graduate, met Emerson, who was playing Guildenstern. Preston went to work with the festival after attending Juilliard because her brother, actor John Preston, also was in the cast.

Since then, Preston has worked on a wide range of theater shows and television series, including guest-star roles on "Law & Order: Criminal Intent," "Arrested Development" and "Numb3rs." She also has worked in movies such as "The Stepford Wives," "Transamerica" and "The Legend of Bagger Vance."

For an actor, the difference between a guest-star role and a regular role in a TV series can be a mixed bag. On one hand, as a guest-star, Preston can work on a variety of projects. But being a series regular means steady work, which is what Emerson now enjoys with his "Lost" role that grew out of a guest appearance.

"We're gypsies," Preston said. "We go where the work is."

Emerson won an Emmy in 2001 for his guest-starring work on "The Practice." That led to his work on "Lost."

Emerson's character initially was only supposed to appear in a few episodes, but he grew to be very popular among "Lost" fans, and his contract was extended. Finally, Emerson became a cast regular this season.

Preston spends a lot of time at airports these days, commuting among three residences in New York, Los Angeles and Hawaii.

She's currently at the Miami Film Festival, where she will show her short film "Feet of Clay."

Preston said she's been living in Los Angeles to be closer to Emerson, even though she considers New York her home.

"We see each other every two or three weeks," she said.

During the next few months, Preston is preparing to shoot a movie in San Diego called "Ready? OK" about a boy who wants to become a cheerleader, and she has a part in a still-untitled Woody Allen film to be shot in Barcelona this summer. Preston said she visits her family in Macon on a regular basis, including her parents, Pam and Ray Preston.

When she isn't acting, Preston also works as a director. Her film "29th & Gay" was shown at the Macon Film Festival last year, and she is hoping to adapt a play called "Girl Talk" into a movie.

Preston remains coy about whether she will have another "Lost" appearance.

"Anything's possible on that show," she said with a chuckle. "It'd be really fun if I could."

SORCE: Macom.com

Michael Emerson's Training Video

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Uploaded by DarkUFO

Screen Caps for a Training Film for The Bureau of Prisons

In 1992, when Michael Emerson was about 38 years old, he made a training video for the Bureau of Prisons. He played the counselor of a very irate inmate. The plot was about how to deal with a confrontatious inmate without using brute force. Anyway, this man was gorgeous even as a younger man.

I made 125 screen caps of that video. Here's a sample of what the screen caps look like (these pictures are smaller than the actual screen caps:







Should you want to see them all, go to this site:

http://michaelemerson.net/coppermine

Click on "Album list," scroll down to "Training Films," and click on "Screen Caps for Training Film for the Bureau of Prisons." Or just click here:

Screen Caps for a Training Film for The Bureau of Prisons
		125 files, last one added on Apr 25, 2007

Michael Emerson Interview with Oregon Herald

Here's an interview that I have not seen before, and it was done in March. He talks about a lot of good stuff. Enjoy....


Michael Emerson

Interviewed by Mark Sells March 2007

"I'm a little off my agenda," says Michael Emerson from his comfy Hawaiian villa. And no, he's not talking about getting stuck on a remote island in "Lost." A classically trained, Emmy Award winning actor with amazing character turns in film and television, Emerson looks to return to the stage as Prospero or Leer. "My agenda has always been that when I am an old man, I will be playing those classical parts." And for good reason.

In 1993, Emerson entered the Alabama Shakespeare Festival's Master of Fine Arts program and began a career on stage. He went to New York and starred as Oscar Wilde in the off Broadway play, "Gross Indecency: The Trials of Oscar Wilde." More noteworthy performances followed, opposite Uma Thurman in "The Misanthrope" and Kevin Spacey in "The Iceman Cometh." Then, a series of high profile guest roles in "Law & Order," "The X-Files," and "Without a Trace." As confessed serial killer William Hinks in "The Practice," Emerson earned an Emmy by putting the creep in creepy. And future film roles in "Saw" and "The Legend of Zorro" cemented that reputation.

A reputation that led to Benjamin Linus, aka the ring leader of the Others, on the ABC hit series, "Lost." Deliciously manipulative and maniacal, Emerson is the big reason to watch. And in the midst of a hectic production schedule, he was kind enough to share some of his secrets and theories, not to mention Ben's devious plans for Season 3. Whether slightly off his agenda or stranded on some remote jungle island, Michael Emerson always adds a touch of class.

Reel Questions, Reel Answers

One of the turning points in your career came in 1993, when you chose to pursue a Master of Fine Arts (University of Alabama). What were you doing at the time and what were the deciding factors that went into your decision?
Before 1993, I was piecing together about a half of a grown up's living out of about 8 or 10 different pursuits. One of them being acting. And I also did a low level of carpentry and a little teaching. I was still doing a little illustration, which was my previous career. But I wasn't exactly thriving on any of those fronts.

I knew that there was one thing that I wanted to do and that was to pursue a career in the classics on stage. And when I heard about this training program at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival, it looked to me like that was the answer to my dreams. That this was a way for me to withdraw from the mad scramble of my so-called career and be able to focus on something that I was interested in and that I felt passionate about.

Now, it did involve some sacrifices. One of them was freedom of movement. It meant moving to Montgomery, Alabama for two years and being in the clutches of a big institutional theater for that period of time. And I mean long hours and a ridiculously heavy load between my academic work and my stage work. It was kind of overwhelming and occasionally made me feel fairly desperate. Often, there were days when I just wanted to get in my motor vehicle and drive anywhere that was away from Montgomery.

But in the end, I got through it. And I was glad to have done it because it was tremendously focused and it took me off the treadmill of my former life.

A lot of your early performances before television were comedic in nature. And now, it seems, you're on a serious dramatic streak, from "Saw" to "The Practice" to "Lost." What is it about a particular role that attracts you?
Up until this point, the thing that I preferred was to get a paycheck to tell you the truth! I've sort of taken whatever came my way.

And it's not really clear in my mind how I ended up with these dangerous characters that I've been playing in recent years. Because previously, in my life on the stage, those wouldn't have been the kind of characters I played. I usually played funny guys, as comedy was always my specialty. And because I wasn't built in the heroic, cowboy vain, I was more likely to play character turns, which were eccentrics or silly.

So, it's a little mystifying to me how I end up playing these parts that I do. Except that people like the tension between the mild mannered package and the possible danger lurking within. That's a nice kind of dramatic tension.

Who or what motivates and inspires you as an actor today?

I like to see actors do great character turns. Guys that are willing to think themselves into a part, who can handle language. I always admire an actor who can play with elevated text; someone who can do classical work and make it seem natural. Speak Shakespeare.

Even this part I have on "Lost." Ben is an articulate character. He speaks well and speaks slightly formally. I like that about him. And I also think it's one of the factors why people find him a little forbidding.

It almost seems that in a previous life, Ben would have been a psychologist.

I think he definitely has a strong grounding in psychology. That's one of his many areas of expertise, I think.

How did you land on "Lost?" What was the audition like?

For once, there was no audition process. For once, it came as an offer. And I have to say, that's really unusual in my career. But the offer wasn't as grand as the thing has played out. I was originally supposed to do a guest turn on the show. I think, three episodes, and then go away. But I think when they saw what they had, in terms of the function of this character, whether intentional or not, they had found their right villain for the show. Their right antagonist. I think they liked that and found that it was easy to run with. And they kept me around, which was a surprise.

Was there a particular role that they had seen to signal the offer?

I think they had seen my work on "The Practice." That serial killer or "might be" serial killer had some of the qualities they were looking for in this character, which was a sort of eerie ambiguity.

You arrived on the set in the middle of the series, rather than the very beginning. What was your experience like early on? And what is the experience like now that your character is more established?

Early on, it was like being dropped into a big vat of ice water. You fly to Hawaii, a place I'd never been before, get to your hotel room for the night, and the next morning, you're out in the jungle somewhere and hanging from a tree. It was kind of intense and there wasn't an orientation period or anything (Laughs). Nobody comes around and takes you by the hand and says, 'this is where the bathrooms are.' It was just getting thrown into it. And I guess there's really no substitute for that.

But you get used to it after doing years of guest spots on television shows. You get accustomed to being the new guy, the odd man out, the guy that's only going to be around for a few days.

So I take it, now you know where the restrooms are?

I do. I know where everything is now (Pauses). I know where the bodies are hidden (Sinister laugh!).

But it's much nicer now. Now it has a feeling of family. Now I'm working with friends. Now, I'm on the inside and it behooves me to be a good host when guest players come in and I can help to make them feel more comfortable and at home. Everybody works a little better if they feel welcome.

And I was certainly made to feel welcome, but my first day of work on this show just happened to be a hairy action day out in the wild. It was interesting. And I had been warned. People said 'Oh, man, I hear that "Lost" is rough work.' And they were right.

As you mentioned earlier, Henry Gale was originally slated for a handful of episodes in Season Two. What changed the producers' minds, allowing the character to become Benjamin Linus, leader of the Others?

They began to see that the thing they had cooked up was even better than they thought. They thought 'Oh, this may be the villain we've been looking for.' Because previously, there was no antagonist on the show. There were some 'murky' Others, there were some monsters, and the island itself. But the powers of evil, if you will, did not have a face or a voice until then.

But they did have Mr. Friendly, of course (Laughs).

What do you feel are the dominant themes of "Lost?"

Clearly, one of the dominant themes is atonement. Everyone on the island, all the Lost-a-ways and possibly the Others too, have done wrong in their past. And now, under these extraordinary circumstances, whether natural or artificial, they have a chance to revisit or make up for things they've done in the past. That's one of the metaphysical, spiritual themes.

There are also ongoing adventure themes, like people being tested against the unknown, against the elements, against unidentified adversaries. That sort of thing. The human spirit that is a central theme to all adventure stories. That's also present.

And then there's science fiction themes that are going to become more important as time goes by. Things like genetics, conditioning, reproduction, things like that.

Do you believe in "six degrees of separation?"

I have not personally ever seen it disproved. I mean six degrees is a tremendous amount of linkage if you're thinking in terms of the population of the globe.

It's sort of hard for me to imagine that I'm within six degrees of a yak herder in Tibet, but it may be?

Certainly, everyone on "Lost" is affected by far fewer than six links (Laughs)! I mean, there seems to be a pattern or a weave if you will, that is slowly rising to the surface and clarifying itself, of "uncanny connectedness." And this is going to pay off in a big way. For example, in the episode we're filming this week, two back-stories that we never connected in our minds before are going to collide and resolve in a huge, dramatic way.

Which episode to date has been your favorite and why? Which has been the most challenging?

I enjoyed the episode last season where Jack brings me out to share breakfast with Locke and him ("Lockdown"). I liked that because it was funny and terrifying at the same time. It was sort of Henry/Ben revealing himself or his true colors in a way.

But there have been a bunch of good ones. This season, the fourth episode ("Every Man for Himself"), where I mess around with Sawyer's head and eventually take him up on the cliff to show him the other island. That was a fun episode because it had a lot of crazy, psychological hijinks in it. But it also had amazing settings. We had to go to some beautiful places to film that. And I just thought it was metaphysical, metaphorical, it involved literature, and it was just right.

Everyone has a theory about "Lost," from alien abductions to purgatory to snow globes. What is your theory about the island and its inhabitants? Or what's your favorite theory?

Everyone on the show has heard something more preposterous than anyone else. My favorite? Some guy told me that he thought that the island was the ruins of an alien zoo (Laughs).

Recently, I read a really plausible theory in the "Lost" magazine, but I can't remember the details of it. It wasn't a single unifying theory. It had several parts to it and it made me think about things I hadn't even thought of before. It at least gave me a template for a multi-part, complicated solution to the whole set up.

Of course, a lot of the metaphysical speculation was blown out of the water by the Season Two finale, which let us know that these events were happening in the real world in real time. So it wasn't the snow globe or purgatory, although I think purgatory is a really useful, working metaphor for the show. And that it's been sort of central to the show since the pilot. Because I'm going back through and watching all of the first season now and that's present in every episode and it's a really strong one. And maybe it's stronger for being metaphorical and not practical?

I think the real solution will be more science fiction. I think something's going on on that island whether it was found or created that has special scientific properties and that there's a battle over the power that is present there.

What's the one thing about the show that most people would be shocked to learn?

The show has such a grave tone that there's not a lot of hilarity or comedy exactly. And I think people would be surprised to know how much fun there is on the set when we're shooting it. The camera crew is hilarious. And there are numerous practical jokes and pranks that go on the set, which are fun (Laughs).

Have you ever been the victim of a practical joke?

No, I haven't. I'm not that kind of guy. I've been in the theater for too many years. And not only do I not care for it, but I'm superstitious about it.

In the theater, you feel like the Gods are fickle. And they will not bear much teasing or playing around with. So, there's a sort of underlying gravity about the rituals of the theater. And I bring those with me when I do TV work. I don't goof off very much, but other people do, and it can be terribly amusing (Laughs).

I love this. Todd McFarlane's toy company recently announced that their next series of "Lost" characters will include a Henry Gale figurine. So, will you put one on your mantle?

I would not display it prominently in my home just because we don't have a very pop culture décor in our apartment. But I would be very pleased to see it and to own one. I think it will be fun. And maybe I'll keep it in the bedroom or something? (Laughs).

Do you know what sound clips are going to be on it? And were you involved in the design process?

They had three or four that they were going to pick from and they're all from those first few episodes of captivity. But I've already posed for it. You sit in a hotel room with this contraption on your head and they go around you with a laser scanner reader thing and it generates a three dimensional image of your face and head on a computer screen. And then you do different facial expressions and stuff. And they can make this perfect replica.

I'll be curious to see it when it's done. It was really an interesting process.

The McFarland figures are some of the most realistic around.

Yes, that John Locke one is about perfect. It looks really good. And then Jorge's is really convincing also.

In another interview, you mentioned that your wife is a Lost-a-holic and has been following the show since Season 1. With you on the show now, and especially with the crazy role you play, what does she think? Has her perspective on the show changed at all?

Yes, she has. She used to be one of those purists who didn't want any spoilers, didn't watch previews, didn't watch next week on "Lost." None of that stuff. She wanted the pure article. And at first, she didn't want to hear any spoilers from me, things that I knew or things that I was shooting. But now, I think she's softened up a bit and she doesn't mind being on the inside and being a step or two ahead of the viewing audience.

Does she cheer for your character?

She cheers for him the way actors cheer for other actors when they're doing a good job. I think she thinks he's creepy (Laughs). And I think she's happy that I'm very little like the character I play.

Sometimes she'll look over at me and say, "You are something else!" (Laughs).

Speaking of Carrie, you've worked with your wife on numerous occasions ("Straight-Jacket," "Grace & Glorie," "The Journey") and even had a role in "29th and Gay," which she produced and directed. What's it like working with her?

I really like working with my wife because she's like this renaissance girl. She's a 'really' good actress. And if you've seen "Straight Jacket," you know what she can do. She's an extraordinary player and then she's also got a gift for ordering people around and being a director as well! And it's always a lot of fun.

And I have to say it's kind of a turn on for me to watch her be a director because she really takes charge. She really has answers for everything. She knows just what she's doing and it's really exciting.

Are you planning any future collaborations?

We're always going to be because we're both pretty good players and we like being in the same place at the same time. So, I'm sure other opportunities will come up.

Recently, Damon Lindelof met with ABC to discuss the longevity of the show, suggesting an end after four or five seasons (no more than 100 episodes). Regardless of when the show runs its course, where and what do you see yourself doing afterwards?

Well, I think the first thing I'll do when I know I have a stretch of time is to go get myself in a play somewhere. Because I'm a little off my agenda. My agenda has always been that when I am an old man, I will be playing those classical parts (Prospero, Lear, etc.). But in order to do that, I have to keep my hand in, I have to keep working that muscle. The memory, if nothing else. I need to be learning a lot of lines.

And you're not required to learn that much material when you're working on TV. So, you get a little lazy in the brain.

There's never a day when you're going to do more than five pages. And it won't be all of your lines. The memorization gets easy. So, I need to get back into the thick of really trying to learn big chunks of material and keep up the voice and body work which is required of you on stage.

Lastly, if you were writing the finale for Ben, how would you like it to end for him?

Wow! I guess I would like it to have an amazing twist. I would like us to find out that Ben was something so other than everything we thought of him. And I don't know what that would be exactly.

But I think it would be interesting to find out that he was something holy. That would be so off the wall. Or that he was a projection of the spirit of a five-year old Buddha! (Laughs).

SOURCE: The Reel Deal

Michael Emerson Is Interviewed by Geek Magazine

I want to thank my friend BubbaCoop from the Generally Speaking Lost Forum for this wonderful scan of Michael's Interview by Geek Magazine. Click on the pictures to view the larger scanned version.

Michael Emerson's Interview at BuddyTV with DocArzt.

Michael Emerson gave a brief interview with DocArzt of BuddyTV. Here's the transcript and the link that follows will give you access to the sound clip.

BuddyTV: How far ahead in filming are they at this point?

Michael: Let’s see, it’s a 23-episode season. They’re filming…the 19th episode starts work Thursday morning and you will see episode 12, I think, Wednesday night. We’re about 7 episodes ahead of what’s airing.

So, I’m going to put you on the spot right away. There’s a big rumor that the finale this year is going to be a Ben-centric episode. Is that something you can confirm or deny?

I don’t know the answer to that question because I’ve only seen the scripts up through, in fact I don’t know that I’ve seen 3.19 yet. I mean, I wouldn’t rule it out but I would be surprised because that would be a heck of an episode. If you’re going to tell the Ben Linus back-story then you’re going to have to give away some stuff, as you know. They’ll have to dig in and really sort of reveal some things about life on the island and the Dharma Initiative and who the heck are the others?

Have they shared much of that information with you, as an actor, as to where the bodies are buried?

No, no, nothing like that. You know I occasionally see the writers socially and I trust them to come up with something good all the time. I’m not sure; I don’t really know how far in advance they plan the story lines. But usually the first I hear of a development in the plot is when I get the script.

So there has been, since you debuted on the show, this long-running transformation. How do you manage that as an actor? Do you have a central identity for Ben at this point or are you still kind of just doing it script by script?

Well, I do sort of play it script-by-script or scene-by-scene. I mean he sort of is who he has always been. Whatever arc or transformation has taken place in him is sort of story driven or I should say, writer driven. By that I mean it’s more a thing perceived by the audience in context than a change in anything I’m doing, probably.

Obviously I think at this point the audience relates most with the in-charge, head Other, Ben, but you’ve also played him as frail, vulnerable, sinister.

Oh that’s true. But he has been vulnerable at times and he has been frail. He has recently been very frail, what with being a surgical hostage the way he has been. And yet there’s a kind of constancy about his personality.

And that’s an interesting point as well with the story. With John Locke and Rose, they were both cured, obviously, by some mysterious power on the island we would assume. Ben did not have that privilege. Do you know the reason for that?

I don’t know. It’s something to speculate about isn’t it? Has he always been sort of immune to the charms of the island or has he recently lost something that he had previously, I don’t know. But I’m guessing that when we find the answer to that question, it will unlock a lot of secrets.

This week it’s finally getting settled that Ben is not the magnificent Him that brought the Others to the island. Was that something that you were aware of?

No. I’m surprised like the viewers are when I read something that suggests that he answers to someone. I was intrigued by that. I’m wondering where that’s going.

So when Ben says that the Others are the “good guys.” Should we take that that there are bad guys on the island and are we going to see them at some point?

I take it to mean that at least in Ben’s mind, they are fighting some kind of good fight and that there are wicked people or wicked powers that they’re fighting against. But those wicked powers haven’t been very clearly identified yet. Although in coming episodes we’re going to be begin to get a trickle of evidence about the warring parties.

Ah, so there may be another party involved?

Yeah. There may be lost-aways and Others and also, someone else. I’m not sure who that is yet.

One thing I’ve wondered for a while because I read that your wife is a Lost fan. How has this impacted her suspension and disbelief, knowing that you’re on the show?

Well for a long time she wanted to be a purist, you know, and wouldn’t allow me to give her any spoilers. Eventually it’s just my access is too great and you know occasionally I just let things slip about an upcoming episode. Now I think she rather enjoys sort of having that inside entree, which I’ll tell you is not very much. Usually I may be a couple of episodes ahead of what the viewers are looking at. Only because we took that hiatus this season are we that far out in the front on the filming. That wasn’t true last season. Last season it was like this mad dash to have an episode ready for airing, you know? Now we’re a little bit ahead. By the time we get to the finale we’ll just be barely making it again, I’m sure.

This coming season I understand is actually going to air in January…

Well that might be a good thing. Then you don’t have to sort of tease the viewers into interest twice in a year, you just get them revved up once and then you show them a new episode every week. That’s probably the simplest way to do it and keep your momentum going. You don’t have to sort of jump-start it again in the winter like we did this season.

Fans really love your scenes with John Locke…

Yeah, those are some of the most fun to play too.

…given that you were mostly confined in the Hatch in Season 2 and then in Season 3 you’ve been on the Hydra Island, there’s still a lot of the major cast that you haven’t worked with.

Yeah, about half of them I think.

Is there anybody in particular you’d like to work with? Are there going to be some more interactions coming up?

Wow, you know I’d love to play with everybody in the cast at some point. It would be an interesting confrontation between Ben Linus and you know, Jin for example or Claire. Those would be sort of, people from two different worlds. I guess all of them are, but that would be fun. It’d be fun to do a scene with Dominic. I never get to work with him. I never get to work with Jorge. That would be interesting because Hurley has a sort of immunity to power figures or people that are articulate in a way. He can usually turn a conversation into his style of conversation rather than the opposite.

At this point, can we expect to see any of those scenes coming up?

I’m trying to think. What have I filmed? For the next while you’re going to see sparingly. You’ll see me in two weeks and then you won’t see me for a couple and then you’ll see me again and you won’t see me for a couple. So I don’t really have that many episodes in the can right now. I only play with characters you’ve already seen me with. But that could change this week because I haven’t seen the new script yet.

I know one thing that they’re saying is that the playing field is going to change a lot over the next couple of episodes. Is that something you’d agree with?

Oh yeah. Yeah, because episode 13, there’s some role reversal that takes place there. Someone that’s used to being in power is dis-empowered and someone sort of takes charge in an interesting way in that episode. Yeah, yeah that’s fair to say, that’s accurate.

I have some fan questions. I’m going to read them word for word. Did Ben and the Others know what would happen if the button wasn’t pushed or did they think it was just part of a Dharma experiment?

I think they knew in general what would happen, but not in particular.

Do people come up to you on the street and ask you questions as if you are the character, kind of like this person did?

(laughs) People do that, yeah they do. Another thing people like to do is come up and give me capsule criticisms of the show, you know. I remember in Honolulu, a couple from New Zealand stopped to tell me that since I had come on the show that they had stopped watching it because it had gotten too dark, too scary. They didn’t feel like it was a hopeful and humanistic story like it had been originally. I said, “Well, wait a minute, I’m going to call J.J. [Abrams] and pass that along.”

Are people pretty respectful of you when you run into them in public?

They are, they are. It’s interesting. It has a little something to do with the character that I play. I see when Josh and Jorge are in public and people feel like they’re pals with those characters, you know, Hurley. People feel like they can go up and slap them on the back and buy them a beer and that kind of thing. But people are a little more formal with me and I think it’s just because of the character that I play. You know, people keep a sort of polite distance from me and they tend to say, “excuse me” and call me Mr. Emerson (laughs).

The next reader question: Last season there was a scene where your character said, “If I told you about them, you have know idea what He’ll do and He’ll kill me,” obviously speaking of the mysterious Him. At that point did they know that you’d go on to play the leader of the Others? Did you know that you were going to have this authority position with the Others or were you really playing that from the vulnerable standpoint?

Well that was one of those days where I had to have a little chat with the director. Already by then, even that early on I thought, “there’s more to me than meets the eye.” I said to the director, because the director came and said, “I need you to be really terrified of Him.” And I said, “Okay, I’ll do it, but what if I’m Him?” And he said, “I can’t talk about that,” and walked away from me. So we played it as if there was someone that Ben was terrified of. You can either chalk that up to him being a good actor, if the Him in question was himself, or maybe there is somebody out there. I think there’s somebody else coming down the line. In fact, there almost needs to be. This whole dance we’ve been doing on the border of whether Ben is a good guy or a bad guy, I think the presence of someone more powerful and more malevolent will make that really nicely ambiguous again. If our sympathy suddenly shifts toward Ben, that will be interesting.

To a lot of fans it seems like the Others are doing what they are doing as an act of self preservation, not that they want to be kidnappers but that they have another force working against them.

I agree. I’ve always felt that. You know when you play a villain, you kind of have to make a positive back-story for yourself. It helps you live with the character you’re playing and justify things. So that was sort of where my head was at from the get go. I think it’s being sort of played out and I think it’s proving to be true.

Certainly you can see most of the Others being redeemable characters. We’ve already seen that with Juliet and even with Ben. We’ve seen just enough of a soft, humorous side to him to be able to accept him in a hero turn for sure.

Right. I mean you see him as a father and as a member of a book club and stuff like that. And you think, “God, that doesn’t exactly sound like an evil mastermind.” Doesn’t it feel like they have something on their plate that is so scary and so important that they have to take fairly drastic measures that sometimes appear to be wicked?

He could be the nice Dad next door that lives next door that just happens to work for Wetworks CIA, you just don’t know.

Yeah, exactly, that kind of thing.

This final user question: Is there one thing that you can tell us about your character that you wish the viewers knew?

Wow, that I wish the viewers knew… Oh. Something that’s been sort of at the back of my mind and sort of simmering underneath my playing this season is that he’s a romantic. And that he longs for a different life than the one he’s leading. He’s trapped in a kind of life. He’s a man either born at exactly the right time or exactly the wrong time and he has to push on. He has to play the hand that he’s been dealt but he may not be crazy about it. I think he wishes for a softer life and softer relationships (laughs).

Now that he is aware of a romantic entanglement between Jack and Juliet, is that going to be a major factor for your character in the upcoming episodes?

I don’t think Ben lets emotions get in the way of his work very much. I think that’s just one more sort of sad item to add to the list of regrets in his life. If only it could have been different.

Can we expect to see Ben in the forth season at this point or is that an unknown?

That’s an unknown. I would like to be seen in the forth season. Sort of truly and technically speaking, I don’t think anyone could say for sure until about the same time this season wraps up. I mean you can count on certain lead characters to be there as long as the show is there. But I don’t know, I’m waiting to see. I’d like to figure out what to do with myself for the rest of my life if this isn’t going to go on! You just don’t know. It is a gypsy life, I swear.

If you didn’t get a fourth season, are you being offered a lot of villain type roles at this point?

I’m not getting a lot of offers of any sort to tell you the truth. Partly it is, I suppose maybe people call my agents and inquire about my availability and they hear from my agent that my availability is zero. I’m sort of tied up working on this show. There may be some little opportunities, maybe drips and drabs of film work could come up, but they would have to fit neatly into the sort of Lost framework. It will be hard to tell whether there’s life after Lost until Lost is really done.

SOURCE: BUDDYTV