Michael Emerson
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| Michael Emerson | |||||||
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 Michael Emerson, January 2007 |
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| Born | September 7, 1954 Cedar Rapids, Iowa, USA |
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| Spouse(s) | Carrie Preston (1998-present) | ||||||
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Michael Emerson (born September 7, 1954)[1] is an American actor of the stage and screen. He won an "Outstanding Guest Actor" Emmy in 2001 for a part on The Practice and played Zep Hindle in the 2004 film Saw, but he is best known for his role as Benjamin Linus in the television series Lost.[2]
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Early life
Emerson was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and grew up in the nearby town of Toledo, Iowa. After graduating in 1976 from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, where he studied theater and art,[3] he moved to New York City. Unable to find acting work, he took retail jobs and worked as a freelance illustrator.[2] In 1986, he moved with his first wife to Jacksonville, Florida. There, from 1986 to 1993, he appeared in local productions and worked as a teacher and director.
[edit] Career
Emerson considered forgoing a career in acting in favor of a more stable vocation in teaching. He decided to instead further his studies with a Master of Fine Arts that might also introduce him to theatre professionals and directors in his chosen trade. In 1993 he enrolled in the Alabama Shakespeare Festival's University of Alabama-sponsored Master of Fine Arts/Professional Actor Training program, and upon graduating in 1995, he returned to New York where he appeared in the annual Alabama Shakespeare Festival showcase.
Emerson got his big break in 1997 when he starred as Oscar Wilde in Moises Kaufman's critically-acclaimed off-Broadway play, Gross Indecency: The Trials of Oscar Wilde, and then followed up with several other notable stage performances. In 1998 he performed opposite Uma Thurman in the off-Broadway production of The Misanthrope. In 1999, he played the part of Willie Oban in The Iceman Cometh with Kevin Spacey. He co-starred with Kate Burton in both Give Me Your Answer, Do! and Hedda Gabler.
In film and television, Emerson made a name for himself by playing dangerous and damaged characters. In 2001 he won an Emmy Award as "Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series", for playing the (fictional) confessed serial killer William Hinks in several episodes of The Practice.
One of Emerson's most well-known works was in 2004 as the character Zep Hindle in the horror movie Saw. In that year he also played the loyal somewhat Alfred Pennyworth-like butler to a Rock Hudson-like heartthrob, Guy Stone, in the comedy film Straight-Jacket.
In 2006 Emerson began a guest starring role playing Benjamin Linus (formerly called "Henry Gale" on the show) on the serial drama television series Lost. This casting was a result of his work on The Practice because the Lost producers liked his work there and thought he was a good fit for the character they were developing in their own show--Benjamin Linus.[4] Emerson was originally set to appear in a small number of episodes, and then returned for the third season as a main cast member, earning a 2007 Emmy nomination for his work on the series.
Emerson met his wife, actress Carrie Preston, while he was performing in a stage production of Hamlet in Alabama.[2] They married in September 1998, and both Emerson and his wife starred in the 2004 film, Straight-Jacket. On Lost, Preston portrayed Emily Linus, Emerson's character's mother, in the flashback sequences of the episode "The Man Behind the Curtain".[4]
[edit] Awards
- Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series (for playing "William Hinks" on The Practice), 2001
- Nominated for a Saturn Award for playing Ben Linus on Lost.
- Nominated for an Emmy Award at the 59th Primetime Emmy Awards for portraying Ben Linus on Lost.
[edit] Work
[edit] Film
- Playing by Heart (as Bosco), 1998
- The Impostors (as Burtom's Assistant), 1998
- The Laramie Project (as Reverend), 2002
- Saw (as Zep Hindle), 2004
- Straight-Jacket (as Victor), 2004
- 29th and Gay (as "Gorilla" Co-Worker), 2005
- The Legend of Zorro (as Harrigan), 2005
- Jumping off Bridges (as Frank Nelson), 2006
- Ready? OK! (as Charlie New), 2008
[edit] Television
- The Practice (as William Hinks), 2000–2001
- Law & Order: Criminal Intent (in the episode "Phantom" as Gerald "Gerry" Rankin), 2001
- The X-Files (in the episode "Sunshine Days" as Oliver Martin), 2002
- Without A Trace (in the episode "Victory for Humanity" as Stuart Wesmar), 2003
- Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (in the episode "Ritual" as Allan Shaye), 2004
- The Inside (in episode "Pre-Filer" as Marty Manning), 2005
- Lost (as Ben Linus), 2006–
[edit] Theater
- Othello, University of North Florida[5]
- Noises Off, Theatre Jacksonville[5], 1986 or 1987[6]
- Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare at the Met, 1987[7]
- The Importance of Being Earnest, Arkansas Repertory Theatre, 1990
- Parts Unknown, Players-By-The-Sea Theatre, Jacksonville Beach, Florida, 1993
- Hamlet (as Hamlet), Players-By-The-Sea Theatre, Jacksonville Beach, Florida[8]
- The Tempest (as Ferdinand), Alabama Shakespeare Festival, 1994 or 1995[9]
- The Way of the World (as Lady Wishfort), Alabama Shakespeare Festival, 1994 or 1995[9]
- Hamlet (as Rosencrantz), Alabama Shakespeare Festival, 1994 or 1995[9]
- All's Well That Ends Well, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, 1994 or 1995[9]
- Henry IV, Part 1, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, 1994 or 1995[9]
- A Christmas Carol, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, 1994 or 1995[9]
- The Crucible, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, 1994 or 1995[9]
- Amadeus, Arkansas Repertory Theatre, 1995
- Androcles and the Lion, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, 1995 or 1996[9]
- Gross Indecency: The Trials of Oscar Wilde (as Oscar Wilde), Minetta Lane Theatre, off-Broadway, 1997–1998
- The Misanthrope, Classic Stage Company, 1998
- The Iceman Cometh (as Willie Oban), Brooks Atkinson Theatre, 1999
- Give Me Your Answer, Do! (as David Knight), Gramercy Theatre, off-Broadway, 1999–2000
- Hedda Gabler (as George Tesman), Williamstown Theatre Festival, Main Stage, 2000
- Hedda Gabler (as George Tesman), Ambassador Theatre, Broadway, 2001–2002
- Only the End of the World (as Louis), Theatre 3, off-Broadway, 2002
- Frequency Hopping (as George Antheil), Hourglass Group, 2002
- Tartuffe (as Cleante), American Airlines Theatre, Broadway, 2003
- Measure for Measure (as Duke Vincentio), California Shakespeare Theater, Orinda, California, 2003
- Someone Who'll Watch Over Me, The Ridgefield Playhouse for Movies and the Performing Arts, 2004
- Hamlet (as Ghost, Claudius, Osric, and Guildenstern), McCarter Theatre Center, Princeton, New Jersey, 2005
- Bach at Leipzig (as Schott), New York Theatre Workshop, 2005
- Likeness, Primary Stages Theater (307 W. 38th Street), 2008
[edit] Other work
- Participated in a staged reading of a play involving string theory written by Jacquelyn Reingold called String Fever at Rockefeller University in 2003.
- Narrator of a radio play adaptation of the Neil Gaiman short story, Murder Mysteries.
- The audio book version of James Patterson's novel, Four Blind Mice, which he co-narrated with Peter J. Fernandez.
- Private Sector, audio book of the novel by Brian Haig, which he co-narrated with John Rubinstein.
- Co-narrated volume III of an audio book series called "Legends II: New Short Novels by the Masters of Modern Fantasy," which includes a short story by Neil Gaiman.
- Narrated audio book CD of Robert Penn Warren's novel All the King's Men in 2005.
- Narrated audio book CD of The Amalgamation Polka by Stephen Wright, published in February of 2006.
- Was the voice of George Washington in Favorite Son, a 2003 experimental documentary film about the relationship between George Washington and Alexander Hamilton.
- Participated in a Woody Allen short called "Sounds From a Town I Love" which aired on television during The Concert for New York City in 2001 and depicts people talking on their cellphones as they walk around New York City.
- With other Lost cast members, he participated in a play-reading session in February of 2007 at the Tenney Theatre in Hawaii to raise money for the Honolulu Theatre for Youth.
[edit] References
- ^ Michael Emerson Biography
- ^ a b c Interview on The Morning Show with Mike & Juliet, March 8, 2007
- ^ Drake University theatre Overview (with Noted Alumni).
- ^ a b Audio commentary for "The Man Behind the Curtain, Season 3 DVD set of Lost
- ^ a b Charlie Patton (1999-05-16). "If he can make it there...". The Florida Times-Union. Retrieved on 2008-03-24.
- ^ Theatre Jacksonville, season 67. Theatre Jacksonville. Retrieved on 2008-03-25.
- ^ Charlie Patton (2001-05-06). "Nocturne at Twilight". The Florida Times-Union. Retrieved on 2008-03-25.
- ^ Letters to the Editor, "Cheers for Michael". First Coast Community (1999-06-12). Retrieved on 2008-03-30.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Emerson's career took him through Montgomery". The Anniston Star (2008-01-31). Retrieved on 2008-03-15.
[edit] External links
- Michael Emerson at the Internet Broadway Database
- Michael Emerson at the Internet Movie Database
- Michael Emerson fansite
- Michael Emerson at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
- Interview at Blender.com
- Michael Emerson ABC.com bio
- The Oregon Herald - Interview with Michael Emerson - LOST
- Michael Emerson new interview on Lost
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