Interview: Elizabeth Mitchell: "A Lovely Gift"

 

( Elizabeth Mitchell comes across as a friendly, mild mannered and humble person. But when it comes to her character on Lost, she has a fighting spirit. “I am really dying to see sometime, no matter when it is, a huge confrontation between [Ben and Juliet],” she says. “I think it would be fascinating to see them, all ropes loose, just go at it.”Read more... )

Michael Emersons gives his xxx,xxx,xxx,xxx, interview

 

( Here's another article about Michael Emerson, our prolific interviewer. Read more... )

   

Michael Emerson: More Than Lost's Spooky Other

Bobdoc of Michael Emerson Fan Board wrote a nice article about Michael Emerson. He gets paid by the hits on his article. Let’s help him by, at least, clicking on the page. However, I do recommend it that you read it. It is a good article. Just click on the LJ-cut.

( Lost fans get a kick out of being freaked out by "Others" leader Benjamin Linus. His spooky look does have a lot to do with the spooky look of this actor, Michael Emerson. Lost hasn't been the same since Ben (Emerson) joined the show in season 2. And now it's hard to see Lost without them. Before joining Lost, Emerson was on the road to be typecast as just another actor playing creepy villains, as was apparent in most of his high-profile roles before Lost-for instance, Gerald "Gerry" Rankin (in the episode "Phantom," in season 1 of Law & Order: CI), among others. But on the road to getting Lost, Emerson went through a lot of different avenues as an actor before he ever met the Lost creators, or Ben. ) 

A new Michael Emerson Photo

There's a new Michael Emerson photo in the photo gallery:




(click on the picture to enlarge)

I want to thank bobdoc of Michael Emerson Fan Board for this find.

Michael Emerson: Lost' returns with the islanders in new jeopardy - with new mysteries

( How many interviews can this man give? Here's yet another one that Michael Emerson gave. Read more... )

A brand-new new picture of Michael Emerson

As always, pictures of Michael Emerson are housed here:  http://michaelemerson.net/coppermine


My heartfelt thanks is given to Robert Dougherty for this awesome find.


 

Actor is anything but 'Lost' in role: Michael Emerson wasn't counting on a long commitment

Michael Emerson, far right, appears with other members of the cast of "Lost," which returns after an eight-month hiatus.

Michael Emerson talks about the structure of this season of “Lost.”

Actor is anything but 'Lost' in role
Michael Emerson wasn't counting on a long commitment

By Rick Bentley / The Fresno Bee

01/29/08 16:44:52

   

Many actors will create a history for their character even if it is not provided in the script. "Lost" star Michael Emerson saw no such need in playing the mysterious Henry Gale/Ben Linus.

"Creating a history for a character helps when you are doing a stage play because you have to do a lot of storytelling in a short window. So it is good to have the character's history already worked out," Emerson says. "In this case, I didn't need to know that much. In fact, this is a character that plays better if less is fleshed out. This is a guy about which little is known."

After an eight-month hiatus, Emerson and the rest of the cast get to return to their roles. The fourth-season opener of "Lost" airs at 8 p.m. Thursday on ABC.

There was no way Emerson's character was supposed to be around for four episodes, let alone for the opening of the fourth season. The Emmy-winning actor was signed for only a three-episode arc.

"But they brought me back for another episode. That turned into six, and then I never went home," Emerson says. "I will tell you, if I had known on my first trip to Hawaii that this could have been for a long-running role, I would have been far more nervous."

Emerson clicked with the producers, so he became the leader of "The Others," island residents who try to control plane crash survivors on the other side of the island.

The Iowa native was happy to stay with the character. He's always liked playing characters that are ambiguous. He feels those characters are more true to life.

"We don't really meet pure heroes and villains in life. The fact is no one is altogether good or altogether wicked. That's what makes people so interesting. There is usually a logic even in villainy," Emerson says.

He uses his work on "The Practice" as an example. Emerson played serial killer William Hinks. The character certainly had a dangerous element to him, but Hinks also was very polite, kept a tidy house and was well-mannered. These are sterling qualities not always associated with serial killers.

And in the case of "Lost," Emerson never has played his character as if he were the bad guy. He plays him as a person with a very hidden agenda.

Along with this complicated and mysterious character, "Lost" may have given Emerson one of the most unusual acting situations ever. His wife, Carrie Preston, who is 13 years his junior, appeared on one episode as his mother. Talk about your Oedipus wrecks.

The sequence was one of the show's many flashbacks that provided some clues into the life of Emerson's character. The actor laughs at the odd bit of casting and says he and his wife had some interesting discussions about the role.

As for all of those flashbacks, get ready for a season of flash-forwards.

"It is a stroke of genius," Emerson says. "This show has been told in two time zones [past and present]. Now it will be told in three time zones."

The looks into the future will show how some of the castaways will be rescued. But that won't be the end of their stories.

Those stories will be told in at least eight new episodes. This was supposed to be a 16-episode season, but the writers' strike ended production at the halfway point. Emerson, who is cautious not to reveal too many details about the show, explains that either by chance or design, the eighth episode deals with a big event.

SOURCE:  The Fresno Bee