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Interview: Michael Emerson Lost With Theories
"I have thought right along that Benjamin Linus and his people are rebels or renegades or freedom fighters of some sort and that they are at war with whoever the real powers were that built and control the island," said Michael Emerson. "But I don't have a lot of evidence for that either. That's just sort of a feeling I have. I do feel like there are worse people out there than the others. I don't know if worse is the right word. That implies a sort of value judgment. Maybe I should say there are scarier people out there than the others."
At the end of season two, Ben told Michael and Walt that they were the good guys, though so far they still seem like villains. "Oh, I don't know that he's any more a villain than he ever was, to tell you the truth. I'm still holding out hope that when the details of his real mission are revealed, we're going to think he's a little more heroic than we have."
Heroic, but keeping people in cages? "At the very least, I think he meant what he said. Now, whether his point of view is skewed by his life's experience or not, I don't know but I think he believes himself to be a good man and he's under some pressure. He's fighting some kind of war. I can't tell exactly what it is but he has a terrible responsibility I think."
Source: CanMag.com
Michael Emerson, 'Lost'
Supporting actor, the un-usual suspects
Michael Emerson calls it stillness, a trait he's developed as an actor that audiences are instinctively drawn to.Whether on Broadway or broadcast television -- where Emerson can be seen on ABC's "Lost" as the creepiest of the Others -- he has the ability to create tension with only the slightest head movement or, sometimes, just by blinking.
"Audiences react to something. Maybe it's those intense eyeball-to-eyeball scenes, which have a lot of nuance," Emerson says from Hawaii, just a few days after shooting the final episode of the cult-followed series before heading back to his Gotham home. "I continue to play the role instinctively, and that (creepiness) is what people think of me."
It was on the same Alphabet network that many first became aware of Emerson's innate talent to frighten. As stalker William Hinks on a six-episode arc of "The Practice" in 2001, the Iowa-born actor won the Emmy for guest performance in a drama.
He says the perf caught the attention of casting directors and opened up more auditions, but it didn't fast-track him to a higher level of stardom.
"People knew who I was," Emerson says of his "Practice" turn. "It was something to talk about, but it didn't change the fabric of my career in a big way."
But it was from that role that Emerson became Henry Gale on "Lost." When series exec producer and co-creator Damon Lindelof was looking to cast the role of a man who can be menacing and conniving yet seemingly trustworthy and persuasive, he immediately thought of Emerson.
After getting the call to come onboard, Emerson asked his wife -- a huge fan of the show -- to bring him up to speed on the plot. Soon after, he was on a plane heading to the islands.
"You fly halfway around the world and show up in a jungle," is how he describes his indoctrination to the show. He's first introduced to viewers trapped in a dangling net in a dense forest. "We didn't sit down and chat about (the character). I get there, and suddenly I was hanging from a tree. We winged it."
A stage actor by trade, Emerson admits many of his brethren often look down upon TV work as too superficial, without any depth. But he considers "Lost" a find -- and is content on being on the island for an indefinite period of time.
"I always have in the back of my mind that nothing lasts forever."
SOUND BITES
Favorite moment of the past season?
"I like the intense scenes, maybe the one where I was bound and chained to the floor. And it was fun to play the scene where they let me out of the cell and have breakfast with them."
Favorite shows?
"I try to see as many 'Law & Order' episodes as possible because I know so many of the New York actors. It's a way to keep up with friends."
Actors that don't get enough credit?
"Not sure about that now but it used to be Paul Giamatti. He gives hope to us non-leading men and slightly eccentric actors who are skillful but don't get leading parts."
SOURCE: Variety
Ana Lucia comes out!
Nov. 17th, 2006 11:28 amKristanna Loken doesn't want to keep quiet about her relationship with sexy star Michelle Rodriguez. Who would?
An Advocate.com exclusive posted November 15, 2006
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As we sat downstairs in her Los Angeles home, upcoming Advocate cover girl Kristanna Loken—the smoldering star of Terminator 3—found an adorable way of letting us know that she’s involved with her equally sexy BloodRayne costar Michelle Rodriguez.
At first Loken, 27—who has a recurring role as lover of Shane (Katherine Moennig) on Showtime’s The L Word this season—affirmed that she’s in a relationship but wouldn’t specify the name or gender.
Then we mentioned the tantalizing stories Loken has told in past interviews about getting tight with Rodriguez when they filmed BloodRayne in Romania. Here’s what happened next.
What about all the stuff that was said about you and Michelle on the shoot?
[Laughs, then takes a deep breath] There is the $64,000 question. Um…I don’t even know how to answer that.
It seems like you both had a lot of fun partying.
Uh-huh. [Smiles, doesn’t say anything]
OK, your silence says volumes. [Both laugh]
Just don’t look upstairs, OK?
Ooh, OK. You don’t want me to print that?
You can print it. [Laughs again] The very hot housekeeper. No, just joking.
Rodriguez, 28, star of Girlfight, The Fast and the Furious, Blue Crush, and TV’s Lost, is filming in Seattle. Her representative declined to comment. The Advocate wishes these two vital young stars all the best.
Look for comments in the November 21st issue of The Advocate.
SOURCENovember 11th, 2006
In this picture Matthew and Margherita are pictured at the 2006 Golden Globes.
Handsome Matthew Fox, 40, of Lost and wife Margherita Ronchi are expecting their third child. Matthew and Margherita married in 1992. Margherita is a former model and is from Venice, Italy. They have an eight-year-old daughter Kyle and a five-year-old son Byron. Matthew and his family currently reside in Oahu, Hawaii where Lost is filmed. I was glued to the screen Wednesday for Lost….and am very sad that they are now on a 13-week hiatus! Lost is the only tv I watch! Everything else is Netflix. In fact, the last Netflix was Over The Hedge…watched with our son and it was really fun for a kid’s movie! (Sorry for the randomness!)
I think it is amazing how much Margherita looks like Bono’s wife Ali Hewson! She is gorgeous!
Matthew was quoted as saying in 1998:
“Everyone says that they’re going to be crying [a lot], and you’re not going to get much sleep but it’s difficult in a lot of ways. I was expecting some sort of epiphany,a seismic shift inside of me, and that I was automatically want to care for this child. It didn’t happen that way. You fall in love with them, and then you fall more in love than you’ve ever been with anything. But it happens [slowly]. There a lot of guilt and weird feelings… [you think] you’re not a good parent… it’s just difficult.”
Here Matthew is pictured with Kyle and Byron.
Congratulations to Matthew and Margherita!
Michael Emerson: The Other Illustrator
Interview by Scott Juba
Published in The Trades: June 14, 2006
Lost’s infamous “Other,” Henry Gale, has been described as being many things, but heroic isn’t one of them. Yet, that doesn’t change the approach Michael Emerson, the actor whose eerily convincing performances bring the creepy character to life, takes when portraying Henry. “I always try to make my characters as heroic as I can,” Emerson says, “even if they do bad things.”
 Michael Emerson as Henry Gale on Lost. |
Emerson says he expects the understanding fans have of Gale will once again change during season three. “I think our entire perception of the Others and who they are and what their mission is will be broken wide open. I don’t have any particulars on that, because I haven’t seen any of the scripts, but I think we’re going to go live among them. I think it’s going to be surprising.”
He adds, “There’s another layer of reality going on with the Others, and I think we may be introduced to that.”
Although most view Gale as Lost’s main villain, Emerson is quick to point out that Gale has suffered more abuse than anyone on the show. “I have been bound, gagged, shot with arrows and tortured with pliers. It’s just one thing after another. Then people say, ‘You’re so scary.’ I guess he’s scary in that he’s a scary victim [laughs].”
So, what’s the real reason people fear Gale? “We just don’t understand his mission,” Emerson explains.
When Lost producers offered Emerson the part of Gale, he says he believed he would only serve a short stint on the series. During the filming of the scene in which Gale spoke to Sayid about the leader of the “Others,” Emerson began to suspect his part would take on increased significance. The director told Emerson he wanted to re-shoot the scene, except this time with Emerson appearing more fearful at the mention of the leader. Emerson recalls, “I said, ‘That sounds great. Except, what if I’m him?’ The director looked at me with a blank look and said, ‘I can’t talk about that.’”
With the expanded importance of Emerson’s character, he will be a regular cast member on Lost in season three. Even though that means he’ll be spending most of his time in Hawaii, this accomplished theatre actor says he still hopes to find time to perform in front of live audiences as well. “I’ll do theatre whenever I can get it,” he says with enthusiasm. “I know after a full season in Honolulu, I’ll be itching to find some stage work. I’m trying to figure out ways to keep my hand in it while we’re shooting the season. Maybe I can talk some of the other cast members into doing Sunday afternoon theatrical readings. It could be a little community theatre group. [laughs].”
While Emerson’s impressive multi-layered performances on Lost may lead people to believe he’s never had trouble finding acting jobs, Emerson almost didn’t make it as an actor. “My road to becoming an actor is the most round about route to arrive at an actor’s life,” he tells me. “It’s actually my second career. I always wanted to be an actor, but when I graduated college in the Midwest, I came right to New York, and it just knocked the wind out of me. I didn’t know what hit me. I couldn’t even begin to figure out how to have a life as an actor.”
With his acting career in limbo, Emerson became a magazine illustrator. “Illustrating was something I’d always been good at and somehow felt less tender about…I feel like the time wasn’t wasted, because there are a whole lot of parallels between these two crafts. I did get a work ethic and an aesthetic during the course of that work that has served me fairly well during my life as an actor.”
Only when Emerson left New York and ventured to the south did he find his way to a career in acting. He says, “I started doing community theatre in Florida, and I’ve been working my way back to New York ever since then.”
Now that his acting career has led him to Lost, Emerson’s compelling performances present a clear picture of how great acting can enhance an already intriguing drama.
