Michael Emerson

AVC: You’ve done a lot of theater work, and you were once referred to as a stage actor who also does movies and television. Was it an easy transition from the stage to television and film?

ME: It wasn’t that easy, not so much in acting terms as in social terms. It’s an adjustment, you know, just to find your way around to those studio lots and stuff in L.A. The drill is different. It’s a different kind of working regimen. It just didn’t have all of the old comfortable rituals: the first table-reads, the meet-and-greet, all those things I’m used to; starting out at the table and gradually getting on your feet and having four weeks to rehearse the thing. Suddenly in television and movies, you’re left to be ready on the day. Your rehearsal was auditioning for the part. Now you’re ready to go on. Higher stakes, in a way. But now I really like it. I don’t think it’s a huge acting problem. Anyone with any sense can see that you just have to dial it back a little bit when the camera’s up your nose.

AVC: The show has become huge, and so has your role. But when you were starting out, was it hard to tell whether what you were doing was going to be well-received, as opposed to being onstage, where you can gauge an audience in real-time?

ME: It is a different feedback system. You depend a little bit more on a set of subtle signals from the crew, or from the director of the episode. But in your actor’s heart, you know when you’re playing well. Others may not always agree with you, but I’m always aware of when the scene is cooking or not. You have an instinct about that from years of doing scenes and plays, and I think it stands you in good stead even in the TV world.

AVC: When it comes to what’s going to happen next on the show, the cast is largely kept in the dark, getting scripts just before shooting begins. At what point did you realize that Benjamin Linus was going to be an integral part of the story?

ME: That really dawned on me gradually. As you know, I was originally engaged to be a guest player, to do a few episodes and go away, so I wasn’t thinking in terms of staying in Hawaii. The scenes I was in in the early going, when I was Henry Gale, they had a kind of ambiguity about them. There was a mystery in there, and no one could really figure it out. I remember one day, a director came to me—I had a line, Sayid was waving a gun in my face saying, “Tell us who your leader is,” and I said, “If I tell you, he’ll kill me,” and the director came and said, “That’s good. Let’s take it again, and this time, act as if the leader is the scariest person on Earth.” And I said, “Okay, I can do that, but what if the leader is me?” And he blinked at me a couple of times and said, “I can’t discuss that.” [Laughs.] And that was it. From then on, I thought, “Oh, I see. This could turn into something.” I’m like a slower factor on those kinds of issues; if even I can see that that’s a possibility, then it must be in there somewhere. And as it turns out, it was true. It was a great development.

AVC: Tell the truth, you were getting online and posting anonymously, “Who is this Ben Linus guy? He’s great! They should give him more screen time.”

ME: I wish I had the savvy to do that. I don’t go online much, and of course I don’t even have the sense to have an e-mail name that isn’t my own name, so I can never do any of that stuff anonymously. I’m hopeless.

AVC: About a year from now, you’re going to be done, and people are going to be packing up and leaving the island. Do you fear having a post-Lost depression?

ME: It will be a sad time. You know, your body just lets down. I’ve been ill since we wrapped 10 days ago. When the pressure’s off, that’s just natural. It will be sad to see this amazing chapter… It’s a great show, the show really interests me, and I’ve had so much visibility because of my work on it, it’s a great thing. I’ll never duplicate this experience. But on the other hand, it will be good to move on and embrace the unknown future and see what that holds. I will say that life will be simpler when I don’t spend two-thirds of the year in the middle of the Pacific.

AVC: But is that so bad?

ME: No, no, it’s great. I have a great time there, and the people are so lovely. Not every TV show is as welcoming and warmhearted as the Lost company. Everything’s good about that. It’s just the logistics of being so far from Carrie, my spouse, and loved ones, and the world of theater, and the life of New York City. That’s sort of my life for many years now. But I’ll go back to it.

AVC: Do you have any predictions for Ben in the sixth and final season?

ME: No, I don’t know. I wouldn’t even venture to try and second-guess Damon Lindelof. He’s so brilliant. I’m really curious to where it will go. People say, “What new angles and developments for your character do you long for?” and I say I don’t really long for any. I think Ben has a kind of constancy, that Ben’s mission remains the same. His character is rather set. I’ll be curious to see what sorts of challenges or situations they provide for me. Having said that, they may completely change the character, for all I know. [Laughs.] I don’t think so, though. I’ll be glad to be in it, because I’ll be curious to see how far into the last season I’ll survive. We’re going to have to start losing people next year.