| abstract | - Michael Emerson is a Lost actor who portrays Benjamin Linus. The following questions were submitted by members of the Lostpedia Forums, and by members of the Lostpedia wiki, and were sent via email. The interview was posted on December 19, 2008. Michael Emerson: One of the great mysteries of the show- Richard Alpert—love Nestor and the agelessness of his character—surrogate father/mentor but also maybe a corruptor. ME: Ben doesn’t require a lot of “acting”—he’s like me (or anybody) but LESS. I don’t know anyone as cold as Ben but I enjoy his focus and calculation—he has a license to be unfeeling. ME: Sometimes acting is not about the things you already are but about the things you wish you could be. We’re all capable of almost anything—Ben is not such a great stretch. ME: I don’t think the cast factors audience scrutiny into their work very much—the work is fairly consuming as it is. That intense attention to the show is more an issue between the writers and the audience in my opinion. ME: I admit to being shocked at Ben’s role in the mass murder of the Dharma Initiative, but I think that may be re-contextualized in the future. I trust the writers completely and I would be uncomfortable meddling in their business. ME: Acting for the camera is all about tuning everything else out. I like the challenge of it—keeping focused and staying available for the endless repetition of scenes without being too “heavy” about it all. We tend to shoot full takes of scenes on LOST so it doesn’t seem too fragmented. ME: There’s no great mystery or secret formula here—we pay attention to villains because THEY ARE US. I look for ways to be asocial or unpleasing in an interesting way—sometimes in ways we don’t ordinarily allow ourselves. LP: Since the episode "The Man Behind the Curtain" in what ways have revelations about Ben's childhood affected your performance of him as an adult? ME: I don’t feel much influence (he remarks coldly)—it just confirms that he is a person much like the rest of us. ME: Jack Bender said to be mindful that for Ben this moment would be the end of life as he had known it. Couple that with the fresh loss of his daughter and it is a scene with huge stakes. Did it seem real to you? ME: I’m a stage actor and in that world success depends on how lines are spoken. I would say it is the thing an actor is paid to do.. On Lost we often shoot a scene (or a line) a number of different ways and let the editors pick which one they like best. ME: Ben has a choice line or two in every episode and I love his wit but I’m more attached to his sober formulation of serious questions of ethics or philosophy. Despite being a man of action he is also a man in search of Meaning. ME: Honestly, I don’t worry about motivation or back-story overmuch. Much more important that a scene crackles or sings. Acting is more abstract that most people (or actors, for that matter) think. ME: I’m not sure Oedipus qualifies as a hero of any sort, but no—everyone on Lost has a problem with their father—it’s one of the themes of the show. We’re two years away from being able to judge Ben a hero or not. LP: Do you consider yourself a 'method' actor? What steps to you take to truly inhabit a role? Where exactly do you draw your inspiration from to play a character as seemingly evil and "creepy" as Benjamin Linus? ME: No, I would not say I was a Method Actor. I would call myself a Technical Actor. To paraphrase Ben Kingsley, I learn the lines—and when I have learnt them in a full and meaningful way I may be ready to serve the story. Every day, every scene I say to myself, “What would I do if I were in this situation?” Purely imaginary. ME: I exhibit a set of behaviors and make a set of noises that I hope an audience will find plausible, surprising, maybe thrilling. I’m a flexible collaborator in this process up to a point, but at the end of the day it is me breathing and moving and speaking and trying to lure a critical viewership into the story. There is some nuance involved. ME: I think it tells the truth about brilliant people I have observed. All our parts do not develop at the same rate and our amazing skills come at a price. I like the idea that Ben is socially underdeveloped. Plus, I notice more and more that grownups are just later versions of the children they once were. LP: Through the years Ben's character evolved and changed, at first we knew him as Henry Gale, the frightened peaceful character from Minnesota, then there was the calm and creepy Other's leader/dictator who used Jack to save his life, later we saw the cruel power-hungry side of Ben during the flashbacks of the purge, then we saw the emotional side of Ben in the aftermath of Alex's death, and then back to the cruel power-hungry side of Ben when he killed Keamy. Which side of Ben did you enjoy acting the most? ME: What I like is that you think there are all these versions of Ben when I’ve made it a point to always be the same man. (Thank you.) ME: I wish I had more background in “Action” skills but on Lost you pretty much show up on the day and do it. I have the usual stage combat training but nothing that prepared me for the shooting, fighting and riding I’ve done on Lost. I usually do my own stunts up to the point where I’m in pain or it seems crazy to continue, but by then we’re usually finished. The work is often dangerous and I’ve promised myself to be more retiring. ME: I haven’t really changed my portrayal (not consciously). It’s always been just me, what I knew at the moment and the scene at hand. Can’t think of a scene I’d change. ME: The death of Alex. LP: What do you think are the personal religious/philosophical views of Benjamin Linus? In the episode "Dave", while still posing as Henry Gale, he says to Locke: "God doesn't know how long we've been here, John. He can't see this island any better than the rest of the world can." But in "The Cost of Living" he asks Jack if he believes in God. When Jack asks the question back at him, Ben replies: "Two days after I found out I had a fatal tumor on my spine, a spinal surgeon fell out of the sky. And if that's not proof of God, I don't know what is." While this answer is slightly ambiguous, it reflects a different view on religion than what he said to Locke. Ben also has the Qu’ran and a book on Indian rituals on his bookshelf. So what do you make of all this? And if you want to answer, what is your personal worldview? ME: Clearly Ben seeks Meaning and has a philosophical dimension. Like most humans (like me) he’s a little too caught up in the Here and Now to give it his full focus. Like me, he probably believes that he expresses his spirit in each day’s activity. ME: I hadn’t heard. That’s the downside of so much frenzied attention, I suppose. If the fans don’t want a surprise to be spoiled they know what to do. ME: I don’t usually visit the message boards—don’t think many in the cast do. It’s like reading reviews—no good can come from it. I do follow the story closely and enjoy speculating on the meaning of it all and where the story is going. I have heard of Lostpedia and heard it praised but I don’t pursue Lost online—I’m more likely to pursue it in conversation. ME: The cast is very friendly with one another—we don’t get together often because we have non-Lost lives to lead and we probably see enough of one another on the set. I feel especially comfortable with Terry—not only are we in many scenes together but we are close in age and temperament and work habits. ME: It was scary at first but now I’m finding it freeing. A minor adjustment. LP: Terry O'Quinn said that the opportunity to work on a show like Lost is a once in a lifetime thing and some of the younger actors might not appreciate that as you can go through your whole career and never get to be involved in something so great. Is that how you feel and who else within the cast would you say are as big fans of the show as yourself? ME: The magnitude of Lost’s success is hard to absorb. It’s not a thing I think about too much—I have work to do that requires my attention. In one sense, it’s just one of the many roles I will play. ME: A sci-fi angle seems likely to me—but like all really good sci-fi it will amaze and inspire. Sounds good to me. ME: I love the flash-forwarding—I think it elevates the show to something more sophisticated and something more poignant. Season 4 was a bit frantic for us but it gave the series great urgency and momentum. The only good thing about the writers’ strike was getting to be home unexpectedly with loved ones. ME: I would say yes (but I would’ve been much more worried). I’m glad it came to me the way it did. ME: I will miss the smells of the place and the surprising trade winds, the colors of water and the ever-changing show of light, clouds and rainbows in the Hawaiian sky. I love the ragged green mountains here and the hiking and the unusual birds. I love the sound of the Hawaiian language (like moving water) and the music of the islands. Most of all, I will miss the relaxation and the easy hospitality of the people of O’ahu. ME: My idols tend to be the great actors of the Broadway or London stage—actors who found ways to manage the world of language. ME: I still feel the same. The volume and reach of TV is unimaginable, uncontrollable. It’s not human in scale. ME: I do watch myself—it’s often painful but it is educational. It seems in a way to be not-me. Sometimes you wish you had a moment to do over again. It is strange to see yourself from all angles. ME: I read a lot of novels, I read classics and history and commentary. I like to let one book suggest the next. For fun I enjoy ghost stories and murder mysteries. I do not read self-help books. ME: I have pretty eclectic taste in music with a leaning toward the melancholy. I like Bach and blues and trip-hop. I like old jazz and live bluegrass and old reggae and anything ancient. Garage bands, Nick Drake, Captain Beefheart, Nino Rota, etc. etc. ME: I don’t think there’s anything a person can do that would have any bearing on landing a role on a "wildly popular" series. I think you learn to love your work, learn to do it well, be patient with yourself and go where your career takes you. Fame and Fortune are not healthy goals even if they were achievable. Acting is a difficult business and luck is a big factor. (Luck and preparedness, of course.) I still think of it as a monkish calling and it demands many sacrifices and makes no promises whatsoever. ME: I let good material be my guide whenever possible. I look for scripts with strong language values—something truthful, mysterious, challenging, surprising, thought-provoking. I look for the kind of project that would appeal to me as an audience member. ME: There is no "right" period or style for a Shakespeare play. Even in his own day Shakespeare’s plays were "interpreted". They are "classics" because they continue to bear (demand, even) every kind of interpretation. They are not historical documents or time-capsules. They are poetic works whose power lives through Metaphor. We continue to perform them BECAUSE they transcend their period, BECAUSE they are miraculously interpretable. Nostalgia for some good old (olde?) "traditional" style of performance is a false notion and a misunderstanding of the uses of drama. I cringe at the idea of jovial actors in pumpkin breeches clinking pewter mugs together.(You can get that any old day at Colonial Williamsburg.) Every production of a Shakespeare play is an interpretation. There are, of course, degrees of success and failure, good shows and bad, (and there are many more bad than good) but the best productions find powerful and illuminating metaphors that reveal the text freshly and surprisingly. It may be Elizabethan or it may be Post-Apocalyptic—whatever will inspire. (Question for the questioner: In what period did Shakespeare’s company stage Julius Caesar?) ME: Each season introduces a new dimension to the storytelling—I’ll be curious to see what it is this time. ME: I had a fine childhood in Iowa and access to lots of books. A great place to grow up but a very practical place and no future for an ambitious young actor. ME: In the off-season I try to spend time with my loved ones and pursue my interest in theater. I was thrilled when my agent called to inform me of the nomination but I am somewhat superstitious and can’t help thinking about Mixed Blessings. ME: I’ll go where there is good material. Certainly I’ll be looking to do some theater. I’m attached to the world of the theater because of its rituals and history and because I like that it is a SPOKEN medium. It feels like both my home and my church.
|
