Post by bobdoc on May 12, 2009 18:07:20 GMT -4
I think it might be easier to put the rest of Michael's 60 billion finale interviews in one thread. Here are the latest two that I found. First from www.sheknows.com/articles/809039.htm
And here's this one from www.nj.com/celebrity-news/index.ssf/2009/05/michael_emerson_lost_ending_al.html
Lost has its two-hour season finale May 14 and the actor at the heart of Ben Linus sits down to let us in on life on the island of Lost.
Michael Emerson is Ben
Emerson was first hired to portray a mysterious man found in the jungle named Henry Gale. Within eight episodes of Lost, it was proven Henry Gale was in fact Ben Linus – the head of the mysterious Others that were terrorizing the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815.
As a stage actor, Emerson possesses the perfect acting chops to make his Ben feel at the same time slimy and scarily sadistic.
The actor spent a career perfecting the guest spots on major network hits. Emerson won an Emmy in 2001 for his work on The Practice. In Emerson, JJ Abrams and his Lost creative team found their perfect acting foil for Terry O’Quinn’s Zen-like crash survivor, John Locke. Emmy voters must agree: he has been nominated twice for his performance of Ben. The evolution of Emerson’s Ben Linus is a character study for the ages.
SheKnows: First, as you approach a season finale as Lost has Wednesday night, are you wistful about the season that recently ended or do you look forward to the time off?
Michael Emerson: It’s a little of both. I really like the work I do on the show. Because that work takes place so far from home in extreme and remote circumstances, I’m glad that I have a large chunk each year to regain my life. To see friends and loved ones and to be in New York City and go to the theater --live the life I used to know.
SheKnows: People think you’re in Hawaii filming Lost. It’s a glamorous tropical paradise. But, it’s got to be grueling work.
Michael Emerson: Yeah, you don’t even think about the sort of paradise dimension of the island. Occasionally you have moments to reflect on that. We are sometimes in locations that are so unbelievably beautiful that you think ‘let’s just put down the cameras and just stand here and look at this. But, for the most part, that place of natural beauty is our set. (Laughs) we’re there to make this show. It mainly has to do with running around, shooting and falling through holes.
SheKnows: (Laughs) Yes, this season, Ben has been beaten up a little bit. Ben’s not having the best of times.
Michael Emerson: But Ben’s is a pro taker of beatings (laughs). I think it’s more than just accidental. I’m of the opinion that receiving beatings is part of Ben’s uber-strategy.
SheKnows: Nobody handles it like you on Lost.
Michael Emerson: (Laughs)
SheKnows: I wondered was it for you to join a show that had already become a cultural phenomenon. What was it like to join that cast?
Michael Emerson: Honestly, I didn’t think about it a lot differently than I do any of the other guest spots you do, it’s always kind of nervy arrival. You know you’re coming into a company that’s set. That has relationships. You are just a temporary player. You keep your head down and try to do your work and not try to move in with all your furniture. It was good in a way that I had no idea that I would be with them for a long, long time.
SheKnows: That’s my next question, when you tackled the character of Henry Gale, did you honestly have any idea that you be Ben Linus, leader of The Others and an integral part to the entire Lost mythology?
Michael Emerson: No, that only began to make itself apparent over the course of a lot of episodes. I can’t even remember the exact moment. There was an interesting moment where a director came to me and said ‘when you speak of the head of The Others, be very afraid of him.’ I said, ‘well, I can give you that. But, what if it’s me?’ The director blinked his eyes a couple of times and said, ‘I can’t talk about that.’ Then I thought, oh, come on! I see what’s going on (laughs).
SheKnows: Which is pretty cool…
Michael Emerson: (Laughs) Yes it is!
SheKnows: There are so many characters with fascinating dynamics on Lost. It is one of the things that makes Lost so fantastic. But, one aspect that does it above all other is the chemistry your character has with John Locke.
Michael Emerson: Yeah…
SheKnows: As an actor, I would think, that would be a very nice volley with Terry O’Quinn.
Michael Emerson: Yeah (pauses), that’s my favorite set of scenes. I’m happy that they are so central to the main line of the story. They’re great fun. They always have a crackle to them. They’re always exceptional. It’s one of the things…a theater like me worries that when you come to television that maybe the material won’t be that good – or it won’t be that electrifying. But, I don’t have that worry at all because if I never did anything but the scenes with John Locke, this would be one of the greatest dramatic undertakings I’ve ever been a part of in my life. We get along famously. We’re two actors that work very much the same way.
SheKnows: You could feel it from the get-go when the two of you were in The Hatch, so to speak (laughs).
Michael Emerson: (Laughs)
SheKnows: Lastly, I wanted to ask about your theater experience and if we’ll get to see you anytime soon on a stage?
Michael Emerson: I hope so, I’ve been off the stage too long now. Acting for the stage is like a muscle and you have to keep it in shape or it gets a little flabby. I’ll be looking for some kind of theater work as soon as Lost is over. To make sure I still know how to do it and to challenge myself to learn a lot of lines.
SheKnows: Michael, thank you and I look forward to that day -- all the best for the future.
Michael Emerson: Thanks so much. It was good talking to you.
Michael Emerson is Ben
Emerson was first hired to portray a mysterious man found in the jungle named Henry Gale. Within eight episodes of Lost, it was proven Henry Gale was in fact Ben Linus – the head of the mysterious Others that were terrorizing the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815.
As a stage actor, Emerson possesses the perfect acting chops to make his Ben feel at the same time slimy and scarily sadistic.
The actor spent a career perfecting the guest spots on major network hits. Emerson won an Emmy in 2001 for his work on The Practice. In Emerson, JJ Abrams and his Lost creative team found their perfect acting foil for Terry O’Quinn’s Zen-like crash survivor, John Locke. Emmy voters must agree: he has been nominated twice for his performance of Ben. The evolution of Emerson’s Ben Linus is a character study for the ages.
SheKnows: First, as you approach a season finale as Lost has Wednesday night, are you wistful about the season that recently ended or do you look forward to the time off?
Michael Emerson: It’s a little of both. I really like the work I do on the show. Because that work takes place so far from home in extreme and remote circumstances, I’m glad that I have a large chunk each year to regain my life. To see friends and loved ones and to be in New York City and go to the theater --live the life I used to know.
SheKnows: People think you’re in Hawaii filming Lost. It’s a glamorous tropical paradise. But, it’s got to be grueling work.
Michael Emerson: Yeah, you don’t even think about the sort of paradise dimension of the island. Occasionally you have moments to reflect on that. We are sometimes in locations that are so unbelievably beautiful that you think ‘let’s just put down the cameras and just stand here and look at this. But, for the most part, that place of natural beauty is our set. (Laughs) we’re there to make this show. It mainly has to do with running around, shooting and falling through holes.
SheKnows: (Laughs) Yes, this season, Ben has been beaten up a little bit. Ben’s not having the best of times.
Michael Emerson: But Ben’s is a pro taker of beatings (laughs). I think it’s more than just accidental. I’m of the opinion that receiving beatings is part of Ben’s uber-strategy.
SheKnows: Nobody handles it like you on Lost.
Michael Emerson: (Laughs)
SheKnows: I wondered was it for you to join a show that had already become a cultural phenomenon. What was it like to join that cast?
Michael Emerson: Honestly, I didn’t think about it a lot differently than I do any of the other guest spots you do, it’s always kind of nervy arrival. You know you’re coming into a company that’s set. That has relationships. You are just a temporary player. You keep your head down and try to do your work and not try to move in with all your furniture. It was good in a way that I had no idea that I would be with them for a long, long time.
SheKnows: That’s my next question, when you tackled the character of Henry Gale, did you honestly have any idea that you be Ben Linus, leader of The Others and an integral part to the entire Lost mythology?
Michael Emerson: No, that only began to make itself apparent over the course of a lot of episodes. I can’t even remember the exact moment. There was an interesting moment where a director came to me and said ‘when you speak of the head of The Others, be very afraid of him.’ I said, ‘well, I can give you that. But, what if it’s me?’ The director blinked his eyes a couple of times and said, ‘I can’t talk about that.’ Then I thought, oh, come on! I see what’s going on (laughs).
SheKnows: Which is pretty cool…
Michael Emerson: (Laughs) Yes it is!
SheKnows: There are so many characters with fascinating dynamics on Lost. It is one of the things that makes Lost so fantastic. But, one aspect that does it above all other is the chemistry your character has with John Locke.
Michael Emerson: Yeah…
SheKnows: As an actor, I would think, that would be a very nice volley with Terry O’Quinn.
Michael Emerson: Yeah (pauses), that’s my favorite set of scenes. I’m happy that they are so central to the main line of the story. They’re great fun. They always have a crackle to them. They’re always exceptional. It’s one of the things…a theater like me worries that when you come to television that maybe the material won’t be that good – or it won’t be that electrifying. But, I don’t have that worry at all because if I never did anything but the scenes with John Locke, this would be one of the greatest dramatic undertakings I’ve ever been a part of in my life. We get along famously. We’re two actors that work very much the same way.
SheKnows: You could feel it from the get-go when the two of you were in The Hatch, so to speak (laughs).
Michael Emerson: (Laughs)
SheKnows: Lastly, I wanted to ask about your theater experience and if we’ll get to see you anytime soon on a stage?
Michael Emerson: I hope so, I’ve been off the stage too long now. Acting for the stage is like a muscle and you have to keep it in shape or it gets a little flabby. I’ll be looking for some kind of theater work as soon as Lost is over. To make sure I still know how to do it and to challenge myself to learn a lot of lines.
SheKnows: Michael, thank you and I look forward to that day -- all the best for the future.
Michael Emerson: Thanks so much. It was good talking to you.
And here's this one from www.nj.com/celebrity-news/index.ssf/2009/05/michael_emerson_lost_ending_al.html
When it comes to mysterious characters, no one holds a candle to Michael Emerson's devious Ben Linus on ABC's Lost.
While Wednesday's season finale hints at the undoing of the fateful Oceanic Airlines crash and everything that followed, Emerson spills a few details that might surprise fans, including information on the elusive Jacob.
Going mano-a-mano with Benjamin Linus
"I like Ben the way he's been imagined all along, and I don't think his character is going to alter much. But I do expect that new challenges will be thrown at him in Season 6. I have a feeling that we're going to have a shake-up up in the landscape of the show and the set of problems that the characters are faced with. New alliances and new missions are going to evolve."
Those eyes, that voice...
"With every character I play, I have to think about how they live in their bodies and how they speak. I thought Ben needed a quality and it's a quality that's non-committal, a little bit flat, clinical and cool. He is in a cool palette where other characters are much warmer. That's definitely what sets him apart."
Enough is enough. Who is Jacob?
"When you talk about someone like Jacob, the much awaited secret power behind the curtain, I'm not sure you even need a Jacob so much as you feel his presence. There's going to be a number of characters who's presence will be felt in the finale, who have by virtue of their power the ability to change the course of events."
Making friends with the enemy
"Even though I'm at odds with most of the characters on-screen, I have a really good relationship with my castmates. Because I spend most of my screen time with Terry O'Quinn, he and I hang out quite a lot and we get along famously. He and I are of a similar age and we have similar philosophies about the craft of acting and we approach the work the same. We both have similar senses of humor and a similar sense of both the seriousness and the fun of what we do, so I'm always happy spending time with him.
Ben and Juliet's unrequited love saga
"Elizabeth Mitchell and I are Lost classmates. We were the ones who were freshman when everyone else was a sophomore. I will be forever linked to her that way. I like the way she works. She's a theater actress, and we always have a good time and a lot of crackle in our scenes."
Lost's ultimate ending, May 2010
"I feel a great sense of anticipation, but just like everyone else, I'm just so curious to see what it's going to be. How are they going to do it, and how can they do it in 17 hours? They know how the series ends. They have an outline in their minds, but the exact sequence of events, the trail of dialogue that leads us there, the details of it and who does what to whom, will be worked out during the course of the season. But yes, they know how it ends.
While Wednesday's season finale hints at the undoing of the fateful Oceanic Airlines crash and everything that followed, Emerson spills a few details that might surprise fans, including information on the elusive Jacob.
Going mano-a-mano with Benjamin Linus
"I like Ben the way he's been imagined all along, and I don't think his character is going to alter much. But I do expect that new challenges will be thrown at him in Season 6. I have a feeling that we're going to have a shake-up up in the landscape of the show and the set of problems that the characters are faced with. New alliances and new missions are going to evolve."
Those eyes, that voice...
"With every character I play, I have to think about how they live in their bodies and how they speak. I thought Ben needed a quality and it's a quality that's non-committal, a little bit flat, clinical and cool. He is in a cool palette where other characters are much warmer. That's definitely what sets him apart."
Enough is enough. Who is Jacob?
"When you talk about someone like Jacob, the much awaited secret power behind the curtain, I'm not sure you even need a Jacob so much as you feel his presence. There's going to be a number of characters who's presence will be felt in the finale, who have by virtue of their power the ability to change the course of events."
Making friends with the enemy
"Even though I'm at odds with most of the characters on-screen, I have a really good relationship with my castmates. Because I spend most of my screen time with Terry O'Quinn, he and I hang out quite a lot and we get along famously. He and I are of a similar age and we have similar philosophies about the craft of acting and we approach the work the same. We both have similar senses of humor and a similar sense of both the seriousness and the fun of what we do, so I'm always happy spending time with him.
Ben and Juliet's unrequited love saga
"Elizabeth Mitchell and I are Lost classmates. We were the ones who were freshman when everyone else was a sophomore. I will be forever linked to her that way. I like the way she works. She's a theater actress, and we always have a good time and a lot of crackle in our scenes."
Lost's ultimate ending, May 2010
"I feel a great sense of anticipation, but just like everyone else, I'm just so curious to see what it's going to be. How are they going to do it, and how can they do it in 17 hours? They know how the series ends. They have an outline in their minds, but the exact sequence of events, the trail of dialogue that leads us there, the details of it and who does what to whom, will be worked out during the course of the season. But yes, they know how it ends.