Michael Emerson has established himself as a notorious villain with his role on Lost as Ben Linus, the de facto leader of the Others. Though many fans consider him as one of the most frightening antagonists on TV at present, he is open to the fact that his character may turn out to have some sort of redeeming quality, just like what happened to Juliet (Elizabeth Mitchell).
“Ben isn’t a villain, he’s just unknown. He’s been manipulative and occasionally violent, but we still don’t know what he’s up against,” he told TV Guide.
Emerson, 53, is most noted for his roles as Zep Hindle in the 2004 film Saw and as William Hinks on The Practice, where he also won an Emmy Award for “Outstanding Guest Actor.” Though he portrayed various roles in numerous theater productions, movies and television shows, being cast as a “the enemy” is something that remains to be a puzzle for him.
“I have played many villains, but only on TV. It’s a mystery to me because I don’t look like a villain. I don’t sound like one. But somewhere down the line someone decided that my mild-mannered exterior was the right delivery system for a wicked interior,” he explained.
As Lost enters the fourth season in February, many fans are eager to find out what’s in store for the adventure-thriller drama series that follows the lives of plane crash survivors on a mysterious tropical island. In addition to the flashback and flashforward elements that have already been disclosed to the public, Emerson hints about next season’s casting and about a very violent premiere.
“You will meet a bunch of new characters in Season 4, and you’re not going to know what to make of them. And in Lost, the characters who die aren’t gone forever. I can tell you that the fourth season is haunted by the characters of the past,” Emerson revealed.
“It’s violent. The first episodes have a lot of blood, sweat, tears, running in the jungle and beatings. Everything is in flux because no one has a community anymore. The castaways have abandoned their camp, the Others have been decimated and left their community. And now there’s this tremendous threat from outside,” the Lost actor added.
-Kris De Leon, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source: TV Guide
(Image courtesy of ABC)
Staff Writer, BuddyTV
