Michael Emerson as Benjamin Linus
Benjamin “Ben” Linus is portrayed by Michael Emerson on the series Lost. Having told the survivors of the Oceanic 815 plane crash that he has lived on the island his whole life, Ben has been perceived as the leader of the Others, a small yet modern community that was established on the side opposite the location of the plane crash. Despite Ben’s authoritative stance in the community, Juliet, another member of the Others, has continued to assert otherwise. Ben used to be part of the Others’ book club and has been known to veer away from works of author Stephen King.
Before Oceanic 815 plummeted to the ground, Ben found out about his spinal tumor. Upon the crash, he told Goodwin and Ethan to check out the remains of the plane, and when they reported that one of the survivors, Dr. Jack Shephard, is a spinal surgeon, Ben saw a large window of opportunity. After closely watching Jack move about in the island, Ben informed Juliet of his plan to force Jack into operating on his tumor by finding out about Jack’s emotional state.
The survivors of the plane crash eventually caught Ben, but instead of telling them the truth about his identity, he gave them the pseudonym, “Henry Gale.” Sayid tortured Ben in the hopes of getting him to talk and answer some questions, but Ben stuck with his lie and kept telling the survivors that he was also a castaway on the island. He then fabricated a story about having a wife who died shortly after their hot air balloon crashed in the island.
Following through with his initial plan, Ben turned the survivors against one another, starting with Jack and John, who were already dealing with an existing conflict. Gradually, Ben was able to break down the group and in the end, successfully escaped. He reunited with the Others, and was able to persuade Jack to operate on his spinal tumor.
(Photo courtesy of ABC)