Take the BuddyTV Personality Quiz: What Lost Character Are You? Michael Emerson as
Benjamin Linus Born on September 7, 1954 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Michael Emerson was raised in Toledo, a town nearby Cedar Rapids. He obtained his degree in theater and art from Drake University, and following his graduation, relocated to New York City. He experienced some difficulty landing acting jobs, so he opted to work as a freelance instructor and retail store employee instead. He had more luck in Jacksonville, Florida, where he lived with his first wife.
Despite having gotten roles in several productions in Jacksonville, Emerson felt he was being called to embark on a different career path, which was teaching. However, he ended up pursuing his Master of Fine Arts and signed up for the Professional Actor Training Program of the University of Alabama. After he graduated from the program, he went back to New York and performed in the Alabama Shakespeare Festival showcase.
Emerson first started to gain significant exposure when he was given a starring role in the off-Broadway production of Gross Indecency: The Trials of Oscar Wilde. He then went on to appear in many more theater productions, and in 1998, shared the stage with actress Uma Thurman on the play The Misanthrope. A year later, Emerson appeared as Willie Oban in The Iceman Cometh, and then worked alongside Kate Burton on the plays Give Me Your Answer, Do! and Hedda Gabler.
Emerson has also achieved great success on the small screen, having received a 2001 Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for his work on the drama series, The Practice, and a Saturn Award Nomination for his ongoing portrayal of Ben Linus on the hit series, Lost.
He and his current wife, Carrie Preston, first met when he was starring in an Alabama-based production of Hamlet. The couple had a chance to work together on the 2004 comedy film, Straight-Jacket.
BuddyTV's exclusive interview with Michael Emerson