Michael Emerson

Michael Emerson
Born	September 7, 1954 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, USA
Notable Roles	Benjamin Linus in Lost William Hinks in The Practice
Notable Episodes
Awards	2 Emmy Awards 2 IVy Awards

Michael Emerson is an American actor. He played the role of Benjamin Linus on ABC's Lost.

Biography

Michael Emerson was born in 1954 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and grew up in nearby Toledo. He attended Drake University in Iowa, graduating in 1976 with a degree in Theatre Arts and moved to New York City, New York. Unable to find work as an actor, Emerson took retail jobs and worked as a freelance illustrator for publications like The Boston Globe and The New York Times. In 1986, he moved to Jacksonville, Florida and acted in local productions through 1993. In 1993, Emerson enrolled in the Alabama Shakespeare Festival's University of Alabama-sponsored Master of Fine Arts/Professional Actor Training program. Graduating in 1995, he returned to New York and appeared in the annual Alabama Shakespeare Festival showcase. Divorced once, Emerson married actress Carrie Preston in September of 1998.

While acting in regional theater productions, Michael Emerson got his big break in 1997 when he starred as Oscar Wilde in the off-broadway play, Gross Indecency: The Trials of Oscar Wilde. The following year he acted in the off-Broadway production of The Misanthrope with Uma Thurman and in 1999's The Iceman Cometh with Kevin Spacey. In 2000 to 2001, Emerson moved into television, playing a confessed serial killer in several episodes of The Practice for which he won a 2001 Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series. A few years later he then appeared in the 2004 horror movie Saw as Zep Hindle.

Roles

Starring Roles

Series	Role	Year(s)	Season(s)
Lost	Benjamin Linus	2006–2010		2	3	4	5	6
Person of Interest	Harold Finch	2011–2016	1	2	3	4	5

Guest Starring Roles

Series	Role	Episode	Airdate
The District		1x01 - Pilot	October 7, 2000
The Practice	William Hinks	5x08 - Mr. Hinks Goes to Town	November 26, 2000
The Practice	William Hinks	5x09 - The Deal	December 10, 2000
The Practice	William Hinks	5x10 - Friends and Ex-Lovers	December 17, 2000
The Practice	William Hinks	5x11 - An Early Frost	January 7, 2001
The Practice (uncredited)	William Hinks	5x12 - Payback	January 14, 2001
The Practice (uncredited)	William Hinks	5x13 - The Thin Line	January 14, 2001
The Education of Max Bickford		1x02 - Herding Cats	September 30, 2001
Law & Order: Criminal Intent	Gerald "Gerry" Rankin	1x16 - Phantom	March 17, 2002
The X-Files	Oliver Martin	9x17 - Sunshine Days	May 12, 2002
Without a Trace	Stuart Wesmar	1x19 - Victory for Humanity	April 10, 2003
Skin	Scarpelli	1x02 - Secrets & Lies	October 27, 2003
Whoopi	F. Thomas Erickson	1x11 - The Fat and the Frivolous	December 9, 2003
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Allan Shaye	5x14 - Ritual	February 3, 2004
The Inside	Marty Manning	1x03 - Pre-Filer	June 22, 2005

Made-for-TV Movies

Title	Role	Airdate	Series/Banner
Orpheus Descending	Clown	September 24, 1990
Grace & Glorie	Arnold Dudley	December 13, 1998	Hallmark Hall of Fame (specials)

Awards and Accolades

IVy Awards

(3 Nominations, 2 Wins)

• Nominated: Best Guest Actor or Actress in a Drama Series (2005-06)

Lost: 2x14 - One of Them through 2x20 - Two for the Road and 2x23 - Live Together, Die Alone

• Won: Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (2006-07)

Lost

• Won: Readers' Choice Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (2006-07)

Lost

Primetime Emmy Awards

(2 Wins in 5 Nominations)

• Won: Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series (2001)

The Practice

• Won: Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (2009)

Lost