Michael Emerson (born September 7, 1954) is an American actor of the stage and screen. He won an "Outstanding Guest Actor" Emmy in 2001 for a part on The Practice and played Zep Hindle in the 2004 film Saw, but he is best known for his role as Benjamin Linus in the television series Lost.
Emerson was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and grew up in the nearby town of Toledo, Iowa. After graduating in 1976 from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, where he studied theater and art, he moved to New York City. Unable to find acting work, he took retail jobs and worked as a freelance illustrator. In 1986, he moved with his first wife to Jacksonville, Florida. There, from 1986 to 1993, he appeared in local productions and worked as a teacher and director.
Emerson considered forgoing a career in acting in favor of a more stable vocation in teaching. He decided to instead further his studies with a Master of Fine Arts that might also introduce him to theatre professionals and directors in his chosen trade. In 1993 he enrolled in the Alabama Shakespeare Festival's University of Alabama-sponsored Master of Fine Arts/Professional Actor Training program, and upon graduating in 1995, he returned to New York where he appeared in the annual Alabama Shakespeare Festival showcase.
Emerson got his big break in 1997 when he starred as Oscar Wilde in Moises Kaufman's critically-acclaimed off-Broadway play, Gross Indecency: The Trials of Oscar Wilde, and then followed up with several other notable stage performances. In 1998 he performed opposite Uma Thurman in the off-Broadway production of The Misanthrope. In 1999, he played the part of Willie Oban in The Iceman Cometh with Kevin Spacey. He co-starred with Kate Burton in both Give Me Your Answer, Do! and Hedda Gabler.
In film and television, Emerson made a name for himself by playing dangerous and damaged characters. In 2001 he won an Emmy Award as "Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series", for playing the (fictional) confessed serial killer William Hinks in several episodes of The Practice.
One of Emerson's most well-known works was in 2004 as the character Zep Hindle in the horror movie Saw. In that year he also played the loyal somewhat Alfred Pennyworth-like butler to a Rock Hudson-like heartthrob, Guy Stone, in the comedy film Straight-Jacket.
In 2006 Emerson began a guest starring role playing Benjamin Linus (formerly called "Henry Gale" on the show) on the serial drama television series Lost. This casting was a result of his work on The Practice because the Lost producers liked his work there and thought he was a good fit for the character they were developing in their own show--Benjamin Linus. Emerson was originally set to appear in a small number of episodes, and then returned for the third season as a main cast member. He received an Emmy nomination in the Outstanding Supporting Actor category in 2007 for his work on the series' third season. In 2008, he was once again nominated in the Outstanding Supporting Actor category at the Emmys for his work on Lost.
Emerson met his wife, actress Carrie Preston, while he was performing in a stage production of Hamlet in Alabama. They married in September 1998, and both Emerson and his wife starred in the 2004 film, Straight-Jacket. On Lost, Preston portrayed Emily Linus, Emerson's character's mother, in the flashback sequences of the episode "The Man Behind the Curtain". The two teamed up again, with Michael playing Carrie's gay next-door neighbor, in the 2008 film Ready? OK!.
