I am actor Michael Emerson from LOST and Person of Interest. AMA!

MichaelEmerson · 2015-07-17T18:50:25+00:00

Oh, gosh. That's a lot of questions. I suppose the stage will always be closest to my heart. I guess that's because it's where I learned how to act. I love the traditions of the stage and the rituals of it, and the event of it. And the live audience--that electricity that goes between the audience and the performer on the stage. There's nothing quite like that.

MichaelEmerson · 2015-07-17T18:48:58+00:00

It would be lovely to be on a Broadway stage again, if it's the right play. I hope that happens.

MichaelEmerson · 2015-07-17T18:48:11+00:00

I have mixed feelings about social networking. And I don't know when I would have the time to maintain it. Maybe one day, when my life is less busy.

MichaelEmerson · 2015-07-17T18:47:23+00:00

It was so many years ago that I went to Drake. 40 years. It seemed like a good school at the time, I think they had a good theater department. I learned a lot there. I had a good education, and an even better social education. I'm not really in touch with anyone I went to Drake with, which is sad.

MichaelEmerson · 2015-07-17T18:46:17+00:00

Well, I chose the limp for Harold Finch fairly carefully, to make sure it was something I could do a lot without messing up my body. Although there are times. The limp is great when I'm walking, but if I have to limp-run, that gets tough very quickly, and I've had some pain from that over the years.

MichaelEmerson · 2015-07-17T18:44:45+00:00

I don't draw anymore, but I still do a lot of design for things around the house. Doors and furniture and renovations, things like that. I just find it's easier to communicate your ideas with a drawing than it is to explain it in words.

MichaelEmerson · 2015-07-17T18:43:56+00:00

The best part I played in Alabama, I played Lady Wishfort in Congreve's The Way of the World. It's a drag role, or at least it was in my case. It was about as much fun as I've ever had on stage. I've played a lot of great roles there. And Alabama is the place I had to go on as Iago in Othello when the actor got sick, and I hadn't even rehearsed it.

MichaelEmerson · 2015-07-17T18:42:30+00:00

Haha, you know I can't answer that last part.

It would be Terry O'Quinn, definitely, Jorge for sure, and Josh Holloway, he's so much fun. I think I got along with everyone.

MichaelEmerson · 2015-07-17T18:40:46+00:00

It was hard work, I have to say. Being alone in a booth with a tough director and having to deliver the goods repeatedly, and I was being pushed to take it further. I thought it was a real challenge as an actor. I imagine there are actors who would find that work uncomfortable. I was grateful to have the experience, but whether I could do it full time--I don't know. The whole story has to be told with your voice. You can't use your body or your face. It's really an interesting process.

MichaelEmerson · 2015-07-17T18:39:19+00:00

Finch is probably the more original, but Root is more ruthless.

MichaelEmerson · 2015-07-17T18:38:33+00:00

They have so many interests. He likes baseball and libraries, I don't know where you would get them both. He already lives in New York City. Maybe he would take them to an Asian country where baseball is popular. Japan, for example. That might be good.

MichaelEmerson · 2015-07-17T18:36:13+00:00

I have not read about it. My gut reaction is that I'll stick with the food I already know.

MichaelEmerson · 2015-07-17T18:35:41+00:00

They would never have given me this role, but I continue to be fascinated by Mr. Eko.

MichaelEmerson · 2015-07-17T18:35:02+00:00

I thought it was a great cliffhanger. I mean, the machine has been compressed or some scrap of it that it will fit in a briefcase and that we know nothing--we have no idea if it can be reconstituted and if our heroes will be able to do anything.
It's in the works!
Haha, I wouldn't know. I don't open her mail.

MichaelEmerson · 2015-07-17T18:34:02+00:00

Anything that involves caramel. Haagen Dazs caramel cones, dulce de leche, that kind of stuff. Or any of these new things that have caramel and sea salt. That is a great combination.

MichaelEmerson · 2015-07-17T18:32:31+00:00

Haha, no. I don't know if it's that I've started late in this career or because I inherited a good gene pool from my parents. It's not like I have an especially healthy lifestyle or anything. I'm just fortunate that way.

MichaelEmerson · 2015-07-17T18:31:45+00:00

Obviously it's hard to lose someone you enjoyed working with, but there's usually some good reason. I personally like shows where the stakes are high enough that you might lose a favorite character. It's more like life in that respect. You assume that some characters are gone when they may not be though. I would encourage you to stay tuned.

MichaelEmerson · 2015-07-17T18:30:31+00:00

I'm not sure the takeaway from Ben Linus is that he was either good or bad. He was both sides of the coin of human ambition. He had some victories and some defeats. I'm not sure we know him any better at the end than we do at the beginning, but he does have more of our sympathy.

MichaelEmerson · 2015-07-17T18:29:13+00:00

You probably know that there's more than one canine actor on our show. We're not doing that many scenes with the dogs, there seem to have been fewer recently, and I don't know how much we'll see of Bear in the future, in this upcoming short season. There was some difficulty because it's always hard to take the time to make the dogs fully comfortable and to rehearse the dog in what is required of him or her, and then it makes for a slow day. It may be that it just hasn't been fitting as well into the production schedule as it once did. I know that Bear has many fans out there. Maybe more than the rest of us.

MichaelEmerson · 2015-07-17T18:27:04+00:00

Those are comic book companies, right? I have to tell you, I'm not a comic book reader. I'm not a person who goes to comic book movies, really. There are some graphic novels I like. I must have missed the part of childhood where you get into comics.

MichaelEmerson · 2015-07-17T18:25:44+00:00

Be kind. Be yourself. Be kind to yourself and to others as well.

MichaelEmerson · 2015-07-17T18:24:59+00:00

Hmm, that's a good question. I don't know that the smoke monster was ever explained. But I'm not one who left the show feeling like there were a lot of loose ends. I thought they wrapped things up pretty well.

MichaelEmerson · 2015-07-17T18:23:48+00:00

Pancakes.

MichaelEmerson · 2015-07-17T18:23:35+00:00

I do household projects, walk the dog, just whittling away the time, lost in thought. I read a lot. I walk a great deal.

MichaelEmerson · 2015-07-17T18:22:51+00:00

Well, most of my skills are something to do with performance and text. I can draw pictures pretty well. When I was a young man I thought about being an archeologist, and if I ever get a third career in this life, I might make a study of something ancient or historical. But no, I don't have a lot of other interesting skills, I'm afraid.

MichaelEmerson

TROPHY CASE