Michael Emerson

Emerson was born in Cedar Rapids,{{cite web| url= http://www.statedmag.com/articles/interview-actor-michael-emerson-of-lost-and-person-of-intere.html# | title= Interview with Actor Michael Emerson | interviewer= Jimmy Aquino| first= Emerson| last= Michael | date= 2012| work= Stated| access-date= April 24, 2017}} Iowa, to Carol (née Hansen) and Ronald H. Emerson.{{cite news |url=http://tamatoledonews.com/page/content.detail/id/503228/Michael-Emerson-at-the-Wieting.html?nav=5006 |title=Michael Emerson at the Wieting |work=The Toledo Chronicle / The Tama News-Herald|location=Iowa|date= July 7, 2010|first=John|last= Speer|access-date= December 1, 2014|archive-date=March 4, 2016|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160304063148/http://tamatoledonews.com/page/content.detail/id/503228/Michael-Emerson-at-the-Wieting.html?nav=5006 |url-status=live}} He grew up in Toledo, Iowa, where he was a member of his high school marching band.

He graduated in 1976 from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, where he majored in theater{{cite web |url=http://www.choose.drake.edu/admissions/academic/programs/artsci/theatre.asp |title=Theatre |publisher=Drake University |location=Des Moines, Iowa|access-date=April 24, 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080506133005/http://www.choose.drake.edu/admissions/academic/programs/artsci/theatre.asp |archive-date=May 6, 2008 }} and minored in art.{{cite web|url=http://beta.abc.go.com/shows/lost/bio/ben-linus/39803 |title=Ben Linus: Played by Michael Emerson |publisher=ABC |access-date=December 1, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110805135456/http://abc.go.com/shows/lost/bio/ben-linus/39803 |archive-date=August 5, 2011 }} He studied for a semester at the National Theater Institute at The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center,{{citation needed|date= April 2017}} then moved to New York City. Unable to find acting work, he took retail jobs and worked as an illustrator.{{cite interview| first= Michael| last= Emerson| title= [Untitled]| work= The Morning Show with Mike & Juliet| date= March 8, 2007}}

In 1986, he moved to Jacksonville, Florida, where until 1993 he appeared in local productions at Theater Jacksonville and The Players by the Sea and worked as a director and teacher at Flagler College.{{Cite web|title=Emmy winner has local ties |url=https://www.staugustine.com/article/20090925/NEWS/309259938|access-date=2021-01-18|website=The St. Augustine Record|language=en}}

After several years of work including illustration and teaching, Emerson earned a Master of Fine Arts degree at the University of Alabama in the Alabama Shakespeare Festival acting program.{{cite web| url= http://news.drake.edu/2009/10/05/alumnus-michael-emerson-wins-emmy-award-for-work-in-lost/ |title= Alumnus Michael Emerson wins Emmy Award for work in 'Lost'| publisher= Drake University|location=Des Moines, Iowa|date= October 5, 2009}}

Emerson landed a starring role in 1997 as Oscar Wilde in Moises Kaufman's critically acclaimed off-Broadway play Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde, and then followed up with several other notable stage performances. In 1998, he performed opposite Uma Thurman in an off-Broadway production of Le Misanthrope. In 1999, he played Willie Oban in The Iceman Cometh. He co-starred with Kate Burton in both Give Me Your Answer, Do! and Hedda Gabler.{{Cite web|last=Isherwood|first=Charles|date=2001-10-05|title=Hedda Gabler|url=https://variety.com/2001/legit/reviews/hedda-gabler-15-1200553509/|access-date=2021-01-18|website=Variety|language=en-US}}

File:Loz emerson poi close.png

In September 2001, Emerson won an Emmy Award as Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for playing serial killer William Hinks in several episodes of The Practice. In 2006, Emerson began a guest-star role as Benjamin Linus on the serial drama television series Lost.Audio commentary for "The Man Behind the Curtain", Season 3 DVD set of Lost. Emerson was originally set to appear in a small number of episodes, then returned for Season 3 as a main cast member and eventually became a main antagonist of the program. He received an Emmy Award nomination in the Outstanding Supporting Actor category in 2007 and 2008 for his work in the third and fourth seasons. He won the award in 2009 after being nominated for his role in the fifth season.{{cite web| url= http://www.emmys.com/nominations/2009/Outstanding%20Supporting%20Actor%20In%20A%20Drama%20Series|title=Primetime Emmy Nominations for 2009| publisher= Academy of Television Arts & Sciences|access-date=April 10, 2012}}

Emerson was nominated in 2009 for a Golden Globe Award in the Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role category. He was nominated for an Emmy for each season in which he was listed in the main cast.{{cite web|url=http://www.emmys.com/award_history_search?person=Michael+Emerson&program=&start_year=2004&end_year=2010&network=All&web_category=All&winner=All|title=Primetime Emmy Award Database|publisher=Academy of Television Arts and Sciences|access-date=April 10, 2012}}

On July 31, 2010, Emerson and Preston read A.R. Gurney's Love Letters, which was a 1990 finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, at the Charleston Stage as a fundraiser for the theater.{{cite web|last=Jackson|first=Erica|url=http://www.charlestoncitypaper.com/charleston/lost-blood/Content?oid=2194281|title=Prime-time stars chip in for Charleston Stage fundraiser|work=Charleston City Paper|date=2010-08-03|access-date=2012-05-21|archive-date=2015-09-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923202722/http://www.charlestoncitypaper.com/charleston/lost-blood/Content?oid=2194281|url-status=dead}}

Emerson was set to reunite with former Lost cast member and friend Terry O'Quinn in a comedy-drama, tentatively titled Odd Jobs, by J. J. Abrams. It was expected to start filming by the end of 2010, but further development has been postponed. Emerson joined the cast of another Abrams series, Person of Interest, that debuted in September 2011 on CBS. He played a billionaire who teams up with a supposedly dead CIA agent to fight crime in New York City.{{cite news|url=http://www.tvline.com/2011/02/michael-emerson-jj-abrams-person-of-interest|title=Lost's Michael Emerson Reunites With J.J. Abrams In CBS Pilot Person Of Interest |access-date= 2011-02-17|last= Andreeva| first= Nellie|date=2010-02-16| work= TVLine.com}}

Emerson married actress Carrie Preston in 1998 in her hometown of Macon, Georgia.{{cite news|url=https://people.com/archive/michael-emerson-carrie-preston-lost-in-love-vol-73-no-10/|title=Michael Emerson & Carrie Preston Lost in Love|first=Lisa|last=Ingrassia|date=March 15, 2010|access-date= May 7, 2019|work=People|volume=73|issue=10}} They met while he was performing in a stage production of Hamlet in Alabama. It is his second marriage. The two later starred together in Straight-Jacket (2004). Preston portrayed Emily Linus (the mother of Emerson's character) on Lost in the flashback sequences of the episode "The Man Behind the Curtain". The two teamed up again, with Emerson portraying Preston's next-door neighbor, in the film Ready? OK! (2008).{{cite web|url=http://io9.com/5173092/ben-linus-wants-a-true-blood-cameo|title=Ben Linus Wants A True Blood Cameo | publisher= io9.com| date= 2009-03-18|access-date=2012-05-21}} Preston also appeared in several episodes of Person of Interest as Grace Hendricks, the former fiancée of Emerson's character. In 2024, Emerson appeared alongside Preston in Elsbeth where Preston stars in the title role.{{Cite web |last=Franken |first=Claire |date=2024-10-20 |title=Elsbeth Taps Michael Emerson for Recurring Role Opposite Real-Life Wife Carrie Preston |url=https://tvline.com/casting-news/elsbeth-cast-michael-emerson-judge-milton-crawford-1235352150/ |access-date=2024-10-20 |website=TVLine |language=en-US}}

Emerson supports charities connected to the theater community, including the Actors Fund, Broadway Cares, and Off-Off Broadway, in addition to publicly supported radio stations and Habitat for Humanity.

• Othello, University of North Florida
• Noises Off (as Garry), Theatre Jacksonville,{{cite news|url=http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/051699/dss_0516Emer.html|title=If he can make it there...|access-date=2008-03-24|author=Charlie Patton|date=1999-05-16|newspaper=The Florida Times-Union|archive-date=2015-07-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150701230227/http://jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/051699/dss_0516Emer.html|url-status=dead}} 1986 or 1987{{cite web|url=http://www.theatrejax.com/index.html?var1=http://www.theatrejax.com/aboutus61.html|title=Theatre Jacksonville, season 67|access-date=2008-03-25|publisher=Theatre Jacksonville}}
• Hamlet (as Hamlet), University of North Florida Theatre, Jacksonville, Florida, 1987
• Hamlet (as Hamlet), Players-By-The-Sea Theatre, Jacksonville Beach, Florida{{cite web|url=http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/061299/nes_b2letter.html|title=Letters to the Editor, "Cheers for Michael"|access-date=2008-03-30|date=1999-06-12|publisher=First Coast Community|archive-date=2011-08-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110812122742/http://jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/061299/nes_b2letter.html|url-status=dead}}
• The Importance of Being Earnest, Arkansas Repertory Theatre, 1990
• Parts Unknown, Players-By-The-Sea Theatre, Jacksonville Beach, Florida, 1993
• The Tempest (as Ferdinand), Alabama Shakespeare Festival, 1994 or 1995{{cite news|url=http://www.dailyhome.com/entertainment/2008/as-tv-0131-0-8a30u4145.htm|title=Emerson's career took him through Montgomery|access-date=2008-03-15|date=2008-01-31|newspaper=The Anniston Star}}
• The Way of the World (as Lady Wishfort), Alabama Shakespeare Festival, 1994 or 1995
• Hamlet (as Rosencrantz), Alabama Shakespeare Festival, 1994 or 1995
• All's Well That Ends Well, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, 1994 or 1995
• Henry IV, Part 1, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, 1994 or 1995
• A Christmas Carol, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, 1994 or 1995
• The Crucible, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, 1994 or 1995
• Androcles and the Lion, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, 1995 or 1996
• Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde (as Oscar Wilde), Minetta Lane Theatre, off-Broadway, 1997–1998
• The Iceman Cometh (as Willie Oban), Brooks Atkinson Theatre, 1999
• Give Me Your Answer, Do! (as David Knight), Gramercy Theatre, off-Broadway, 1999–2000
• Hedda Gabler (as George Tesman), Williamstown Theatre Festival, Main Stage, 2000
• Hedda Gabler (as George Tesman), Ambassador Theatre, Broadway, 2001–2002
• Tartuffe (as Cleante), American Airlines Theatre, Broadway, 2003
• Measure for Measure (as Duke Vincentio), California Shakespeare Theater, Orinda, California, 2003
• Someone Who'll Watch Over Me, The Ridgefield Playhouse for Movies and the Performing Arts, 2004
• Hamlet (as Ghost, Claudius, Osric, and Guildenstern), McCarter Theatre Center, Princeton, New Jersey, 2005
• Bach at Leipzig (as Schott), New York Theatre Workshop, 2005
• Likeness, Primary Stages Theater (307 W. 38th Street), 2008
• Every Good Boy Deserves Favour (as Alexander), Chautauqua Theater Company, 2008
• Love Letters (as Andrew Makepeace Ladd, III), Charleston Stage, 2010
• Wakey, Wakey (play by Will Eno) Signature Theatre (as Guy), 2017

{{BLP unreferenced section|date=August 2024}}

• In 2000, played the unnamed narrator character in the radio play adaptation of the Neil Gaiman short story, Murder Mysteries.
• In 2003, participated in a staged reading of a play involving string theory written by Jacquelyn Reingold called String Fever at Rockefeller University.
• In 2003, was the voice of George Washington in Favorite Son, an experimental documentary film about the relationship between George Washington and Alexander Hamilton.
• In 2005, narrated audio book CD of Robert Penn Warren's novel All the King's Men.
• In 2006, narrated audio book CD of The Amalgamation Polka by Stephen Wright, published.
• In 2007, with other Lost cast members, he participated in a play-reading session at the Tenney Theatre in Hawaii to raise money for the Honolulu Theatre for Youth.
• In 2009, narrated a reading of "Babar the Elephant" with the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra.
• Co-narrated with Peter J. Fernandez, the audio book version of James Patterson's novel, Four Blind Mice.
• Co-narrated with John Rubinstein the audio book of the novel Private Sector by Brian Haig.
• In 2010, narrated the Lemony Snicket audiobook 13 Words by Maria Kalman.

{{Reflist|30em}}

{{Commons category|Michael Emerson}}

• {{IMDb name|256237}}
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• {{iobdb name|2585}}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20111001195128/http://www.michaelemerson.net/ Meet Michael Emerson]; an unofficial fansite; accessed December 2, 2014.
• Errico, Mike (October 2006). [https://web.archive.org/web/20061019112732/http://www.blender.com/guide/articles.aspx?ID=2091 "Michael Emerson: 'I've always liked playing ambiguity.'"]. Blender.
• Chattman, Jon (May 3, 2010). [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jon-chattman/michael-emerson-reflects_b_484415.html "Michael Emerson Reflects on Lost , Looks Ahead to the Finale"]. HuffPost.

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Category:1954 births

Category:20th-century American male actors

Category:21st-century American male actors

Category:American male film actors

Category:American male stage actors

Category:American male Shakespearean actors

Category:American male television actors

Category:Audiobook narrators

Category:Drake University alumni

Category:Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Drama Series Primetime Emmy Award winners

Category:Living people

Category:Male actors from Iowa

Category:Actors from Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Category:People from Toledo, Iowa