Michael Emerson facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Michael Emerson
Emerson at the 2013 San Diego Comic-Con
Born	(1954-09-07) September 7, 1954 (age 70) Cedar Rapids, Iowa, U.S.
Education	Drake University (BA) University of Alabama (MFA)
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1986–present
Spouse(s)	Carrie Preston ​ (m. 1998)​

Michael Emerson (born September 7, 1954) is an American actor. He is well-known for playing Benjamin Linus in the TV show Lost (from 2006 to 2010). He also played Harold Finch in the CBS series Person of Interest (from 2011 to 2016).

Michael Emerson has won two Primetime Emmy Awards. One was for playing William Hinks in The Practice (2000–2001). The second was for his role in Lost. He was also nominated for three other Emmy awards for Lost. Besides TV, he has acted a lot in plays. He played Oscar Wilde in Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde (1997–1998). He also appeared in the Broadway play The Iceman Cometh in 1999.

Early Life and Education

Michael Emerson was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. His parents are Carol and Ronald H. Emerson. He grew up in Toledo, Iowa. When he was in high school, he was part of the marching band.

In 1976, he graduated from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. He studied theater and also art there. He then moved to New York City but found it hard to get acting jobs. So, he worked in stores and as an illustrator.

In 1986, he moved to Jacksonville, Florida. For several years, until 1993, he acted in local plays. He also worked as a director and teacher at Flagler College. Later, he earned a special degree in acting from the University of Alabama.

Acting Career

Michael Emerson got a big role in 1997. He played Oscar Wilde in a play called Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde. This play was very popular. After that, he acted in several other important plays. In 1998, he acted with Uma Thurman in a play called Le Misanthrope. In 1999, he was in The Iceman Cometh. He also acted with Kate Burton in two plays: Give Me Your Answer, Do! and Hedda Gabler.

Michael Emerson filming Person of Interest in New York City

In September 2001, Michael Emerson won an Emmy Award. He won for playing William Hinks in the TV show The Practice. In 2006, Emerson started a guest role as Benjamin Linus on the TV series Lost. He was only supposed to be in a few episodes at first. But his character became very important, and he joined the main cast in Season 3. He became one of the main bad guys in the show.

He was nominated for an Emmy Award in 2007 and 2008 for his work on Lost. He won the award in 2009 for his role in the fifth season. He was also nominated for a Golden Globe Award in 2009.

On July 31, 2010, Emerson and his wife, Carrie Preston, read from a play called Love Letters. This was done to raise money for a theater in Charleston.

Emerson later joined the cast of another TV series by J. J. Abrams, called Person of Interest. This show started in September 2011 on CBS. In the show, he played a rich person who works with a former CIA agent to stop crime in New York City.

Personal Life

Michael Emerson married actress Carrie Preston in 1998. They met in Alabama while he was acting in a play called Hamlet. This is his second marriage. They have acted together in several projects. They were in the movie Straight-Jacket (2004). Carrie Preston also played the mother of Emerson's character in Lost.

They worked together again in the film Ready? OK! (2008). Carrie Preston also appeared in Person of Interest. She played Grace Hendricks, who was engaged to Emerson's character. In 2024, Emerson appeared with Preston in Elsbeth, where Preston is the main star.

Michael Emerson supports many charities. These include groups that help people in the theater world. He also supports public radio and Habitat for Humanity.

Film and Television Roles

Michael Emerson has appeared in many films and TV shows. Here are some of his notable roles:

Films

Television Shows

Video Games

Theater Performances

Michael Emerson has a long history in theater. Here are some of the plays he has been in:

• Othello (as Iago), University of North Florida, 1986
• Noises Off (as Garry), Theater Jacksonville, 1986 or 1987
• Much Ado About Nothing (as Benedick), Players-By-The-Sea Theater, Jacksonville Beach, Florida, 1986 or 1987
• Hamlet (as Hamlet), University of North Florida Theater, Jacksonville, Florida, 1987
• Hamlet (as Hamlet), Players-By-The-Sea Theater, Jacksonville Beach, Florida
• The Importance of Being Earnest, Arkansas Repertory Theatre, 1990
• Parts Unknown, Players-By-The-Sea Theater, Jacksonville Beach, Florida, 1993
• The Tempest (as Ferdinand), Alabama Shakespeare Festival, 1994 or 1995
• 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

Other Work

• In 2000, he was the narrator for a radio play. It was based on a short story by Neil Gaiman called Murder Mysteries.
• In 2003, he took part in a reading of a play. It was about string theory and written by Jacquelyn Reingold.
• In 2003, he was the voice of George Washington in a documentary film. It was about George Washington and Alexander Hamilton.
• In 2005, he narrated the audio book for All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren.
• In 2006, he narrated the audio book The Amalgamation Polka by Stephen Wright.
• In 2007, he and other Lost actors did a play-reading. This helped raise money for a youth theater in Hawaii.
• In 2009, he narrated a reading of "Babar the Elephant" with the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra.
• He also narrated audio books like Four Blind Mice by James Patterson.
• He co-narrated Private Sector by Brian Haig.
• In 2010, he narrated the Lemony Snicket audio book 13 Words by Maria Kalman.

See also

In Spanish: Michael Emerson para niños