00:01Alright, you know, one of the great things and exciting things about New York City is literally your neighbors could be someone famous.
00:10And, well, I'm joined by Michael Emerson, you know, of course, Ben Linus on Lost, and just a great, just like smooth, like villainous character and actor.
00:25So, let's go for a walk and catch up with Michael Emerson and find out just what exactly is the Dharma Initiative.
00:42Alright, thanks for joining us. Now, what exactly is the Dharma Initiative?
00:47The Dharma Initiative was an organization, a futuristic, controlled community that is the basis of the people on the island in Lost who are called the Others.
01:05It's an explanation of how they came to be there.
01:09They were trying to set up a utopia, and like most utopias, it went sour.
01:14Well, one man's utopia is always another man's health.
01:20Now, I look at your career, and you get the villainous roles a lot.
01:28Evil, Ben Linus, of course.
01:32Yeah.
01:32What goes into playing a villainous role on a TV show or a movie?
01:37Well, you don't play like you're a bad guy.
01:44Villains in real life, they have earnest motives that may be twisted, their methods may be wrong, but they don't perceive themselves that way.
01:57And so, what you try to do is you try to make the audience complicit in your villainy by being charming or funny or subtle and making it fun.
02:17For my money, playing villains is the way to go.
02:21Oh, yeah.
02:22It's way more fun than being in the era.
02:24You know, I've done a little acting in college here and there, and never anything really, like, major, but I've always wanted to be the bad guy.
02:33You know, I'm a big Star Wars fan.
02:36And, of course, you grow up and you're a fan of Luke, but when you get older, you realize, wow, Sheev Palpatine, that's the true star of Star Wars.
02:48That's who I want to know more about.
02:50Yeah, yeah.
02:50Sheev Palpatine, the Emperor.
02:53I mean, he's so good.
02:56He's so, like, evil and, like, manipulative, and then you realize everything he did.
03:01He's like, yeah.
03:03I relate to that.
03:05Well, what's great about villains is you get to play more layers because they aren't who they seem.
03:11There's always a scheme or a plan or some kind of subterfuge going on, and there's a lot of play acting.
03:18So, it's just, it's the most fun.
03:22I learned to play a villain by doing Shakespeare, to tell you the truth.
03:26I did, for a class, Iago.
03:32There you go.
03:33And I loved it.
03:34Iago was the first.
03:35I loved it.
03:35That was the first role I played in Shakespeare.
03:38And you learn everything you need to know about being a bad guy by playing Iago.
03:43I mean, it's fun.
03:45It's fun to be the bad guy.
03:47Absolutely.
03:47Now, of course, you live in New York, and you do a lot of shooting in New York, a lot of movies and stuff in New York.
03:55I think it's great when TV shows actually come to New York and utilize New York actors.
04:02There's more uniqueness in New York.
04:04Well, it's a real specific environment, and there's such a great talent pool here.
04:11You get Broadway players.
04:14Like my wife's show, Elsbeth.
04:16All their guest stars are Broadway players who really know what they're doing.
04:20So you get great character players.
04:23You get people that have good timing and have that kind of fizzy, pop kind of New York theater person effect.
04:37I mean, it beats a soundstage in Los Angeles.
04:43Yeah.
04:43It's a lot of trouble to shoot on location, but then it looks like the thing you want it to look like.
04:50I mean, and of course, you're involved in all these acting charities and acting funds, and it helps.
04:57You actually just go to multiple places.
05:00It gives more acting opportunities, more acting jobs.
05:03Yeah.
05:04Oh, yeah.
05:04It does employ a lot more people because you have to have, if you're outdoors on a crowded street, half of those people on the street need to be paid actors because you have to do it over and over again.
05:17And, you know, you can't get regular pedestrians to sort of go back to the starting point and do it over again.
05:26I mean, now, you're on the show Evil as well.
05:31And, of course, the MacGuffin in Saw.
05:37Yes.
05:38I mean.
05:39That's right.
05:40But it's.
05:41I was glad to get away with my life after shooting that movie.
05:47It was rough.
05:48It shot way too fast and way too rough.
05:51I was just praying that nobody got hurt real bad.
05:54Now, I see that you've done some voice acting, too.
05:57Yeah.
05:58Brainiac.
05:59Yeah, yeah, Brainiac.
06:00And I also played on a different franchise.
06:04I played the Joker.
06:07Now.
06:08Those are hard.
06:08Those are hard parts.
06:10What are some of the most important things that are going to be an actor?
06:13Well, I would say training.
06:22I think stamina.
06:28Discipline.
06:29It's, you know, it's a hard racket.
06:32It's hard.
06:33It's hard to break in.
06:34And then once you do get to where you work regularly, the work can be tough.
06:40It can be ridiculous hours and a certain amount of physical danger, even if you're not on an action series.
06:50Because I always think about how, like, literally, you have to go shooting at midnight sometimes or like 4 a.m.
06:59Yeah.
06:59To get, like, the right shot, the right timing.
07:02That's right.
07:03Yeah.
07:03I mean, it's an adventurous, definitely an adventurous profession.
07:09Yeah.
07:10People that shoot movies that take place all at night, they have to completely change their body clocks, you know?
07:17They have to sleep by day and shoot all night.
07:21And then it's hard on you.
07:24Now, what are some of the more funner roles besides Ben Linus and the other series that you want fans to know about?
07:34Oh, gosh.
07:35I mean, I like when I get to do really silly stuff, you know?
07:40Like, I did a guest spot on Mozart in the Jungle where I played an art collector who, how can I say this?
07:56He dresses, thinks, and talks in the 16th century.
08:03So he wears, you know, like Shakespearean clothes.
08:08And...
08:09Renaissance.
08:09Yeah, yeah.
08:11That was a fun character.
08:13It involved a fake mustache and beard.
08:18And it was a riot.
08:20Because I got to do a fancy accent.
08:23I love to do an accent.
08:26Why don't you guys practice an accent?
08:29Accents?
08:30What do you got, Frank?
08:33You know, I go down to visit my aunt, Charlotte.
08:39You know, she lives down in Charlotte, I tell you.
08:43And she goes up to me and she says, hey, Billy Bob.
08:47Billy Bob.
08:48How come you don't know visit me no more?
08:51And there you have it.
08:57I don't know what to say.
08:58Yeah.
08:58I don't know what to say.
09:11Everyone has an aunt, Charlotte and Charlotte.
09:13I don't know what to say.
09:14Yeah.
09:15Goodness.
09:16Now, what are some of your most important charitable endeavors?
09:21My most important what?
09:23Charitable endeavors that you like to support.
09:25Well, I support the performing arts charities, you know, the community fund.
09:35Yeah, like they help build up these actors.
09:37Sure.
09:38But I'm a big one on the animal rescue charities, too.
09:45You know, it's...
09:46Adopt, don't shop.
09:48Yeah.
09:48All of that.
09:49And anything that tries to...
09:54And now we've got to tell Tom Brady, adopt, don't clone.
10:01He did?
10:02Yeah, he cloned his dog.
10:03Oh, okay.
10:04I knew Streisand had done, but...
10:07Interesting.
10:08I wonder, though, if you can...
10:10I wonder if it's really the same.
10:13Can you get lightning in a bottle again?
10:15I'm not sure.
10:16The dog, I don't know how...
10:19The same temperament, the same mind, the same soul, you know?
10:24I'd rather take my chances over again in the world of reality.
10:29I mean, yeah, you can find another dog.
10:32It may not be...
10:32It's not going to be the same dog, but it's going to be another dog, and you're going to
10:35love that dog just the same, I would think.
10:37One of the things I love about dogs is that they have no angst or depression over their
10:46infirmities.
10:48You know, you see, like on our block over there, there's that dog that has three legs,
10:53and he could not be a happier dog.
10:55He kind of limps along, you know, does all the usual sniffing and socializing and stuff,
11:01and I just, I adore that dog.
11:04There's no bad dogs.
11:05Only bad dogs are bad people who are like, like, beat dogs and do bad things to dogs,
11:13and that's how dogs get anything wrong with them.
11:16No, they are natural innocents, the dogs are.
11:22I feel like they're, you know, benign spirits, kind of an angel that comes and shares your
11:31life for a while, and they try to teach you some lessons, and you pick up what you can
11:38from them, and then they, they sort of leave you and circle around and come back again to
11:45somebody else.
11:47Well, thanks for joining us.
11:51You know, I do, of course, when I'm walking all the time, I see you in passing, you know,
11:57and that's, know that you're a neighbor, and it's nice that you're in the neighborhood,
12:01and good luck on your continued career, and hopefully you find another nice villain to,
12:07like, snap into and, uh, entertain us in more.
12:11Or maybe I'll play a real sweetheart.
12:13You never know.
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