Category Archives: Ask Lost

Ask LOST — Michael Emerson (Part 2)

Michael Emerson in "Ask Lost" part 2

Michael Emerson in "Ask Lost" part 2

This is the 7th short video in the Ask LOST series. It appears to be the last one that ABC is going to put out, at least for now. So it’s fitting that this portion of the series ends where it began — with Michael Emerson.

He’s my favorite actor, of all the LOST actors, to watch being interviewed. I just love the way he thinks about what he’s saying — you can almost see the gears turning in his head. I love the sound of his voice, as I’ve mentioned before — his stage actor’s diction. Most of all, I love his sense of humor. A great example of that is in the last segment of this video, where he gently pulls our leg with an almost straight face — and then, holding off until the very last moment, he breaks out in a grin.

I do disagree, though, with Emerson’s notion that Ben hasn’t fundamentally changed. I think Ben changed a lot, in this last season — or else we are seeing a radically different side of him that we had never seen before. Ben had always been such a powerful presence, the alpha bad guy, but in Season 5 he became greatly diminished, losing alpha status first to Locke (or, rather, to notLocke), and then to Jacob. In his last scene in the Finale, he seemed to regress back to being a wounded child, which was something far different, though no less lethal, from the terrifying puppetmaster he had been in Seasons 2, 3, and 4.

Matthew Fox (Jack) gets his turn at “Ask Lost”

Matthew Fox in "Ask Lost"

Matthew Fox in "Ask Lost"

Did you ever see the old Groucho Marx TV show, You Bet Your Life? It was a game show where contestants answered questions in various categories. In each episode, there was also a “secret word.” A toy duck was lowered from the ceiling with the secret word in its beak, so that the audience could see what it was. If any of the contestants said the word while chatting with Groucho, the duck would come down again and give them a prize of $100.

Ever since I decided, on a whim, to name this blog “For a Reason,” I’ve become hyperaware of that phrase. Now, whenever I hear one of the characters say “for a reason” on the show or hear one of the actors say the phrase in an interview, I feel as if they had just uttered the secret word. I think “Ding ding ding!” and wish that a toy duck would descend from the ceiling bearing a prize.

While watching this video, the sixth in the “Ask Lost” series, I had one of those wishing-for-Groucho’s-duck moments, because Matthew Fox does indeed say the secret phrase “for a reason.” Give that man a hundred dollars!

Elizabeth Mitchell (Juliet) gets her turn to answer viewer questions

Elizabeth Mitchell in "Ask Lost"

Elizabeth Mitchell in "Ask Lost"

In the fifth segment of “Ask Lost,” Elizabeth Mitchell tells us that she would enjoy playing the part of Sayid, and that it was easy for her to slip into Juliet’s “whole creepy thing.”

Naveen Andrews answers viewer questions

Naveen Andrews in "Ask Lost"

Naveen Andrews in "Ask Lost"

I’ve been catching up with the Ask LOST video series where the stars answer viewer questions. This one, the fourth in the series, features Naveen Andrews (Sayid).

I get a big kick out of hearing him talk in his British accent:

It’s interesting that he finds it “disturbing” and “unpleasant” that he is able to get emotionally involved in his fight scenes. In that way, Naveen the actor resembles Sayid the character — both are repelled by their own capacities to enjoy violence. Maybe Naveen’s ambivalence is part of what makes his portrayal of Sayid’s self-loathing so powerful.

Ask Lost: Daniel Dae Kim (Jin)

Daniel Dae Kim gets his turn to answer viewer questions in this third installment of “Ask Lost.” He talks about how far Jin has come as a character, which other characters he would like to play, and why he loves living in Hawaii.

Ask Lost — Jorge Garcia (Hurley)

Jorge Garcia talks about what he’d like Hurley to do that he hasn’t done before, what his favorite lottery number is, and why he’d like to see the show move to Egypt.

Ask Lost — Michael Emerson (Ben) answers viewer questions

ABC started a new feature a few weeks ago, “Ask LOST,” where the actors answer viewer questions.

Michael Emerson was the first one up. He comes across here as articulate, smart, very nice — and not at all scary. I like the sound of his voice here; he has the diction of a stage actor, which of course is what he was for many years.

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