Michael Emerson

• Character: Ben Linus
• Date of Birth: September 7th, 1954
• Age: 56

Michael was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa in 1954. Michael was originally unable to find acting work after graduating from Duke University. In 1986 he moved to Florida and acted in local theatre productions, as well as working as a teacher and director. In 1997 Michael landed the role of Oscar Wilde in the stage production of Gross Indecency: The Trials of Oscar Wilde, off-Broadway.

He appeared in other plays, including The Misanthrope, the Iceman Cometh and Give Me Your Answer, Do! Michael also had a recurring role as serial killer William Hinks in The Practice, which earned him an Emmy Award. He also starred as Zep Hindle in the horror movie Saw.

In 2006 he joined the cast of Lost as Benjamin Linus, in the show's second season. The producers cast him because of his work on The Practice. He has received two Emmy Award nominations for his work on Lost.

Michael is currently married to his second wife, who is an actress who portrayed his mother in a flashback on Lost.

Ben Linus

Ben was born in the woods outside Oregon. His mother died in childbirth and he and his father, Roger, moved to the island when his father secured a job with the Dharma Initiative. On the island, Roger begins drinking and verbally abusing Ben. Ben begins to hate the Dharma Initiative and one day comes across Richard Alpert, who is part of a group known as the Hostiles. Years later the Hostiles kidnap Alex, the daughter of a French woman named Rousseau who was shipwrecked on the island.

A few years later, Ben kills his fathers and other members of the Dharma Initiative with poison gas. He eventually assumes the leadership position among the Hostiles, as he is the only one who can communicate with their real leader, Jacob. He also becomes a father to Alex. In later years, Ben recruits a research scientist, Juliet Burke to work on the island in order to discover why women who become pregnant on the island always die before their babies are born.

Two days before the crash of Ocean Flight 815, Ben finds out that he has a tumor on his spine. After seeing the plane crash he sends two members of his team, Ethan and Goodwin, to spy on the survivors.

Several weeks after the plane crash, Ben tells Juliet that he wants to convince Jack Sheppard to perform the operation to remove his tumor. Ben then infiltrates the survivors' camp when he is taken hostage by Sayid and Locke. He originally pretends to be a man named Henry Gale who crashed on the island in a hot air balloon. While captured, Henry succeeded in causing Locke and Jack to argue with each other.

We learn that Michael made a deal with the Others to free Ben in exchange for having his son, Walt, returned to him. Michael frees Ben and then shoots and kills Ana Lucia and Libby, who are in the hatch while Michael executes his plan. Ben gives Michael and Walt a boat and takes Jack, Kate and Sawyer hostage.

While in captivity, Ben asks Jack to remove the tumor on his spine in exchange for allowing him to leave the island. When Locke and Kate come to rescue Jack, Ben tells Locke that he has his father on the island and asks Locke to kill his father in order to join the Others. When Locke returns to the Others' camp with his father's corpse, Ben then shoots Locke after learning that he can hear Jacob, thus threatening Ben's position as leader of the Others.

Ben takes Alex with him as he tries to convince Jack not to contact the freighter people towards the end of Season 3, otherwise everyone on the island will die. He allows Alex to be reunited with her mother, Rousseau and is then captured by Jack and then Locke.

In Season 4 Ben returns to Othertown with Locke after the survivors divided into two groups. Ben tells Locke that the freighter crew has come to capture him. Ben sends Alex and Rousseau off to a safe place, but Alex is taken hostage by a mercenary named Keamy from the freighter. Keamy then executes Alex in front of Ben, causing Ben to become angry and unleashing the smoke monster, which he can control, on the freighter crew.

After Locke gets instructions from Jacob, Ben guides him to the Orchid station in an attempt to move the island. Ben tells Locke to become the new leader of the Others and then turns a large frozen wheel beneath the Orchid station to move the island. He is then transported to the Sahara desert.

Once leaving the island, Ben recruits Sayid as his personal assassin, telling Sayid that Charles Widmore ordered the death of Sayid's wife, Nadia. Ben then confronts Widmore at his apartment, telling him that he will kill Widmore's daughter Penny as revenge for the death of Alex. Three years later, Ben visits Jack at a funeral home. Ben tells Jack that they all need to return to the island, Locke's body included.

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