Michael Emerson was born on September 7, 1954 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, USA. He is an American actor of the stage and screen.

Michael finally got his big break in 1997, when he starred as Oscar Wilde in Moises Kaufman's critically acclaimed off-Broadway play, Gross Indecency: The Trials of Oscar Wilde.

In the following years, Emerson has continued to act on stage. He has displayed his talents opposite Uma Thurman off-Broadway in The Misanthrope in 1998 and as Willie Oban in 1999's The Iceman Cometh with Kevin Spacey. He costarred with Kate Burton in both Give Me Your Answer, Do! and Hedda Gabler.

Successful in television and film, Michael has appeared in episodes of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Without a Trace, and The X-Files. He offered a memorable performance as confessed serial killer William Hinks in several episodes of The Practice, for which he won a 2001 Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series.

In 2006, he began a guest-starring role playing Benjamin Linus on the American television show LOST. Originally set to appear in a small number of episodes, Emerson returned for the third season as a main cast member. On the big screen he has appeared in such films as Saw, The Legend of Zorro, The Laramie Project, Playing by Heart, The Imposters, and Jumping off Bridges.

Filmography

• Ready? OK! (2008)
• "Lost" (30 episodes, 2006-2007)
• Jumping Off Bridges (2006)
• The Legend of Zorro (2005)
• "The Inside" (1 episode, 2005)
• 29th and Gay (2005)
• Straight-Jacket (2004)
• "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (1 episode, 2004)
• Saw (2004)
• "Whoopi" (1 episode, 2003)
• "Skin" (1 episode, 2003)
• "Without a Trace" (1 episode, 2003)
• "The X Files" (1 episode, 2002)
• Unfaithful (2002)
• "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" (1 episode, 2002)
• The Laramie Project (2002)
• Sounds from a Town I Love (2001)
• "The Education of Max Bickford" (1 episode, 2001)
• "The Practice" (6 episodes, 2000-2001)
• "The District" (1 episode, 2000)
• For Love of the Game (1999)
• Playing by Heart (1998)
• Grace & Glorie (1998)
• The Impostors (1998)
• The Journey (1997)
• Orpheus Descending (1990)

Awards

• Emmy Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series "The Practice" 2000 - 1