Michael Emerson (born September 7, 1954) is an American film and
television actor who is best known for his roles as serial killer
William Hinks on The Practice, Benjamin Linus on Lost, Zep Hindle in
the first Saw film, Cayden James on Arrow and Harold Finch on the CBS
series Person of Interest. Emerson has also worked extensively in
theater and narration. He has won two Primetime Emmy Awards and been
nominated for three others, as well as receiving other awards and
nominations. He currently stars as Dr. Leland Townsend in the CBS
thriller series Evil.Emerson was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to Carol
(née Hansen) and Ronald H. Emerson. He grew up in Toledo, Iowa, where
he was a member of his high school marching band.He graduated in 1976
from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, where he majored in Theater
and minored in Art. He studied a semester at the National Theater
Institute at The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center, then moved to New York
City. Unable to find acting work, he took retail jobs and worked as an
illustrator. In 1986, he moved to Jacksonville, Florida, where (from
1986â€"93) he appeared in local productions at Theater Jacksonville
and The Players by the Sea and worked as a director and teacher at
Flagler College. After several years of differing kinds of work
including illustration and teaching, Emerson earned a Master of Fine
Arts degree at the University of Alabama in the Alabama Shakespeare
Festival acting program.Emerson landed a starring role in 1997 as
Oscar Wilde in Moises Kaufman's critically acclaimed off-Broadway play
Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde, and then followed up
with several other notable stage performances. In 1998, he performed
opposite Uma Thurman in an off-Broadway production of Le Misanthrope.
In 1999, he played the role of Willie Oban in The Iceman Cometh. He
co-starred with Kate Burton in both Give Me Your Answer, Do! and Hedda
Gabler.
television actor who is best known for his roles as serial killer
William Hinks on The Practice, Benjamin Linus on Lost, Zep Hindle in
the first Saw film, Cayden James on Arrow and Harold Finch on the CBS
series Person of Interest. Emerson has also worked extensively in
theater and narration. He has won two Primetime Emmy Awards and been
nominated for three others, as well as receiving other awards and
nominations. He currently stars as Dr. Leland Townsend in the CBS
thriller series Evil.Emerson was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to Carol
(née Hansen) and Ronald H. Emerson. He grew up in Toledo, Iowa, where
he was a member of his high school marching band.He graduated in 1976
from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, where he majored in Theater
and minored in Art. He studied a semester at the National Theater
Institute at The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center, then moved to New York
City. Unable to find acting work, he took retail jobs and worked as an
illustrator. In 1986, he moved to Jacksonville, Florida, where (from
1986â€"93) he appeared in local productions at Theater Jacksonville
and The Players by the Sea and worked as a director and teacher at
Flagler College. After several years of differing kinds of work
including illustration and teaching, Emerson earned a Master of Fine
Arts degree at the University of Alabama in the Alabama Shakespeare
Festival acting program.Emerson landed a starring role in 1997 as
Oscar Wilde in Moises Kaufman's critically acclaimed off-Broadway play
Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde, and then followed up
with several other notable stage performances. In 1998, he performed
opposite Uma Thurman in an off-Broadway production of Le Misanthrope.
In 1999, he played the role of Willie Oban in The Iceman Cometh. He
co-starred with Kate Burton in both Give Me Your Answer, Do! and Hedda
Gabler.
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