Michael Emerson Movies
A stage and screen actor with an enigmatic stare, Michael Emerson has made a name for himself with roles that capitalize on his unique, expressive face. An Iowa native, he studied theater arts at Drake University in Des Moines before moving to New York to pursue an acting career. Unfortunately, like a lot of up-and-comers, he found himself spending most of his time doing other work to support himself; in his case, it was freelance illustrations for publications like The Boston Globe and The New York Times. In 1986, he relocated to Florida, where he worked in regional theater and, in 1993, enrolled in the Alabama Shakespeare Festival's University of Alabama-sponsored Master of Fine Arts/Professional Acting Training program. It was there that he met his future wife, Carrie Preston, whom he married in 1998. Shortly after graduating, he began scoring bigger and better roles in productions like 1997's off-Broadway show Gross Indecency: The Trials of Oscar Wilde, in which he played the title role. Other prominent roles followed in plays like The Misanthrope and The Iceman Cometh.It was around this time that Emerson parlayed his success into a career onscreen, starting out with roles in projects like the independent film The Journey and the TV movie Grace & Glorie. A particularly prominent role came in 2004, when he was cast in the sadistic horror movie Saw. The movie was a huge success, setting off a major trend in horror that made graphic, up-close torture a new staple subgenre, and ingraining Emerson's memorably large eyes and eerily placid voice into the minds of millions. He continued to do interesting work, playing a bad guy in 2005's The Legend of Zorro and a butler to a Rock Hudson-style movie star in the comedy Straight-Jacket, which he made with his wife. Then in 2006, Emerson joined the cast of the hit TV series Lost, playing the mysterious and manipulative Ben, whose role in the island's secrets and power over its inhabitants drew in countless viewers who loved how well he played the creepy and nefarious villain. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide
"When am I?" John Locke's chronological confusion sums up Season 5, which hopscotches dizzyingly between the 1970s and 2008 as it charts the Oceanic Six's return to the island and reveals important island secrets. On the island, Locke (Terry O'Quinn) is the new leader of the Others. But in L.A., he's dead, and his death plays a key role in getting Jack (Matthew Fox), Kate (Evangeline Lilly), Hurley (Jorge Garcia) and Sun (Yunjin Kim) to return via Ajira Airways. Sayid (Naveen Andrews) refuses to join his fellow former castaways, but winds up being escorted onto the Guam-bound flight by a bounty hunter named Ilana (Zuleikha Robinson). Ben (Michael Emerson) must return, too, to face judgment for allowing his daughter Alex to die. Their flight -- with Frank Lapidus (Jeff Fahey) at the controls -- is a bumpy one, but the final destination is indeed the island. Ben, Sun, Ilana and Frank remain fixed in time upon their return to the island, but Jack, Kate, Hurley and Sayid are flashed back in time to 1977, where they are reunited with Sawyer (Josh Holloway) and Juliet (Elizabeth Mitchell). After surviving a series of time-travel flashes, Sawyer and Juliet landed in the 1970s and forged a close relationship with each other and the Dharma Initiative, which also welcomes Miles Straume (Ken Leung). Meanwhile, Miles' colleague Daniel Faraday (Jeremy Davies) embarks on a time-traveling mission that introduces him to a nuclear bomb named Jughead and a young woman named Ellie. Both play prominent roles as the season progresses. ~ Paul Droesch, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Matthew Fox, Evangeline Lilly, (more)
After Oceanic Air flight 815 tore apart in mid-air and crashed on a Pacific island, it s survivors were forced to find inner strength they never knew they had in order to survive. But they discovered that the island hold many secrets, including a mysterious smoke monster, polar bears, a strange French woman and another group of island residents known as The Others. The survivors have also found signs of those who came to the island before them, including a 19th century sailing ship called The Black Rock, the remains of an ancient statue, as well as bunkers belonging to the Dharma Initiative a group of scientific researchers who inhabited the island in the recent past.
- Starring:
- Matthew Fox, Evangeline Lilly, (more)
Carrie Preston, John G. Preston, Michael Emerson, and Lurie Poston star in director James Vasquez's coming of age comedy about a young boy obsessed with dresses, dolls, and cheerleading. Joshua Dowd (Poston) isn't like the other boys in class. All Joshua's single mother Andy (Carrie Preston) wants is for her son to be normal, but instead of joining the wrestling team like the rest of his classmates Joshua longs to try out for his school's all-girl cheerleading team. Upon receiving the news that her absent father has died, Andy is surprised to see her wayward brother Alex (John G. Preston) appear unannounced on her doorstep. Perhaps now that these estranged siblings have finally come back together, they can finally start to understand what it truly means to be a "family" - even if they don't fall under the traditional definition of the word. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carrie Preston, Lurie Poston, (more)
- 2006
- PG13
Four best friends experience the pains of adolescence while contending with heart-rending crushes and realizing their own mortality in director/producer/screenwriter Kat Candler's tender coming of age drama. The teenage years can be tough for anyone, but how do we deal with grief while searching for answers that might not even exist? A life has been lost, almost before it even had a chance to start, and now the friends of the dearly departed are left to pick up the pieces while struggling to make sense of the senseless. Michael Emerson, Bryan Chafin, and Rhett Wilkins star in a drama about struggling with grief and forging the friendships that help us contend with some of life's most difficult challenges. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bryan Chafin, Glen Powell Jr., (more)
Find the answers you have been looking for in the explosive third season of the show USA Today calls "the most gorgeous, audacious, expansive series on network TV." As the power of the island to both heal and destroy comes into sharp focus, the lines between good and evil are blurred and loyalties are challenged when the survivors of the crash become tangled within the lives of the Others. Plan your escape, and immerse yourself in all 23 episodes of Season Three. Go deeper than ever before in this seven-disc DVD box set, complete with hours of never-before-seen bonus features, including secrets from the world of the Others, behind-the-scenes featurettes, unprecedented access to the Lost writers room, and so much more.
- Starring:
- Matthew Fox, Evangeline Lilly, (more)
His thirtieth birthday rapidly approaching, a gay actor working as a tour guide at a movie studio theme park seeks to explore life outside the seductive allure of circuit parties in director Carrie Preston's soul searching independent comedy. James Sanchez is your typical late-twenties gay male; his hair is thinning, his gut is growing, and his dreams of fame and fortune have been replaced with bills that are piling up and a car that's about to break down. When he's not stalking the cute young boy at the local coffee house, tentatively exploring the world of online dating, or earning a little extra dough by wearing a giant bunny costume, James at least finds comfort in the company of his best friends Roxy and Brandon. While actress-turned-activist Roxy struggles to show James that there is more to life than dancing the night away at the club, self-assured homosexual Brandon is doing his best to coach his pal in the fine art of breaking the ice when he sees a man he's like to meet. A perpetual outsider who doesn't quite fit in to the circuit scene and finds himself constantly stuck in the middle of his Hispanic-American heritage, James does his best to find his place in the world with a little help from those who care about him most. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Vasquez, Nicole Marcks, (more)
The legendary Mexican hero returns to the screen in this swashbuckling sequel to the 1998 box-office hit The Mask of Zorro. It's 1850, and the people of California, eager to improve their difficult lot in life, have launched a campaign to become part of the United States. Don Alejandro de la Vega (Antonio Banderas) has become aware of a plot by moneyed Europeans to block the campaign for statehood through nefarious means, and it looks as if Alejandro's heroic alter ego, Zorro, may have to return to duty. However, Alejandro's wife, Elena (Catherine Zeta-Jones), has grown weary of his secret life, and she demands that he choose between his family and his clandestine career as a champion of the people. This leads to a rift between Alejandro and Elena, and the couple separates, with Alejandro moving out while Elena continues to care for their son, Joaquin (Adrian Alonso). A few months later, Alejandro finds that Elena is already being wooed by Armand (Rufus Sewell), a suave French nobleman who wants her hand in marriage. However, Alejandro also learns that Armand is actually part of a plot to prevent California from attaining statehood by tampering with an upcoming election; meanwhile, there may be more to Elena's involvement with Armand than romantic courtship. Zorro must come to the rescue of the people of California and perhaps his beloved Elena as well before they both fall into dangerous hands. The Legend of Zorro was directed by Martin Campbell, who performed the same duties on The Mask of Zorro. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Antonio Banderas, Catherine Zeta-Jones, (more)
An actor trying to keep the truth about his love life under wraps discovers feelings he doesn't want to hide in this frothy comedy. It's the mid-'50s, and Guy Stone (Matt Letscher) is a very successful movie star. Tall, good-looking, and boyishly charming, Stone has a reputation as a ladies' man with a very active love life. However, the truth is a bit different: while Stone is indeed enjoying more romantic misadventures than he can keep track of, he happens to prefer the company of men. When a scandal sheet gets wind of his sexual proclivities, Stone's manager (Veronica Cartwright) and the head of his studio (Victor Raider-Wexler) decide some camouflage is in order. Stone's handlers arrange for him to marry Sally (Carrie Preston), a sweet and naïve secretary from the studio who is entirely unaware that the man of her dreams is gay. As Stone tries to make the best of his sham marriage while feeling twinges of guilt about the toll it may take on Sally, he meets Rick Foster (Adam Greer), an author whose most recent novel is being adapted into a script for Stone. To Stone's surprise, he find himself falling seriously in love with Foster and discovers that Foster, like himself, has a few secrets that could put his Hollywood career in jeopardy. Straight-Jacket was directed by Richard Day, who also wrote the screenplay which was adapted from his off-Broadway play of the same name. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Matt Letscher, Carrie Preston, (more)
The directorial debut from filmmaker James Wan, this psychological thriller comes from the first screenplay by actor Leigh Whannell, who also stars. Whannell plays Adam, one of two men chained up in a mysterious chamber. The other, Dr. Gordon (Cary Elwes), like Adam, has no idea how either of them got there. Neither of them are led to feel optimistic by the man lying between them dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Together, Adam and Dr. Gordon attempt to piece together what has happened to them and who the sadistic madman behind their imprisonment is. Also starring Danny Glover and Monica Potter, Saw premiered at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leigh Whannell, Cary Elwes, (more)
Laramie, WY, is a small town which became infamous overnight in the fall of 1998, when Matthew Shepard, a gay college student, was found tied to a fence after being brutally beaten and left to die, setting off a nationwide debate about hate crimes and homophobia. A month after the crime, Moises Kaufman, a writer and director with the New York City theater troupe the Tectonic Theater Project, traveled to Laramie with a handful of actors to interview people who lived in and around Laramie in preparation for an upcoming production; Kaufman's goal was to create a play that focused not on the assault on Matthew Shepard, but on the community where such an attack could happen, and how many of the citizens reacted to the crime. The result was The Laramie Project, which was first performed in early 2000, and was performed in Laramie in the fall of that year, two years after Kaufman and his associates first arrived in the city. The Laramie Project is a film adaptation of Kaufman's play, in which the thoughts and opinions of Laramie residents from all points of the political spectrum are presented alongside re-enacted excerpts from the trials of the two men who attacked Matthew Shepard. Produced for the premium cable network HBO, The Laramie Project was adapted for the screen by Moises Kaufman, who served as both writer and director. The distinguished cast includes Dylan Baker, Steve Buscemi, Peter Fonda, Janeane Garofolo, Laura Linney, Amy Madigan, Camryn Manheim, Christina Ricci, and Frances Sternhagen. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christina Ricci, Peter Fonda, (more)
- 2000
Craig T. Nelson stars as Jack Mannion, a policeman brought in to fight crime in the nation's capital in this television drama series. After a controversial but successful stint as chief of police in Newark, NJ, Mannion makes a positive impression on Deputy Mayor Mary Ann Mitchell (Jayne Brook) and is hired to do the same job in Washington, D.C. But the D.C. police's Chief of Patrol, Joe Noland (Roger Aaron Brown), isn't quite as impressed with his new boss, whose tough exterior is leavened with a broad sense of humor. Don Baker (John Amos), D.C.'s mayor, often butts heads with the new chief of police, who takes a firm stand against internal corruption and doesn't shrink from placing responsibility on his own officers. Working alongside Mannion are statistics clerk Ella Farmer (Lynn Thigpen), public affairs director Nick Pierce (Justin Theroux), and Irish beat-cop David McGregor (David O'Hara). The District premiered on the CBS television network on October 7, 2000. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Craig T. Nelson, Jayne Brook, (more)
- 1998
Adapted from a play by Tom Ziegler, the made-for-TV Grace and Glorie stars Gena Rowlands and Diane Lane as the title characters. Disenchanted with her empty existence in New York City, stylish but lonely Gloria "Glorie" Greenwood heads to the country, where she becomes a hospice worker in the mansion of Grace Stiles, an old, terminally ill widow. At first, Glorie has trouble "taking" to Grace, just as Grace resents Glorie's very presence. Gradually, the two women realize that they have far more in common than they ever could have imagined. A CBS Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation, Grace and Glorie was first telecast on December 13, 1998. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1997
Widower Kishan Singh (Roshan Seth), a retired schoolmaster, arrives in the United States to live with his son Raj (Antony Zaki), a Pittsburgh doctor married to very proper Laura (Carrie Preston). The couple is too busy to spend much time with their daughter Jenny (Nora Bates). Kishan creates tension in the household as soon as he arrives, and Laura has numerous complaints about his messy manners, male chauvinism, and "peculiar" habits. Jenny, however, likes Kishan, who is more responsive to her than her parents or the baby-sitter (soon fired by Kishan). Kishan passes hours reading to the child and educating her, and he also charms Laura's artist friend Audrey (Betsy Zajko), who takes him out to see the town. Locations include Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater House (Bear Run, Pennsylvania). Shown at the 1997 film festivals in Seattle and Vancouver. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Roshan Seth, Saeed Jaffrey, (more)
