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Michael Emerson

Somewhere around the end of season two of Lost, a character made a simple request, and in doing so, became the most intriguing, evasive, shrewd, and terrifying villain on network television. All he wanted to know was if the castaways had some milk…or was that all he wanted to know? As Benjamin Linus, Michael Emerson (whose previously most well-known role was as a bug-eyed serial killer on The Practice) exuded mystery from the beginning. Ben, despite being presented in flashbacks as a good kid turned terrible guy who committed mass genocide to get away from his abusive and neglectful father, became somewhat sympathetic in later seasons. It’s to Emerson’s credit that such a purposely vague character was given so many layers. He was able to answer the question of why we should care about Ben as anything other than a villain in just one masterful scene.

A climactic showdown in the middle of season four between Ben, holed up in a house, and a shoot-first, ask-questions-later mercenary ended with Ben’s adopted daughter getting killed and Ben speechless. Emerson’s reaction shot, lasting only a few seconds, managed to encapsulate fright, fury, grief, and loathing all with just his eyes. This plus his quick way around a one-liner in the most deadpan way is what makes Ben one of the best characters on television, let alone on Lost. From what happened in the penultimate episode (spoiler alert), Ben will not only make it to the finale (a fact that continues to pleasantly surprise me), but may be back to his old ways. Either way, Emerson’s performance has been a delight, and I can only hope that he’ll find new life on TV, in movies, and on the stage. We know he can play creepy, but how about something more heartwarming? Emerson’s got the chops; can we get around his old roles? I hope so.

Ken Leung

In 1998, Rush Hour was released in theaters. This buddy cop comedy was better than it should have been (yes, I am praising a movie directed by Brett Ratner), and that was mostly due to the weird chemistry between the film’s stars, Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker. That said, I remember even as a teenager being struck by the intense performance from the main henchman of the bad guy. The henchman was a wiry Asian man, with bleached blonde hair, and despite looking about 20 years old, he looked like a dude you wouldn’t want to meet in a darkened alley. So it was to my great surprise that Lost proved, a decade later, that the same performer had more to bring to a role than just creepiness. Ken Leung’s evolved as an actor, and done so even during his arc on Lost. As Miles, a snarky guy who has the ability to communicate with the dead, Leung originally made Miles a neo-Sawyer, but has enriched the character over the past three years.

Miles was given the chance, thanks to the craziness of the Season 5 time travel hijinks, to visit his father, a scientist working with the Dharma Initiative, and managed to suppress most of the angst and emotion he had about his long-lost and thought-to-be-embittered father, while still making it clear how he felt. Leung obviously has the range to perform this role and a henchman in a cheesy action comedy. He came to the attention of the writers of Lost thanks to his role in a late episode of The Sopranos; having not watched that show, I’ll only say that if he can be in The Sopranos, Lost, and Rush Hour, and not disappoint, the guy needs to have offers flooding his doorstop. He’s not got anything lined up yet, but Hollywood needs to take notice of this guy: he could be a lead in a big-budget blockbuster, or he could be part of an indie drama, or anything else. There must be something for him soon, right?

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