Thanks to Sarah for the heads up.
Lost’s seductive doctor diagnoses her character’s blood lust, blossoming affair with Sawyer—and her singing duel with Ben.
Your storyline is ramping up—you had a nosebleed caused by all of the flashbacks and flash-forwards. The island is hopping through time and messing you all up.
Yeah, how cool was that? I was watching it with a girlfriend of mine, and my nose started to bleed [on screen] and she leaned over, hit me and said “No! No, you can’t die!” I said, “Don’t worry, she just said had a nosebleed.” She said, “Yeah that means she’s gonna die!” [Laughs] What can you say, Juliet’s sick...
“You know the best thing would be if Juliet forgets all these guys and just ends up with Ben.”
It’s been implied that the character of Charlotte, who is also suffering from side effects, was born on the island. Could Juliet have been on the island before Richard Alpert recruited her?
I have no idea, that’s an awesome thought I haven’t heard before. Juliet was on the island for three years before the plane crash, so it may just be that, or it may be that she was actually from there. We don’t actually know anything about her parents.
Will the show delve deeper into her backstory this season?
I think they like to keep her fairly mysterious, that way she can be cool and conniving, and yet warm and patient.
How much scheming and anger is going on under the surface?
Everything [on the island] has gone horribly wrong and the only way to handle it is just to stay calm and figure out what to do next. She is very much subdued but still insanely angry and hurt and broken. I think Juliet has always believed in passionless, blood full violence. [This season] she is at the center of some violence, which is nice. We get to see the stuff that’s underneath her this season, bubbling away, and it’s not particularly pretty or easy to watch. For some people that will be a nice payoff, but others might want her to stay cool.
Juliet’s been able to calm down Sawyer, who rarely listens to anyone.
I’ve always enjoyed Juliet and Jack, because that’s where we started, but I was watching episode three and thought Juliet and Sawyer actually were listening to each other. I was telling him to calm down and stop yelling, because I knew his approach wasn’t going to work. But what came across was that [Juliet] was talking to a ten year old, which made me laugh, because that’s also how I talk to Jack when he’s being irrational.
Is there a future for Juliet and Sawyer?
I think since they’re both broken-hearted it’s possible it could go somewhere. There’s an expression, “What doesn’t bring people together is joy, but shared pain.” That’s what bonds people together. I definitely believe they will create some sort of partnership and we’ll see where it goes from there.
Are any upcoming episodes particularly Juliet-centric?
I think episode 8 (LaFleur) is particularly heavy for me, and there will be some twists and turns that make you go, “Oh, good lord!”
Are you feeling nostalgic with just over 30 episodes to air before the end?
I’m trying to treasure it, if that makes any sense. I know that I’ll never meet a group of people like this again.
Would you follow [creators] Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof to other projects?
I absolutely would follow them in a heartbeat. I’ve read some scripts that Damon wrote that have absolutely blown me away. His insight and the way he crafts relationships—the quips, the cleverness they come up with—is all written in there.
Will Juliet find closure on the island or elsewhere?
I really don’t know, she’s never had much luck before. The more they write for her, the more fascinated I am to meet her. They’ve written this woman who is intensely brilliant, kind, and in her own way somewhat charismatic, and at the same time she has this wonderful violent streak. I think she’d be a great wife…
You and Terry [O’Quinn] could use more screen time together—maybe she and Locke can get together.
I always thought Locke was much deserving of an onscreen life. Terry and I have talked about it. Juliet could possibly get together with [Daniel] Faraday, because he’s awfully cute, although he and Charlotte are very much together right now. And I happen to really like Miles a lot too—there’s years to go on the show, so you never know. She might have a little fun.
Any plans for you and your fellow Lost-aways to work on future projects together?
I would love to do something on stage with Michael [Emerson], anytime, anywhere.
You’re both so experienced in theater—after Lost is off the air you could take the show to Broadway.
Michael and I could have a singing duel! As long as there are a few duets in there and the lights go out on a wonderful swan song.
You two have unfinished business on the show—is he going to bust into the love quadrangle?
Wouldn’t that be wonderful? I said to him, “You know the best thing would be if Juliet forgets all these guys and just ends up with Ben.” That would be the creepiest, but best thing. He’s like, [imitates Ben] “Yes, well, they’ll never do it.” Stranger things have happened.
I have no idea, that’s an awesome thought I haven’t heard before. Juliet was on the island for three years before the plane crash, so it may just be that, or it may be that she was actually from there. We don’t actually know anything about her parents.
Will the show delve deeper into her backstory this season?
I think they like to keep her fairly mysterious, that way she can be cool and conniving, and yet warm and patient.
How much scheming and anger is going on under the surface?
Everything [on the island] has gone horribly wrong and the only way to handle it is just to stay calm and figure out what to do next. She is very much subdued but still insanely angry and hurt and broken. I think Juliet has always believed in passionless, blood full violence. [This season] she is at the center of some violence, which is nice. We get to see the stuff that’s underneath her this season, bubbling away, and it’s not particularly pretty or easy to watch. For some people that will be a nice payoff, but others might want her to stay cool.
Juliet’s been able to calm down Sawyer, who rarely listens to anyone.
I’ve always enjoyed Juliet and Jack, because that’s where we started, but I was watching episode three and thought Juliet and Sawyer actually were listening to each other. I was telling him to calm down and stop yelling, because I knew his approach wasn’t going to work. But what came across was that [Juliet] was talking to a ten year old, which made me laugh, because that’s also how I talk to Jack when he’s being irrational.
Is there a future for Juliet and Sawyer?
I think since they’re both broken-hearted it’s possible it could go somewhere. There’s an expression, “What doesn’t bring people together is joy, but shared pain.” That’s what bonds people together. I definitely believe they will create some sort of partnership and we’ll see where it goes from there.
Are any upcoming episodes particularly Juliet-centric?
I think episode 8 (LaFleur) is particularly heavy for me, and there will be some twists and turns that make you go, “Oh, good lord!”
Are you feeling nostalgic with just over 30 episodes to air before the end?
I’m trying to treasure it, if that makes any sense. I know that I’ll never meet a group of people like this again.
Would you follow [creators] Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof to other projects?
I absolutely would follow them in a heartbeat. I’ve read some scripts that Damon wrote that have absolutely blown me away. His insight and the way he crafts relationships—the quips, the cleverness they come up with—is all written in there.
Will Juliet find closure on the island or elsewhere?
I really don’t know, she’s never had much luck before. The more they write for her, the more fascinated I am to meet her. They’ve written this woman who is intensely brilliant, kind, and in her own way somewhat charismatic, and at the same time she has this wonderful violent streak. I think she’d be a great wife…
You and Terry [O’Quinn] could use more screen time together—maybe she and Locke can get together.
I always thought Locke was much deserving of an onscreen life. Terry and I have talked about it. Juliet could possibly get together with [Daniel] Faraday, because he’s awfully cute, although he and Charlotte are very much together right now. And I happen to really like Miles a lot too—there’s years to go on the show, so you never know. She might have a little fun.
Any plans for you and your fellow Lost-aways to work on future projects together?
I would love to do something on stage with Michael [Emerson], anytime, anywhere.
You’re both so experienced in theater—after Lost is off the air you could take the show to Broadway.
Michael and I could have a singing duel! As long as there are a few duets in there and the lights go out on a wonderful swan song.
You two have unfinished business on the show—is he going to bust into the love quadrangle?
Wouldn’t that be wonderful? I said to him, “You know the best thing would be if Juliet forgets all these guys and just ends up with Ben.” That would be the creepiest, but best thing. He’s like, [imitates Ben] “Yes, well, they’ll never do it.” Stranger things have happened.
Lost’s loveable villain on the US Airways crash, his eerie Ben voice, and why he and John Locke should land on 30 Rock.
Is the fifth season of Lost trending more towards action and adventure on the island?
Yeah, even more than you’ve seen so far. It is action-packed. Sometimes you read a script and you think “No way, no way can we film this in ten days—how are we going to get this done?” They are explosions and special effects, gun play and fights, and [we crash] every kind of vehicle imaginable. There is falling through time, falling through space, [even] falling underground.
I think Ben and John Locke [from Lost] should be roommates in Brooklyn. And then just have wacky adventures.
Any chance the suspended hydrogen bomb will make a return appearance later in the season?
Well, we’re going to have to resolve that somehow. Or did they already time travel out of there? [The time travel] is completely unpredictable. That was a great moment when John Locke turned to him and said, “Widmore—Charles Widmore?” He says, “What of it?” And John says…“Nice to meet you.” [Laughs] Fantastic! The idea of it, to be flying around time and space, and yet to be able to keep what you already know…
Sun believes her husband Jin is dead, and blames your character. How much of an actual threat does she pose to Ben?
She poses a terrific physical threat in the moment, but in terms of being able to derail the master plan [of returning to the island], I think he’s going to find a way to turn [Sun] around. He has to.
While Oceanic Six plan their return to the island, Ben’s become quite the fashion plate on the mainland.
He’s looking good, right? I mean it’s not going to last forever but it has been a pleasure to do those post-island scenes. He gets to look a little sharper, gets his hair done, he’s not covered in bruises and blood and jungle dirt. It’s a pleasure, since I’m not in the makeup chair as long.
Why would he ever want to go back then?
Yeah, right. Except [segues into his signature Ben Linus tone] he does, he has to.
Do you think Ben is aware or conscious at all of the whole Kate-Sawyer-Jack-Juliet love quadrangle?
Ben is keenly aware of everything that goes on around him that is of a psychological nature. He’s already made mental notes, made computations, and played out a variety of fictitious scenarios based on that information and [is] seeing how it can be used to good effect. So, yes, we will visit that theme at some point.
And every episode, every season, is plotted out by the creators in advance?
They have a master plan. To those people who say, “Well I haven’t really enjoyed the show since season one because it’s too complicated,” I just want to [tell them] “You never were into the show that they wrote, then, because this was where it was always going.” We were never going to be romantic Robinson Crusoe; it was this whole other thing.
When the US Airways flight crashed it was surreal seeing the survivors received much in the same way the Oceanic Six were on the show. Was it strange for you to view that a week before your premiere?
Anything that has to do with air travel and air tragedy is of interest to me. In this case, not least of which, it crash landed in the Hudson River right at the end of my street. Had I been home on that day and standing outside my building, I could’ve watched it.
After Lost ends its runs in 2010, does working on another television show interest you or will you hightail it back to the theater?
Possibly, theater is what I’m most anxious to get back to. I don’t want to [be away from theater] too long as I don’t want to forget how to do it.
You met your wife, actress Carrie Preston, while performing in Hamlet years ago. She’s now in True Blood on HBO—how would you imagine an alternative HBO version of Lost? Would Ben act even more villainous?
I think Ben would be the character that would change the least if the show went to HBO. I think his mode of expression, his way of articulating himself is already sort of fully realized, it doesn’t miss a level of profanity that you might get [on HBO]. A bunch of characters would benefit—Sawyer would finally be able to cuss the way he wants to if the show was on HBO, and the sex would be a larger element and more graphically presented.
Does life ever start imitating Lost and vice versa? Are there any moments that were particularly strange or fortuitous, where something in your real life reminded you of the show?
There’s another excellent question I don’t have a ready answer for… People assume I’m more like Ben than I actually am, or they’re especially formal or standoffish with me because they think Ben is going to bite them on the hand.
You have an interest in comedy, yet keep getting pegged as these villainous characters. On what kind of sitcom would you like to guest star?
I think Ben and John Locke [from Lost] should be roommates in Brooklyn. And then just have wacky adventures.
Well, sweeps month is coming up, so they could do a crossover appearance and just drop in on Ugly Betty in New York.
Take that idea that they are freely bouncing around the time-space continuum and have them plop down randomly in the middle of different shows. Some shows [our characters] would fit in neatly, like Battlestar Galactica, and other shows we would be so out of place. Like 30 Rock—how jarring would that be?
Is the fifth season of Lost trending more towards action and adventure on the island?
Yeah, even more than you’ve seen so far. It is action-packed. Sometimes you read a script and you think “No way, no way can we film this in ten days—how are we going to get this done?” They are explosions and special effects, gun play and fights, and [we crash] every kind of vehicle imaginable. There is falling through time, falling through space, [even] falling underground.
I think Ben and John Locke [from Lost] should be roommates in Brooklyn. And then just have wacky adventures.
Any chance the suspended hydrogen bomb will make a return appearance later in the season?
Well, we’re going to have to resolve that somehow. Or did they already time travel out of there? [The time travel] is completely unpredictable. That was a great moment when John Locke turned to him and said, “Widmore—Charles Widmore?” He says, “What of it?” And John says…“Nice to meet you.” [Laughs] Fantastic! The idea of it, to be flying around time and space, and yet to be able to keep what you already know…
Sun believes her husband Jin is dead, and blames your character. How much of an actual threat does she pose to Ben?
She poses a terrific physical threat in the moment, but in terms of being able to derail the master plan [of returning to the island], I think he’s going to find a way to turn [Sun] around. He has to.
While Oceanic Six plan their return to the island, Ben’s become quite the fashion plate on the mainland.
He’s looking good, right? I mean it’s not going to last forever but it has been a pleasure to do those post-island scenes. He gets to look a little sharper, gets his hair done, he’s not covered in bruises and blood and jungle dirt. It’s a pleasure, since I’m not in the makeup chair as long.
Why would he ever want to go back then?
Yeah, right. Except [segues into his signature Ben Linus tone] he does, he has to.
Do you think Ben is aware or conscious at all of the whole Kate-Sawyer-Jack-Juliet love quadrangle?
Ben is keenly aware of everything that goes on around him that is of a psychological nature. He’s already made mental notes, made computations, and played out a variety of fictitious scenarios based on that information and [is] seeing how it can be used to good effect. So, yes, we will visit that theme at some point.
And every episode, every season, is plotted out by the creators in advance?
They have a master plan. To those people who say, “Well I haven’t really enjoyed the show since season one because it’s too complicated,” I just want to [tell them] “You never were into the show that they wrote, then, because this was where it was always going.” We were never going to be romantic Robinson Crusoe; it was this whole other thing.
When the US Airways flight crashed it was surreal seeing the survivors received much in the same way the Oceanic Six were on the show. Was it strange for you to view that a week before your premiere?
Anything that has to do with air travel and air tragedy is of interest to me. In this case, not least of which, it crash landed in the Hudson River right at the end of my street. Had I been home on that day and standing outside my building, I could’ve watched it.
After Lost ends its runs in 2010, does working on another television show interest you or will you hightail it back to the theater?
Possibly, theater is what I’m most anxious to get back to. I don’t want to [be away from theater] too long as I don’t want to forget how to do it.
You met your wife, actress Carrie Preston, while performing in Hamlet years ago. She’s now in True Blood on HBO—how would you imagine an alternative HBO version of Lost? Would Ben act even more villainous?
I think Ben would be the character that would change the least if the show went to HBO. I think his mode of expression, his way of articulating himself is already sort of fully realized, it doesn’t miss a level of profanity that you might get [on HBO]. A bunch of characters would benefit—Sawyer would finally be able to cuss the way he wants to if the show was on HBO, and the sex would be a larger element and more graphically presented.
Does life ever start imitating Lost and vice versa? Are there any moments that were particularly strange or fortuitous, where something in your real life reminded you of the show?
There’s another excellent question I don’t have a ready answer for… People assume I’m more like Ben than I actually am, or they’re especially formal or standoffish with me because they think Ben is going to bite them on the hand.
You have an interest in comedy, yet keep getting pegged as these villainous characters. On what kind of sitcom would you like to guest star?
I think Ben and John Locke [from Lost] should be roommates in Brooklyn. And then just have wacky adventures.
Well, sweeps month is coming up, so they could do a crossover appearance and just drop in on Ugly Betty in New York.
Take that idea that they are freely bouncing around the time-space continuum and have them plop down randomly in the middle of different shows. Some shows [our characters] would fit in neatly, like Battlestar Galactica, and other shows we would be so out of place. Like 30 Rock—how jarring would that be?
Source: The Daily Beast
