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Michael Emerson is getting to a lot of theater these days. Emerson, who plays Lost villain Ben Linus, is waiting out the writers' strike at home in New York City, having left the show's Hawaiian set in November with no clear return date in sight. The actor, who in front of the camera specializes in outwardly mousy actors who lie and get their asses kicked a lot (he was a villain in Saw, too), got his start in what he calls "straight plays" on Broadway and elsewhere. Now that his "wonderful Christmas break" has extended well past the holidays, Emerson dishes on the new season.

Rolling Stone: So, how can I believe anything you tell me?

Michael Emerson: Heh-heh. [Long silence follows]

RS: Do you ever bristle at getting compliments like, "You're so believably weaselly!"?

ME: People seem to enjoy the character and my portrayal of him. I'm lucky I have a part that is so well-written and so sort of nicely ambiguous and mysterious.

RS: Do you like Ben?

ME: I do. I do. I like how precise he is, his demeanor, his confidence. I like that he's a good listener. I like that he's a character who is from the cool end of the palette. He's not excitable.

RS: Now he's kind of a castaway, too.

ME: Yeah, everyone is kind of a refugee. No one has a home anymore, no one even has a camp. Everybody's on foot, running around the island, and here we're expecting the arrival of this mysterious third group, I'll call them an army, maybe. They're certainly going to be armed and dangerous. So everything's up in the air. No one has resources anymore. Ben in particular, he no longer has henchmen, he doesn't have weapons or resources of any sort, so we're gonna have to see how he lives by his wits.