ArtsBeat’s Dave Itzkoff has a fascinating interview today with Lost’s Sterling Beaumon, the 13-year-old actor who portrays the show’s young Ben Linus. Just like the scheming, impossible-to-read grown-up version of the character he plays, Beaumon comes off as a little spooky, and talks in a way that always makes it seem like he’s trying to hint at something bigger (much like other Lost actors who want to be interesting interviews without violating their non-disclosure contracts). Read on for possible spoilers!
So is young Ben alive or dead? When told that most viewers assume he must be alive since he grows into an adult, Beaumon says this:
Ah. You think he becomes an adult. Now, this is just from watching, if you listen back to when the Losties first meet up with the Dharma people, when Miles asked Daniel Faraday, “Hey, we don’t get involved, right?†And Daniel Faraday says, “It doesn’t matter now, we’re stuck in this time, we’re going to change something.†So they’re changing time. Don’t forget, way back in season 2, we saw Ben without his shirt on, and there was no scar.
Also, this is interesting, too. Itzkoff asks if Beaumon based his performance on Michael Emerson’s portrayal of Ben:
My first episode of season 5, Jack Bender [a Lost director and executive producer] told me, “Don’t act like Ben. It will ruin what’s to come.â€
Translation: Prepare to have your head exploded tonight!
A Q&A With Young Ben of ‘Lost’ [ArtsBeat/NYT]