An interview with Sterling Beaumon, Zap2it divided the interview into two parts. Sterling gives one answer which is a spoiler so I left that part out.
'Lost': Exclusive interview with Sterling Beaumon, Part 1
Sterling Beaumon has been blowing away "Lost" fans with his portrayal of young Benjamin Linus. Now, his character has been apparently blown away…by Sayid. In light of these shocking developments, I had the chance to speak with Sterling about his take on acting on “Lost,” the character of Ben Linus, and being at the center of one of the show’s biggest cliffhangers of all time.
Now, I take pride in keeping a non-spoiler blog here, but I will state up front that while Sterling doesn’t give any definitive spoilers, he does talk about a few things that seem to point in a certain direction. I'd say these answers are akin to many given by “Lost” actors that neither confirm or deny future events, but give a few hints as to what might be waiting for us a little down the line. Nothing we discuss covers events that happen in episodes that have yet to air. Whew. Disclaimer done.
I’ll be airing this interview in two parts. In today’s half, he discusses his start as an actor, why he used to actually hate “Lost,” and shares a few of his own theories on the show. Tomorrow, I’ll share his thoughts on the end of “He’s Our You,” and what it might mean for both his character and the show as a whole. Enjoy!
Zap2it: Tell me about the moment when the performing bug first took hold in your life.
Sterling Beamon: I don’t know…I think it was when my mom took me to a performance of the “Nutcracker” in San Diego, and I thought, “I want to be up there on the stage!” So it sort of evolved from there, and it went into a modeling agent, who said I could do commercials, and then I got a commercial agent, who said I could do TV shows, so I got a theatrical agent, and it kept on evolving.
Zap2it: Would you say that Ben Linus is the role you’re most identified with now?
SB: For adults, it’s definitely Ben. But for kids, it’s the Universal movie “Mostly Ghostly,” which played on the Disney Channel. But you know adults, they don’t want to come up to you and ask a kid, “Aren’t you on blah blah blah?” and get it wrong. So I think adults are almost a little scared to ask. But kids definitely recognize me and come up to me.
Zap2it: “Lost” is notorious for keeping its actors in the dark about the twists and turns ahead in the show. As an actor, how do you play scenes in which your character’s overall arc is in the dark?
SB: It’s really hard, especially because [director] Jack Bender said to me, “Don’t act like Ben, or you’ll ruin what’s coming up,” and I didn’t know what was coming up.
Zap2it: When did Jack tell you this: during “The Man Behind the Curtain,” or your work this season?
SB: My work this season, because in my first episode this season [“Namaste”] Jack told me, “Sterling, act like Ben and you’ll never be on the show again.” Jokingly, of course. What he was saying was that I doing enough of Ben already, and if I tried to, it would just be cheesy and ruin it. He wanted it to be subtle.
Zap2it: So, are you saying you approach Young Ben like a character in and of itself, as opposed to someone that will later be played by Michael Emerson?
SB: I think I’m a little bit of both. I think Ben is a sweet kid, but he has that mean streak, like, if something makes him mad, or he really, really wants something, then he definitely will [act like the older Ben].
Zap2it: That ties into a question from Jake, one of our readers: "What is it like for you to play the younger version of someone we know becomes, at the very least, morally questionable later in their life?"
SB: [laughs] It’s not that hard, it’s just that you have to think about it. You have to think about what you’re doing. Ben as a kid, and Ben [as an adult], he's always thinking…he always thinks about what's next. He’s very devious.
Zap2it: I agree, and that brings up something from Season 3: when Ben lets the rabbit go through the sonic fence, is that kind of what you’re talking about?
SB: I think it is. And truthfully, I have questions if that was really his rabbit. Or maybe that’s where Marvin Candle got the idea about testing on rabbits.
Zap2it: During his first meeting with Richard, do you think Ben has any sense of his future destiny, or do you think he’s simply someone seeking to escape his life?
SB: I just played it as someone who wants to get the heck out of there.
Zap2it: A few of the Zap2it readers want to know: After wrapping “Curtain,” did you get any clue from the “Lost” production staff that you might come back at some point?
SB: Well, not from the production staff. But all the makeup people, and the wardrobe people, and the hair people, and a lot of the crew said, “Sterling, you’ll be back, see you soon.” And little did I know, they thought it would be in the near, near future. But when I went back this time it was like a big, big reunion. [In terms of time between appearances], when I first played Ben, he was supposed to be 11-12, but now he’s supposed to be 14-15.
Zap2it: OK, so when Sayid talks about getting a chicken salad sandwich from a 12-year old Benjamin Linus, that’s not literally true?
SB: He’s actually 14 or 15 at that point. But he’s just saying “12” because actually you’ll find out later how old he really is.
Zap2it: Here’s a question our readers wanted to know: how did you enjoy finally working with the rest of the main cast?
SB: It was a lot of fun. The thing is, the first time around, it wasn’t hard to play Ben because I didn’t know who Ben was! I hated the show before I was on it because it was a competitor of another show I was on ABC, and the other show that I guest starred on kept getting pre-empted because of “Lost.” And I absolutely hated “Lost” for that reason. So when I met people, I hadn’t really watched enough of it to understand the significance of the people. So I had met Michael [Emerson] and Josh [Holloway], but I didn’t realize how big they were to the show. So this last time, when I was actually working with a lot of them, I was like, “Oh my gosh…you’re Jack! You’re Ben! You’re Sawyer! You’re Kate!”
Zap2it: You just mentioned Michael Emerson. Have you two actually talked behind the scenes, trying to develop the character together? What advice has he given you about the role, if anything?
SB: Well, we really haven’t. I mean, before I didn’t know a lot about Ben, and he didn’t give me any pointers. But this last time, since I’m a big fan of the show now, and watch it like an addict, I actually talked theories with him, and he had some pretty interesting ones.
Source: Zap2it
'Lost': Exclusive interview with Sterling Beaumon, Part 2
OK, here we are with Part Two of our exclusive interview with Young Benjamin Linus himself, Sterling Beaumon. If you missed the first part, be sure to check it out. In today's installment, Sterling shares some pretty provocative thoughts on the futures of Ben Linus and the Island. They tie in nicely with the discussions "Lost" fans have been conducting here on the blog over the past week.
For spoiler-phobes: no specific plot points are revealed below. While he offers up some pretty interesting morsels, you won't scream and tell and curse the heavens (or more importantly, me) for having read his responses. Personally, I had a blast talking with him, and I think you'll enjoy this latter half of the interview. Today's topics: the repercussions of Sayid's shot heard round the "Lost" world, the most important woman on Ben's life, and the things "Lost" fans must do while in Hawaii.
Zap2it: Let’s get to the last episode that aired, “He’s Our You.” What were your first thoughts upon reading about Sayid shooting Ben in the script?
Sterling Beaumon: My first reaction was, “What the heck? Why did Sayid tell Ben he was a killer?” Because being a big fan, I had only read the parts I had to read, so I hadn’t seen the other parts. So that was the first shock to me. And then I read down and the next stage direction was, “Bang! Sayid shoots Ben. OMG! Cliffhanger! Flash to black.” That’s what it says. So I said, “Oh my gosh. OMG for real. They can’t do that!”
Zap2it: Was that ending kept hidden from most of the cast/crew?
SB: Anybody who got the script knew about it, but I think that was one of the most protected secrets out of anything that happened. Because you know, when there’s something big like that in the cliffhanger, some people said that should have been the end of the season cliffhanger. I don’t know what they have planned for the end of the season, but if THAT isn’t the end of the season cliffhanger, I think what they have planned for the end is going to be big.
Zap2it: This actually leads into another reader question: have you had a response from many people who were shocked to see a kid shot on TV? Has anyone told you they had a problem with it?
SB: [laughs] Me being a fan, I read, and even sometimes comment, on message boards about theories. I never do Ben theories, because I just don’t want to get into that. But I read them, and I think some people get super creepy about this. I don’t think it’s a major problem. They have this thing when people get shot sometimes where they squib them, and shoot blood out, but they didn’t do that to me. So they told me the only reason they were doing it [this way] was it made where he got shot a “nice, clean death.” It wouldn’t be super bloody or gory. It’s just a nice shot. Boom. Dead.
Zap2it: OK, since you’re into Ben theories, even if you don’t post them, here’s a question I posed to my readers that I’d like you to answer: Who is the most influential woman in Ben’s life: his mother, Juliet, Annie, Alex? And why?
SB: Personally, I think it should be Annie. But for what we know right now…ah! I seriously don’t know.
Zap2it: But your gut’s telling you it’s Annie? That’s what feels right?
SB: Know what? I could probably tell you more after the next episode airs.
Zap2it: OK, so: Assuming this was not the last time we see you on the show, is there anything on the horizon as shocking as Sayid shooting him looming ahead?
SB: Um, I can’t say that right now, because the big question is whether I’m dead or alive. So, if there’s something more, then I’m alive. But like I said: that shot is a nice, clean death.
Zap2it: Well, OK then!
SB: And remember: they are back in time. Remember when [Sawyer, Juliet, Miles, and Daniel] first enter encounter the Dharma people, Miles says to Daniel, “We don’t get involved, right?” And Daniel says, “It doesn’t matter, we’re stuck in this time. We can do whatever we want. Whatever happened, happened.” So you can change time now. Whatever happened in the future will now be changed and will no longer exist.
Zap2it: So you’re saying you think there’s an alternate timeline that’s been created after what we just saw?
SB: I think that everything we’re seeing right now is on a different timeline and is something that COULD have happened. Who knows? Maybe Ben being shot will bring down the whole Dharma Initiative. [The writers] can do whatever they want!
Zap2it: They certainly can. With that, let’s move a bit past “Lost.” A few of the Zap2it readers were wondering if you have any other roles on film, TV or stage in the near future?
SB: Yes, actually, in the near future, if you’re in the Los Angeles area, I’ll be in “Big: The Musical” at the El Centro Theatre. It’s a really fun play, based on the movie, and I play Josh’s best friend.
Zap2it: I also read on IMDB that you’ll be doing voice work in the upcoming "Astro Boy"?
SB: Yea, which is funny, because I’m wearing my Astro Boy shirt right now! Once again, I’m playing a best friend [Sludge]. Unfortunately, I can’t tell you a lot about the character and what he does…because they’ve never given me a full script. They’ve only given me my part.
Zap2it: I am sure you get asked this a lot, but talk about the difference in creating a character in a studio, behind a microphone, and physically performing in front of a camera.
SB: It’s a lot harder, because you don’t have any other actors in the booth with you. The best case scenario, you’re the last one to record that scene, and you hear everyone else’s lines the way the said it to play off of. But if you’re the first one to record, you have to say it every possible way, not knowing how they are going to [respond].
Zap2it: OK, reach for the stars: any dream roles or projects you’d like to undertake?
SB: Oh, I don’t know…I’d like to do a James Bond kind of thing. That action-adventure sort of thing. That would be ideal in the future.
Zap2it: So, Double O Sterling?
SB: Double O Sterling, yea! [laughs]
Zap2it: OK, one last question, getting back to “Lost” for a second. A lot of my readers, and myself included, plan on doing a “Lost” tour someday before they die. I’m sure they keep you busy while on location, but can you recommend anything we should do besides the tour while there?
SB: You guys have to climb to the top of Diamond Head. It’s actually a really good work out, too. And you can look out at the whole island of Oahu from there. And personally, what I love to do is go to the North Shore and watch the waves. But you have to surf while there, even if it’s on the tiny little waves. [Ed. Note: Yes, little waves for me, thank you very much.]
For the “Lost” tour, there’s two things you have to see. First of all, Dharmaville, which is actually a YMCA camp painted yellow. And then…right between the sound stages, there’s always some new thing. They had the Dharma security station there, and then they changed it to…something which I’m not going to tell you just yet. And you should also go out into the jungle where they film. Because they have five places in which they film EVERY jungle scene. They add a plant here, add a plant there, change the camera angle, and no one will ever know!
Zap2it: Well, that’s awesome. Sterling, thank you so much for your time and insight!
SB: You’re welcome. Thank you so much!
Source: Zap2it