Maybe Michael Emerson Isn't So Scary After All

Creepy. Sinister. Manipulative. Downright scary. Those are the words that come to mind when thinking about Michael Emerson's famous TV characters. And rightly so — the actor has a reputation for taking on some of the most intense roles (just look at Ben Linus from LOST or Harold Finch from Person of Interest). Well, he just won't have it anymore! In an effort to stop himself from being typecast, Michael Emerson took to the stage on The Arsenio Hall Show to prove that he's a "positive, optimistic, and fun-loving guy." To do so, he sang his own special version of the happiest and most overplayed song on the radio: Pharrell's "Happy."

While seated coffeehouse-style on a stool, Emerson more or less does an extremely intense poetry reading of the song. And even though he tells the audience to clap along — but only if they feel like that's what they want to do — and he wears Pharrell's iconic Arby's hat, the funny (yet unnerving) performance proves that he will always be the Ben Linus we know and love (and that we are very, very afraid of).

Person of Interest's Season 3 finale airs May 13 on CBS.

Image: LOST/ABC