We gotta tell you, we are impressed with child actor Sterling Beaumon.  Not only did he do a terrific performance as a young Ben in last week's Lost, but after this interview you'll love him too.

Sterling not only answered all the questions with some juicy Lost spoilers and thought-provoking answers, he actually took the time to go through message boards and answer reader questions!  Here's a small excerpt:

TVGuide.com: I read in a previous interview that when you first appeared on Lost (during Season 3), you were warned not to mimic Michael Emerson, because Ben wasn't that Ben yet. Is it safe to say he now is?
Beaumon: Not quite yet....

TVGuide.com: Something more would have to happen to put him on that path?
Beaumon: Yes. And that Ben.... Well, if you go back in the season to when they first met up with [Amy], they tell Daniel, "We can't interfere, because we can't change time," and Daniel says, "It doesn't matter now, because we're stuck here." So now they can change time. So that big older mean Ben that we know very well may not even exist.

TVGuide.com: OK. I was going to say, Who better to carry out the massacre in a few years than a presumed-dead, angry Ben, but....
Beaumon: Maybe the massacre is never going to happen now.

TVGuide.com: Before we go, you said you had a few things you wanted to clear up....
Beaumon: Yes, I was just reading the message boards — I know, I'm so bad — and there are some things I want to address. For example, Ben arrived on the island in 1974, when he was 12 years old. Now it's three years later, so he's like 14 or 15. When Sayid refers to "12-year-old Ben" [in the episode "He's Our You"], he just didn't know. They will later say how old I really am. Also, some people are thinking that Ben killed his dad in the van fire that he set; he didn't. Older Ben killed his dad in, like, 1995. Those are just a few things I'm seeing out there.

You can read the rest of the interview at TV Guide.

Eric Hochberger is the programmer of TV Fanatic, so please forgive his mediocre writing. His programming is far better. Follow him on Twitter and/or email him. Just don't request threaded comments. They're coming.