Big Shots - Michael Vartan
Michael Vartan came to international acclaim with his starring
role as Agent Michael Vaughn for five seasons on the worldwide
hit ABC series Alias.
Vartan has wrapped production on a starring role in his first
action/thriller, Rogue, for the Weinstein Company. He plays
a cynical American travel writer who embarks on a river cruise
in the Australian outback. The role offered a departure from
his recent romantic male leads in such comedies as the Summer
'05 blockbuster Monster in Law and FOX 2000's Never Been Kissed.
Rogue is written and directed by Aussie Greg McLean, whose
debut film, Wolf Creek, has received rave reviews.
Also in the can is a lead role in the independent feature
Jolene: My Life for director Dan Ireland (The Whole Wide World).
Based on a story from E.L. Doctorow, the film revolves around
a woman, Jolene, who escaped the foster care system at 15
only to jump into three disastrous marriages. Vartan plays
Brad Benton, son and heir to an oil drilling fortune, who
uses his charms to pursue Jolene.
Most recently Vartan starred opposite Jane Fonda and Jennifer
Lopez in New Line Cinema's summer blockbuster, Monster in
Law. He previously starred opposite Robin Williams in the
psychological thriller, One Hour Photo. He also appeared in
the two part TNT miniseries The Mists of Avalon, a retelling
of the story of Camelot in which he portrayed Sir Lancelot,
opposite Angelica Huston, Julianna Margulies and Joan Allen.
Born in Paris to a French father and an American mother,
Vartan grew up in the tiny Normandy village of Fleury until
the age of 16, when he moved to Los Angeles to live with his
mother, who encouraged him to take acting classes.
After starring in two small French films, he grabbed the
attention of the film world with his breakthrough performance
in the 1993 Italian epic, Fiorile, directed by Paolo and Vittorio
Taviani. Vartan, who was nominated for a French Caesar Award
for Best Up and Coming Actor, played two characters in this
fable of a curse that haunts a family through centuries. Of
his performance, New York Post movie critic Mike Medved heralded
the actor, saying, "[Vartan] is so hugely effective that
it's hard to understand how he could have (so far) avoided
discovery by Hollywood.
Soon after, Vartan signed with an agent and landed a role
in To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar, playing
the bigoted small town thug who harasses three drag queens
(Wesley Snipes, Patrick Swayze and John Leguizamo). He went
on to star opposite David Schwimmer as one of his best friends
in The Pallbearer. He also starred in Sony Pictures Classics'
The Myth of Fingerprints with Julianne Moore.
In his limited free time, Vartan feeds his obsession with
sports, particularly ice hockey. If it weren't for acting,
I'd give anything to play a professional sport, he says, still
holding onto his life long dream.
- from ABC.com
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