1. Overview
Michael Vartan (born November 27, 1968) is a French-American actor. He is widely recognized for his role as Michael Vaughn in the ABC television action drama Alias, a role for which he received multiple award nominations. His television career also includes prominent roles as Dr. Tom Wakefield in the TNT medical drama Hawthorne and Terence Anderson in the E! drama The Arrangement. Vartan has also appeared in numerous films, including notable supporting and leading roles in Never Been Kissed, One Hour Photo, Monster-in-Law, Rogue, and Colombiana.
2. Early life
Michael Vartan was born on November 27, 1968, in Boulogne-Billancourt, Hauts-de-Seine, France. His father was Edmond "Eddie" Vartan, a Bulgarian-born French jazz trumpeter, musician, music producer, and composer, who passed away in 2001. His mother is Doris (née Pucher), a painter and artist who is a Polish Jewish immigrant to the United States. Vartan's paternal aunt is the renowned French pop singer Sylvie Vartan, who was introduced to the music industry by his father. His stepfather is the writer Ian La Frenais.
Vartan's diverse heritage includes Armenian and Bulgarian descent from his paternal grandfather, Hungarian Jewish background from his paternal grandmother, and Polish Jewish heritage from his mother. He has humorously stated about his background, "The funny thing is I'm actually a Polish Jew who happens to be born in France. My mom is Polish and my dad is Bulgarian. I don't have an ounce of French blood. But I work it." Vartan has also noted that he tends to be considered a Frenchman in the United States and an American in France.
His parents divorced when he was five years old. After the divorce, he initially moved to the United States with his mother. He later moved back to France to live with his father until his high school years, growing up as a "farm kid" in a "simple environment" in Fleury, Manche, a small town in Normandy. At the age of eighteen, Vartan returned to Los Angeles to live with his mother. He expressed his desire to become an artist, partly to avoid the mandatory military service required in France at the time. In Los Angeles, he attended an acting school after being encouraged by others who recognized his acting talent. He also attended the prestigious Lycée Français de Los Angeles. Vartan is bilingual, fluent in both French and English. He now considers himself to be American and has expressed a desire for Australia to be his second home.
3. Career
Michael Vartan's acting career spans both European and Hollywood productions, progressing from early roles to significant supporting and leading parts in both film and television. His professional journey is marked by a blend of critically acclaimed performances and popular mainstream successes.
3.1. Film career
Vartan began his film career with roles in European productions, including an acclaimed performance in the Taviani Brothers' 1993 film Fiorile, where he played both Jean and Massimo. His early filmography also includes One Man and Two Women (1991), Summer Walks (1992), and Stringer (1992).
He transitioned to Hollywood with noticeable supporting roles in major films. These include To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar (1995) as Tommy, The Pallbearer (1996) as Scott, and Touch Me (1997) as Adam. He also appeared in The Myth of Fingerprints (1997) as Jake and The Curve (1998) as Chris.
Vartan gained wider recognition with his role as Sam Coulson in the 1999 romantic comedy Never Been Kissed, for which he was nominated for an MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss alongside Drew Barrymore. He continued with roles in films such as It Had to Be You (2000) as Charlie Hudson, The Next Best Thing (2000) as Kevin Lasater, and Sand (2000) as Tyler Briggs.
In 2002, he starred as Will Yorkin in the psychological thriller One Hour Photo. A significant commercial success came with his role as Dr. Kevin Fields in the 2005 romantic comedy Monster-in-Law. In 2007, he appeared in the Australian horror film Rogue as Pete McKell. He then starred as Brad in the 2008 film Jolene. Later film credits include an uncredited role as a Calculus Teacher in High School (2010), Rodney McAdams in Demoted (2011), and Danny Delanay in Colombiana (2011). More recently, he played John Alexander in Within (also known as Crawlspace) and a Radio Interviewer in Nina, both released in 2016. In 2017, he appeared as Detective Crawford in Small Town Crime.
3.2. Television career
Vartan has an extensive television career, marked by both guest appearances and significant main roles. His early television work includes the 1988 television film Black Leather Jacket as Motorcycle Boy, an episode of Spender in 1993 as Paul Ducheyne, and an episode of Fallen Angels in 1993 as Harry Stone.
He made notable guest appearances as Dr. Tim Burke, the son of Tom Selleck's character, in the 1997 Friends episode "The One with Chandler in a Box". In 2000, he appeared in two episodes of Ally McBeal as Jonathan Basset. He also played Michel Valentine, a French chef and rival to Bradley Cooper's character, in the 2005 Kitchen Confidential.
In 2001, Vartan played Lancelot in the TNT miniseries The Mists of Avalon. His most prominent role to date is as Michael Vaughn in the ABC series Alias, appearing in 95 episodes from 2001 to 2006. For this role, he received multiple nominations, including the Saturn Award for Best Actor on Television, Teen Choice Award for Choice TV Actor - Drama/Action Adventure, and Teen Choice Award for Choice TV Male Breakout Star.
Following Alias, Vartan took on other main television roles. In September 2007, he played James Walker in the ABC drama Big Shots, appearing in 11 episodes before the show was canceled after one season. From 2009 to 2011, he co-starred opposite Jada Pinkett Smith as Dr. Tom Wakefield in TNT's series Hawthorne, appearing in 30 episodes. He replaced Jeffrey Nordling in the role. The series was canceled after its third season. From 2017 to 2018, he starred as Terence Anderson in the E! drama The Arrangement, appearing in 20 episodes.
Vartan has also made other television appearances, including playing himself in an episode of Go On in 2012, Dr. Matthew Cooper in two episodes of Ring of Fire (2012), George Heldens in six episodes of Bates Motel (2014), Dylan in three episodes of Satisfaction (2014), Forrest in the Rectify episode "Sown with Salt" (2015), and Jeffrey Bloom in the God Friended Me episode "The Prodigal Son" (2018).
3.3. Other activities
Beyond his acting career, Michael Vartan co-hosts a weekly live sports program called Advanced Shouting. He hosts the show with his friends Dan Petriw and Noel Fogelman. The first episode of Advanced Shouting was uploaded to YouTube in June 2020, and the broadcast is also available via Facebook.
4. Filmography
This section details Michael Vartan's appearances in film and television.
4.1. Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | One Man and Two Women | Fred | |
| 1992 | Summer Walks | Thomas | |
| 1992 | Stringer | Chris | |
| 1993 | Fiorile | Jean / Massimo | |
| 1995 | To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar | Tommy | |
| 1996 | The Pallbearer | Scott | |
| 1997 | Touch Me | Adam | |
| 1997 | The Myth of Fingerprints | Jake | |
| 1998 | The Curve | Chris | |
| 1999 | Never Been Kissed | Sam Coulson | Nominated-MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss (with Drew Barrymore) |
| 2000 | It Had to Be You | Charlie Hudson | |
| 2000 | The Next Best Thing | Kevin Lasater | |
| 2000 | Sand | Tyler Briggs | |
| 2002 | One Hour Photo | Will Yorkin | |
| 2005 | Monster-in-Law | Dr. Kevin Fields | |
| 2007 | Rogue | Pete McKell | |
| 2008 | Jolene | Brad | |
| 2010 | High School | Calculus Teacher | Uncredited |
| 2011 | Demoted | Rodney McAdams | |
| 2011 | Colombiana | Danny Delanay | |
| 2016 | Within (aka Crawlspace) | John Alexander | |
| 2016 | Nina | Radio Interviewer | |
| 2017 | Small Town Crime | Detective Crawford |
4.2. Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Black Leather Jacket | Motorcycle Boy | Television film |
| 1993 | Spender | Paul Ducheyne | Episode: "Puck" |
| 1993 | Fallen Angels | Harry Stone | Episode: "Murder, Obliquely" |
| 1997 | Friends | Dr. Tim Burke | Episode: "The One with Chandler in a Box" |
| 2000 | Ally McBeal | Jonathan Bassett | 2 episodes |
| 2001 | The Mists of Avalon | Lancelot | Television film |
| 2001-2006 | Alias | Michael Vaughn | 95 episodes Nominated-Saturn Award for Best Actor on Television Nominated-Teen Choice Award for Choice TV Actor - Drama/Action Adventure Nominated-Teen Choice Award for Choice TV Male Breakout Star |
| 2005 | Kitchen Confidential | Michel Valentine | Episode: "French Fight" |
| 2007 | Big Shots | James Walker | 11 episodes |
| 2009-2011 | Hawthorne | Dr. Tom Wakefield | 30 episodes |
| 2012 | Go On | Himself | Episode: "Bench-Clearing Bawl" |
| 2012 | Ring of Fire | Dr. Matthew Cooper | 2 episodes |
| 2014 | Bates Motel | George Heldens | 6 episodes |
| 2014 | Satisfaction | Dylan | 3 episodes |
| 2015 | Rectify | Forrest | Episode: "Sown with Salt" |
| 2017-2018 | The Arrangement | Terence Anderson | 20 episodes |
| 2018 | God Friended Me | Jeffrey Bloom | Episode: "The Prodigal Son" |
5. Personal life
Michael Vartan had a public relationship with his Alias co-star Jennifer Garner. They began dating in mid-2003, and after several months of rumors, their breakup was confirmed in August 2004. The Japanese source mentions that they were reportedly on the verge of engagement before their separation, and Garner subsequently began dating and married Ben Affleck. Despite their real-life breakup, Vartan and Garner continued to portray on-screen lovers in Alias, which led to speculation about Vartan's future on the show.
In March 2010, Vartan announced his engagement to Lauren Skaar. The couple had met in a Whole Foods Market parking lot in Los Angeles in 2009. They were married on April 2, 2011, at the Pelican Hill Resort in Newport Beach, California. However, Skaar filed for divorce in July 2014, citing irreconcilable differences, after three years of marriage.
Vartan is a dog owner and has a dog named Millie. He appeared with Millie in a PETA video promoting good canine care and also wrote a "love letter" to her for an anthology.
6. Hobbies and interests
Michael Vartan is a keen supporter of Australian rules football. He developed this interest after watching the game during numerous visits to Australia, particularly in Melbourne. He is good friends with Australian rules footballer Brendan Fevola and is a supporter of the Carlton Football Club. As a testament to his affection for Australia, Vartan got a Southern Cross tattoo on his right arm after the completion of the film Rogue, which was filmed in Australia.
Vartan is also a fan of ice hockey. This personal interest was incorporated into his character, Michael Vaughn, on the television series Alias, where there are several scenes depicting his character playing hockey. Additionally, Vartan once aspired to become a professional billiards player.