|
Victor Garber
|
Jack Bristow
|
|
|
|
The Basics: Born March 16, 1949 in London, Ontario, Canada, Garber left home at
age 16 to go to Toronto. After appearing in a production of "Godspell" there, he
snagged a part in the movie and moved to New York, where he became an accomplished
theater actor. He has received four Tony nominations in his career, but his
most high-profile Hollywood role was in Titanic, as the architect of the ship.
The role opened up his casting opportunities and paved the way for his role
on "Alias."
|
The Basics: Jonathan Donahue Bristow seems to have a knack for falling in
with the wrong people. While at the CIA, he met fellow agent Arvin Sloane and eventually
went freelance with him to form SD-6--only he secretly maintained his alliance with the
CIA. His marriage was a sham as well, since she was sent by the KGB
to marry him and steal secrets from him. Now that his daughter is all grown up and in the
spy game, he's working on earning the trust of the right people and bringing down the
power structure of the wrong ones. Unfortunately, his conflicted feelings for
Irina often put him in the position of making things a little too personal.
|
|
Personal: Victor isn't the only famous member of the Garber family: his
mother had a show called "At Home With Hope Garber" that aired during Victor's youth.
He also has a brother and a sister.
|
Personal: Jack fell in love with and married Laura and only found
out that she was really KGB operative Irina Derevko after she
faked her death. His relationship with Sydney, who was essentially raised by
nannies after Laura's death, was strained-to-nonexistent until she
learned the truth about SD-6 and reluctantly joined forces with him. She
continually goes back and forth on trusting him depending on how upset she
is at the skeletons in his closet on any given Sunday.
|
|
Work History:His first role was at age 12, where he played Duncan's son in
"Macbeth" at London, Ontario's Grand Theatre. After he moved to Toronto, Garber joined a singing group called
the Sugar Shoppe that sang in the style of the Mamas and Papas. They were featured on
both Ed Sullivan's and Johnny Carson's TV shows. After "Godspell," however, Garber's
career in the theater took off. He has done numerous plays, most notably
"Damn Yankees," "Lend Me a Tenor," "Deathtrap," and "Little Me," all of which earned
him Tony nominations. He has appeared in the films Titanic, Sleepless in
Seattle, and Legally Blonde, as well as in many TV movies and series.
|
Work History: Jack was recruited to the CIA in 1967, and he joined the Alliance with Sloane in
1982. However, he kept his ties to the agency due to Sloane's nefarious objectives. He took a forced
leave of absence shortly after Laura's death, because the FBI kept him in prison for
several months in an attempt to learn if he was working with the KGB and Irina
Derevko. He spent years as Sloane's right-hand man at SD-6, but Sloane's discovery
that Jack and Sydney were double agents led to the crumbling of the Alliance.
Now he works full-time at the CIA, where he was recently promoted due to his
expertise on the now-fugitive Irina Derevko.
|
|
Trivia: Garber was one of the first actors to jump on board the
burgeoning book-on-tape trend in the early 1990s with his narration of
Jay McInerney's novel Brightness Falls. His musical talents haven't gone to
waste since the break-up of Sugar Shoppe: he formed a second, less successful
band called the shop and has performed some of his own compositions for
Broadway benefits in the past. He is the biggest joker on the "Alias" set
and keeps all the cast members in hysterics.
|
Trivia: Even as "one of the good guys," Jack has the occasional loose-cannon
moment, as evidenced by his offing of CIA agent/informant for The Man Stephen
Haladki. Nothing drives him to drink (or yell, or excoriate next-generation
spy-wives) like the mention of Irina Derevko. He knows all about the proper
color to paint the walls of your restaurant. Anyone wishing to take him on as a father-in-law can look
forward to being good and stonewalled.
|
Information was gathered from
ABC.com, The Associated Press, The Ottawa Citizen,
Newsday, The Victor Garber Archive, and
Julie's Victor Garber Page.
 Back to Agent Profiles
|
