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Herald Sun (Melbourne, Australia)
April 17, 2002
Meet Michael, alias Mr Lucky
by Eleanor Sprawson
Thanks to Jinnie for the transcript!
MICHAEL Vartan is well-credentialled to be a TV heartthrob: he's an
actor, he's handsome and he's French.
But as the love interest opposite Jennifer Garner in new US spy drama
Alias, he is driven by just one thing.
"I'm just trying not to vomit on myself," he says, "because I don't
think I'm worthy of all the fuss".
"I've always had this feeling of, 'Oh my gosh, what am I doing here? I
can't act'."
Vartan was born in France but has an American accent.
He plays CIA agent Michael Vaughn in Alias, which has just won a Golden
Globe.
There is no stopping the 33-year-old from relentless self-analysis.
"I never wanted to act. It's something that just happened," he says.
"I lived in France until I was 18 and moved to Los Angeles.
"My mum lived here and I thought, 'I'm 18, I'm living in this small
village in France, it's time to explore some of the world and I know my
mum lives in California so I think I'll visit'.
"A friend of my mother was a film director and he put me in this tiny
documentary and from there it was an unsolicited and very gradual
process."
That said, Vartan is actually from a French showbusiness dynasty. His
aunt is the popular singer Sylvie Vartan, his uncle the evergreen rock
star Johnny Hallyday and his father was a songwriter.
His acting career took off during a brief return to his country of
birth, where he was nominated for a Cesar award, the French equivalent
of an Oscar.
But he insists it wasn't through some burning desire to act.
"This is a horrible thing to say, but I only did those French films
because people were paying me more money than I'd ever thought
possible. That was truly the main incentive for me."
Since making his way back to Hollywood in the mid '90s, he has been a
guest star in series such as Ally McBeal and Friends.
He has also appeared in several movies, most notably Never Been Kissed,
opposite Drew Barrymore.
"My mum constantly reminds me that I am the luckiest bastard in show
business'," Vartan laughs.
© Nationwide News Pty Limited 2002
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