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Philippine Daily Inquirer
November 26, 2003
Victor Garber 'Alias' Jack Bristow: Good guy, bad guy.
by Joyce C. Abano
SPIES and espionage series have always been intriguing and appealing,
whether on television, in books or in the movies. The success
of "Alias" therefore is no surprise.
"Alias" stars Golden Globe winner Jennifer Garner as double agent
Sydney Bristow, together with Michael Vartan, Ron Rifkin, Lena Olin,
and film, stage and TV actor Victor Garber, who plays Jack Bristow,
Sydney's double-agent dad.
On its second season in Asia (third season in the United States), the
fast-paced series amassed an impressive 11 nominations in the 2003
Emmy Awards. It hasn't exactly captured "CSI"-style ratings yet, but
it is one of the few new shows to have found a firm audience. There's
little doubt that the new season has been highly anticipated in Asia.
Why has "Alias" kept viewers enthralled?
According to Garber, the secret to keeping the audience interested in
the espionage and the double-cross is keeping everything grounded in
reality.
"You have to find something there that relates to the characters and
reality on some level," Garber said in a teleconference hosted by AXN
Asia.
Things in common
Those who know Garber only as the emotionally isolated, detached and
serious spy/father on this ABC series are in for a surprise. In a
teleconference, he talked about his enigmatic character and how much,
or how little, they have in common.
"I'm very serious about acting," said Garber, 54, whose "Alias" role
earned him an Emmy nomination for outstanding supporting actor, "and
Jack Bristow is serious about what he does and I think we're very
similar in that way."
They both also have a sense of humor.
"I hope you can tell from talking to me that I'm not always so
serious," said Garber. "If you were to come and visit us and hang out
on the set of 'Alias,' you will be shocked to see how silly we all
are. I mean silly."
Jack Bristow has a sense of humor?
"Yes," said the actor who plays Bristow, "I think he does have one
and I think there are little hints every now and then that he has
one, and hopefully there'll be more. Otherwise, I couldn't play him.
Actually, I'm working on a scene right now for the third season where
he does actually make an ironic joke with Michael Vaughn on the plane
and I'm so happy to see that."
More fun
As the seemingly distant agent and father on "Alias," Garber makes
the family drama as tense and gut wrenching as the espionage part. He
is playing a character even he doesn't know the truth about, and he
wouldn't have it any other way.
"I find it exhilarating to pick up the script on my front porch and
read it for the first time and see what the story is all about," he
said. "I find out more about Jack every week. Essentially, I'm the
same character, but I'm having more fun this season because I'm doing
more aliases, you know. I like the surprise of not knowing."
Torture and killing
Was he prepared for the very physical role when he signed up?
"No," he admitted. "First season, I was behind a desk a lot. I kept
saying I couldn't do any fight scenes, but then I did one and they
said, 'Oh, it looks good,' and because I did it well enough, they've
given me more. That's my downfall.
"I don't do any training, though, but I do go to the gym to stay
healthy and fit. I don't know how far you are in the second season,
but we're in our third season here (US) and last night, we did a
scene where I've been inside a trunk [of a car] for three days, in a
black sort of a jumpsuit and in a vest with guns and ammunition
attached to me. That's been a nice change.
"I like to torture and kill," he added, laughing.
Garber is also an actor on stage as well as in movies and TV. What
exactly attracted him to "Alias?"
"When I first read the script, I thought it was one of the best-
written scripts I had read," he shared. "Everything I have ever done
I did because I'm interested in the writing. The first thing I read
was where my character was on the phone talking to her [Sydney
Bristow's] fiancé. It's just a short scene, but I thought that it was
so beautifully written and it made me laugh. I kept thinking that if
I had to do a character for a long time, this would be the character
to do."
He compared "Alias" with other TV shows in the US. "'Alias' is very
episodic. In our show you have to pay attention and know what
happened before. I think it's very intelligent entertainment. It
makes demands of viewers that a lot of shows don't."
Working with Jennifer
He thinks the greatest appeal of the show is Jennifer Garner.
"I remember the first reading of the script we had and everybody was
sitting around the table. I was very impressed with the level of
acting that was in the room, particularly with Jennifer who has so
much responsibility.
"I thought when I first read the script, whoever plays this role will
make the show either work or not. I knew in that first reading that
we at least had a shot. I have been very impressed to see how
Jennifer has stepped into this role and taken it to another level and
I love working with her.
"We've become very close friends and so I look forward to seeing her
when I go to the set. I love acting with her. She's quite an
extraordinary person and I feel very blessed because, you know, we
could have ended up working with a real diva, someone who could've
been really difficult to work with. Jennifer is the most generous,
kind, thoughtful human being I've ever met. I feel very very
fortunate."
Garber himself, however, says he is surprised at the show's critical
and commercial success.
"I've been amazed that it's so popular with people. But it's been
fantastic. People are very excited when I walk into a place and they
recognize me from the series. People are very vocal about 'Alias.'
They feel very strongly about the show.
"The people who watch it are fans and I find that wherever I go, some
would say 'it's my favorite show on TV,' 'I never miss it,' and 'it's
the only show we watch.' I mean I get that a lot, so I think that's
always a good sign. You know ... they don't throw things at me."
Protective instinct
The second season of "Alias" focuses more on the family. Garber said
that although he's not a father in real life, he doesn't approve of
Jack's parenting.
"My theory about Jack is that he's not a very good parent," he
observed, "but he's getting better. He has this sinister aspect in
him, his detachment and his ability to cut off from his feelings. I
think everything he does, though, is an attempt to protect her.
Sometimes, his methods and his motives are questionable and even his
morals are questionable in the way he does things. But I think his
intention is always to protect his daughter."
How is his relationship with the rest of the cast and crew
of "Alias?"
"It's kind of amazing," he exclaimed. "We are very close ... I know
you hear people say that all the time, but I've actually seen it. We
are very close. The crew loves working on the show, even though we
have to work really hard. There's nobody in the show that's
difficult. We really have a great group. We, some cast members and I,
even went on a weekend trip together and spent the weekend at an inn,
because we enjoy each other's company so much, and it was so cool."
Meryl Streep dream
Asked what he prefers to do-theater, movies or TV-Garber said, "I
love doing all of them. I love the variation. For a long time I just
did theater and after many years I was ready to make a change. Thank
goodness I started getting movie roles and then television shows came
along. So I was very fortunate to be able to do all three and I like
all of them."
He was in the movies "Legally Blonde" and "Titanic," and was supposed
to do "Fiddler on the Roof" last summer as a musical for TV but this
was cancelled.
"I wouldn't have minded trying that," he said. "I thought it would've
been a fun role to attempt. We may do it next summer, though, on a
break. At the moment, there's nothing I have planned. I'm so focused
on doing 'Alias,' hopefully for another couple of years."
He would love to work with Meryl Streep some day.
"Although I do know her and I like her personally, we've never worked
together and I would love to work with her," he said, adding, "She's
one of the greatest actresses of our time."
Garber let it slip that at the end of the second season, there's a
wonderful cliffhanger, on which he didn't elaborate. And then the
third season starts trying to sort out what happened.
"I think, now, they're making it clearer who are the good guys and
who are the bad guys," he said. "I'm not sure how successful they've
been because it's still hard to follow for some people and I think
that's what makes it interesting."
"Alias" has introduced Victor Garber to a wider audience, and has
finally brought him from being the actor mostly identified as "Hey,
it's that guy," to major stardom.
© Financial Times Ltd. 2003
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