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About.com
May 11, 2005
Michael Vartan Talks About "Monster-in-Law" and "Alias"
Vartan on Working with J-Lo and Jane Fonda
By Rebecca Murray
Michael Vartan (“Alias,” “Never Been Kissed”) stars as the doctor Jennifer Lopez and Jane Fonda fight over in the romantic comedy, “Monster-in-Law.” Fonda plays Vartan’s wicked mom while Lopez co-stars as the temp worker who steals his heart.
Jennifer Lopez describes her co-star as the perfect onscreen boyfriend and says he’s the real thing. Lopez added to her praise of Vartan by labeling him sweet, very genuine, and an actor without any ‘phony airs.’ In Hollywood it’s the norm to hear co-stars describing each other in such glowing terms. It’s just part of the job of selling a movie. But in the case of Michael Vartan, it’s super easy to believe Lopez is telling the truth.
One of the most unassuming, self-deprecating actors I’ve had the chance to interview, Vartan comes across as totally down-to-earth guy you can easily envision fitting in in almost any type of environment.
Check out what he had to say about working with Jane Fonda, Jennifer Lopez, the next season of “Alias,” and how he handles rumors:
INTERVIEW WITH MICHAEL VARTAN (‘Kevin’):
What is it that casting directors see in you that makes them cast you as the perfect onscreen boyfriend?
It still is baffling to me to this day (laughing).
I have no idea. I have no idea what it is, I’m just very, very lucky. There are at least 50 other actors that could have played this part just as well, if not better. And I just, for some reason, it’s the right time, the right place. And, obviously, it’s funny but clearly no one is perfect and I am so far from that that’s it does make me laugh sometimes. How the hell did I get this job? But you know, it’s nice.
Does being the perfect onscreen boyfriend set you up to be the perfect boyfriend off-screen?
No, certainly not (laughing). I think that hopefully most people have a few more flaws and character traits that make them interesting because the character that I play in this movie is one of the most boring human beings on the face of the planet so…
So that’s how you describe him? You looked at the script and you said, “God, this guy’s boring. Yeah, I’ll do that.”
That’s me! That has me written all over it.
What did you really see in the script that made you want to get involved in “Monster-in-Law?”
You know what it was? For me, ultimately, it was obviously getting a chance to work with Jane [Fonda] and Jennifer [Lopez]. That was the main draw. But reading the script I actually laughed out loud several times, which is rare for a romantic comedy because most of the time those things tend to be a little corny and they have, you know, very predictable endings. This film had a lot more comedy than romance, I thought. And meeting Robert [Luketic] the director was… We had a great meeting. He was very excited about maybe me getting it, which is always a nice feeling. And then I met Jennifer and she had cast approval, obviously, because if you’re doing a romantic comedy, you have to make sure you don’t hate the love interest. That always helps. It all worked out and I just got very lucky and now the movie’s opening and it’s actually really good so…
You sound surprised.
Well, along one’s career you sometimes have to make movies that aren’t very good to just work and pay the rent. It’s nice to be in one that you actually like.
You talk about the comedy in this but you play the straight guy. Is that tough?
It’s horrible. I don’t get to do any of the fun stuff (laughing).
Were there any scenes that didn’t make it into the movie where you were allowed to get in on the comedy?
There was actually one scene that was cut where I actually go nuts. During my mother’s fantasy when I propose to Charlie and she’s smashing her head in the cake, there was one sequence where I actually go nuts too and start throwing cake around. And apparently people didn’t understand what was happening. They got scared and so the studio said, “We can’t have that. People are scared of him now.”
The audience didn’t catch on to the idea that it was a dream sequence?
Maybe it’ll be on the DVD. A little bit of redemption there.
Lopez, Fonda, Jennifer Garner – is it just that you are attracted to roles in movies and TV shows with women who are magnets for the media?
Absolutely au contraire. Along the lines of what I was saying earlier is that there are different things that you do in your career that you do for career reasons. There’s no way in hell at this point in my career I could ever even have dreamt of passing on something like this because a) it’s the biggest movie I’ve ever done, and b) the actors involved in it. You know you’re going to get a certain amount of exposure.
In this case the movie was actually really, really good and the script was great, so any time you can do something that hopefully will further your career a little bit but at the same time is good and you actually like, that’s a plus.
Because you do have to do things as an actor sometimes that you think, “Ugh, god, I can’t believe I’m going to do this,” but you know x amount of people are going to see it. It’s good for the career or whatever it may be, so it’s nice to be a part of something that I actually liked that hopefully will help me get my next job.
In “Monster-in-Law” and in “Alias” you star opposite very strong women in the industry. What does that bring out in you?
You know, I never really think of it that way. One of the things I’ve sort of discovered along this long journey is that a lot of the actors and actresses that I’ve worked with that are that famous and powerful have turned out to be very sort of gracious and nice and down to earth people, and not at all these divas and these monsters that you hear about. You know, also I just kind of… It just kind of happened. It’s none of my doing. I don’t sort of set out to, “Okay, my next mission is to be in a movie with Jennifer Lopez. How am I going to make that happen?” You know? You just audition and for every job you get you lose 40 or 50 of them. Sometimes, like in this case, you get lucky. It’s really just been all about chance.
Fonda and Lopez attracted a lot of attention from the paparazzi during the shoot. Were you able to block that out?
Well you know, unfortunately for them, it’s geared towards them. They left me alone. They didn’t even know I was there (laughing). So I just felt bad for them having to deal with all that. Especially in the last 10 years it’s gotten so much worse. They’re crazy. They take such incredible risks with cars and motorcycles and I felt bad for them. But again, it’s part of the business and as an actor you’re fortunate to be working and if it’s something that you can’t deal with, then you should do something else. But there are ways of dealing with it. Like Jennifer and Jane, they deal with it in such a professional way because it’s become part of their life, I guess. Wherever they go, they’re going to get hounded so I guess they’ve found ways to not let it upset them and ruin their afternoon. They’re just pretty gracious about it.
Jane Fonda came out of retirement to do this role. What did you learn from working with her?
It’s not so much anything specific or tangible. It’s more just her demeanor. Her graciousness, the way she treated the crew. Her patience. Her incredible amount of commitment towards the part and the movie. And just how sweet she was. That to be part of her comeback as you said, I almost don’t want to call it a comeback because she’s been in our consciousness for so long (laughing) in so many other fields, but it was obviously a clear case of something I could not even think about passing up on to be part of. It was pretty fantastic.
I read that you don’t even like romantic comedies. Is that true?
Yeah. I can go ahead and say that I don’t like romantic comedies. They’re not my favorite kind of movie. I mean, there have been good ones. There are actually some good ones, but it’s not my favorite kind of movie because I prefer things that are darker and that are probably more challenging as an actor and as a person. I just find the darker side of people much more interesting. But also romantic comedies are great because there’s nothing wrong with going to the movies for a couple of hours and having that warm, happy feeling and forgetting about your problems and whatever. But they’re not desert island movies material.
Talking about darker material, is there a project you’re dying to do?
There are a couple scripts out there floating around that I’d really like to be a part of. But I’m at a place where right now I don’t have that marketable, financial value to a studio.
Even with “Alias” doing so well and continuing to be successful?
I’ll tell you it’s a tough gig. The ‘flavor of the month’. I mean, when I did “One Hour Photo” I thought, “Okay…” - I secretly thought this because I don’t like to jinx anything - but I thought, “Okay, I’m starring in a movie with one of the most famous and funniest actors in the world. Things are going to start…” I didn’t work for a year after “One Hour Photo.” I thought, “Okay, you clearly can never count on anything in this business.”
You just have to keep plugging away and if you get lucky enough to get a job, you get one.
And I mean, I’m hoping that after “Monster-in-Law” it won’t be another year until I work again. But you never know. You never know why or when the next job is coming. I actually like that. It’s kind of exciting. I don’t punch in. I don’t have a 9 to 5 job. When you do work you’re lucky enough to go to interesting places and meet mostly interesting and talented people, so it’s really a great job if you can work.
I think the hardest thing about being an actor is between jobs when you don’t know and wondering if you’ll ever work again. It’s kind of a crazy business. There’s nothing better than, “What do you do for a living?” “I get rejected.” 99% of the time I get rejected. That’s what I do for a living (laughing).
Are you worried you’ll keep getting romantic comedy scripts?
You know, people see you in a certain type of movie and they sort of associate you with that genre. That’s just human nature. I’m not worried about it only because I probably won’t do a romantic comedy anytime soon, if I can help it. Yeah, I mean, again I have no idea what my next job is going to be. If it happens to be a romantic comedy that’s too good to turn down, and it may be working with someone that I really admire or respect or maybe a great director, then maybe I would do one. But I would really rather do something that’s a lot darker. Not saying that I’m a weirdo with all these demons to exorcise.
That’ll be my headline – “Michael is a weirdo.”
It would not be far from the truth. But it’s always more fun. Look, the good guy in the movie gets the girl. Every actor will tell you it’s so much more fun to play the bad guy because usually those characters are more complex and more broad and more interesting, and have more sides to them. But you know, for now I’ll go where I’m wanted, as they say. “Go where you’re wanted,” that’s always a good bet.
Completely off the subject of movies, everything I’ve read about you says you’re obsessed with hockey.
Yes, I guess. Well, no, not an obsession. I love sports. I’ve always loved sports and hockey is a sport I play as much as I can. I love it. In a weird way it’s like church and therapy and exercise all rolled up into one. I mean when I play hockey I don’t think about anything, which is good for me because thinking hurts my head.
The strike must have been horrible for you.
Oh it’s horrible. I’m so depressed. They’re not playing and it doesn’t look good for next year. It’s absolutely horrible.
I heard a rumor that you may not be back on “Alias” next year.
I did too and I was shocked. I promptly called JJ [Abrams] the creator and said, “Dude, what is going on? I just bought a house last year. What are you doing?” These rumors get started, I guess, a) why about me because who cares?
Wait a minute. You’re a huge part of “Alias.”
About the show sure, but if you’re going to start a rumor why not start a rumor that “Alias” has been cancelled, even though everyone says it’s coming back? I don’t know. Make it more interesting. I don’t know where that rumor started. As far as I know I’m coming back. No pink slip in the mail yet.
Where do you see it going next season and why is everyone still so in love with “Alias?”
You know, I think even in the cast we often are amazed at how they keep coming up with new ideas because we all feel, you know, that it’s been an amazing job to have and be part of. But we’re constantly amazed at how creative the writers are. I mean, seriously, how many more wigs can she wear? How many more hallways can we run down? How many more missions? How many more… And week in and week out they come up with these insane ideas that when you read them at first you go, “What?!” And then you watch the episode and somehow they pull it off. It’s mind-boggling. I can’t believe we’re going to start our fifth season. I can’t believe we shot 88 episodes.
88 episodes of "Alias?" That’s amazing. And new viewers find it every year. Some people are just catching onto it in the fourth year.
Exactly. I think that one of the real appeals of the show is, you know, the cast. You look at people like Victor Garber and Ron Rifkin, these incredible actors from Broadway. And Jennifer, obviously. And it’s set in a very sleek and sexy kind of spy atmosphere. And then you’ve got all these great stunts. But you also have characters that I think are well-rounded and the scenes between them are interesting. And you know, obviously we take artistic license because it’s not at all the way the CIA operates. If it was, we’d all be dead (laughing).
I like to compare it to it’s almost like a James Bond comic book in a way. It’s just fun. If you’re a freak and you want to get into who is chasing who and whose father’s niece’s uncle’s and nephew’s is… All that craziness, you can. Or you can just watch it as an hour of television. But I think the main appeal of the show, especially in the first couple of seasons, was it was such an amazing female role. Such a great strong role for a woman. There weren’t many out there at the time and I think it sort of just blew up because of that.
Romance-wise, do you see them ultimately getting back together?
Well, they were together once. Again, the writers are pretty good at sensing the pulse of what the fans want. Not that they necessarily write for the fans, but ultimately they do because they’re the people who watch. I don’t know. I don’t know what’s going to happen. They don’t really tell us. I don’t ask them.
Would you personally like to see them get back together?
I think it’s more fun to play the forbidden fruit. I can’t believe I just said that (laughing). It’s sexier and it’s more fun. If they get together then great because they’ve done it before. If they don’t… I mean obviously I think those two characters are either going to be on their way to getting together or getting together. That’s kind of their destiny - it seems to be. But they’re very good at switching things around on “Alias.” As soon as you get comfortable with something then boom, they just turn the tables.
They pull the rug out from under you.
Exactly.
What’s your favorite episode?
I still love the pilot. That initial episode was, I think, one of the best hours of television I’ve ever seen. …The pilot was so great and she was so amazing in it, it really was something new. I’d never really seen a show like that before. I was only in it for 10 lines at the end – which is probably why it was so good. No, I think the pilot was my favorite. We were all so excited to be part of it and we all just had such high hopes for it and we loved it. Four years later we’re still plugging away, which is awesome. Your first is always that one unforgettable kind of feeling and it was so damn good.
Do you want to address the Jennifer Garner pregnancy rumor?
No. Only because it is a rumor.
Does it sour you on doing interviews when all you’re asked about is rumors?
No, not me. I honestly couldn’t care less what people say about me, especially in this business that is based on being judged and rejected. You try and live your life as normally as possible and if someone invents a rumor that I have two vaginas, so be it. There’s nothing I can do about it.
Now that’d be an interesting rumor.
I give you permission to start that today!
Thank you, thank you.
Not one but two.
If “Alias” were to end soon, would you consider doing a TV series again?
Sure. I’ve learned in this business especially never to say never. I would rather do movies because I’m very lazy and the hours are much easier. But you know, at the end of the day it really comes down to the quality of what you’re doing. Especially these days television has gotten so good. I mean, some of the best acting and best work is being done on television. Shows like “The West Wing” and “24.” It’s amazing. They’re better than most movies. And it doesn’t have that stigma anymore of, “Oh, that’s a TV actor. We can’t put him in a movie.” So that certainly helped the cross over. Yeah, I mean, I’m talking to you right now because I’m on the TV show and I would certainly consider it again if it was the right part.
© About, Inc. 2005
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