專訪｜Michael Vartan talks 'Backwash','Alias' @ BELOVED

Michael Vartan: I really just want to go a little crazy

I've been an unabashed Michael Vartan fan since he talked Shakespeare with Josie Grossie in 1999's "Never Been Kissed," but that affinity developed into full-fledged infatuation when he played Vaughn, the "Alias" handler of our spy-dreams. But it wasn't until "Backwash" that I knew he possessed such capable comedic chops.

Which is a source of frustration for Michael, since he's dying to unleash his dark comedy side on the world. Thankfully his self-deprecating "Backwash" narration should clue Hollywood into this up-until-now secret skill set. But if it doesn't, at least he's got that Most Handsomest Trophy to fall back on.

by Jarett Wieselman
November 24, 2010

PopWrap: Having chatted with Josh Malina, I know some of the narrators went off book with their intros, did you or was "I'm handsomeness' Michael Vartan" scripted?

Michael Vartan: [laughs] It's kind of what he'd written – Josh had emailed me an early draft of what they wanted me to do, which was a little heavier in the "God, I'm handsome" vein. But I felt super uncomfortable in that [laughs]. Even for him to get me to say that really shows you how much I like that guy. The day I went to shoot my bit, Fred Willard was shooting his and just went off – none of his takes were the same, he invented all sorts of craziness. Some was brilliant while other stuff was so esoteric, I had no idea what he was talking about.

PW: Is that a situation where you think, "I have to follow that?" or were you just vibing and raring to go?

Michael: Absolutely the first one. As an actor the fun stuff is in big comedy or dark stuff -- you either want to shoot people or laugh. And I’ve never been given the opportunity to do anything remotely funny or of that nature, so walking onto set and seeing Fred Willard, I thought, "holy f*** -- what am I doing here?!?"

PW: Do you feel typecast?

Michael: Yea and I don’t blame them. As you know this business isn’t riddled with people who have great imaginations. The ones who do are, justifiably so, working with Leo DiCaprio and Matt Damon. It’s just one of those things where every human on earth has a dark, funny and normal side – it’s just a question of bringing it out. And I’m not going to blame anyone but myself because you have to have the courage to let it out and I just haven’t been confident enough over the years. It’s a mixture of people not seeing me in that light and me not having the proper tools to express it.

PW: Better late than never -- and FunnyOrDie.com is a great way to wade into the water before taking that uncomfortable crotch step into the deep end.

Michael: [laughs] Absolutely. I met with them a year ago and said, literally I will do anything – the crazier the better – and they came up with Dorf-ism, which I thought was funny. But it’s still not quite what I want to do. I really just want to go a little crazy [laughs].

PW: Yea, not really a whole lot of room for those Nicolas Cage moments amid the romantic comedies.

Michael: Right. I've kind of been typecast as the nice guy over my career and know that we wouldn’t be on the phone if it weren’t for movies like "Never Been Kissed," so I won’t rag on them. And there's nothing wrong with those roles, but my god – bore me to tears. Come on, let’s do something. I like to joke that I’ve been the Ken Doll in the corner, just doling out exposition. I’m the great plot mover with good hair.

PW: So you must have enjoyed "Backwash" poking fun at "Rogue" and "Big Shots" then?

Michael: My favorite line of that thing is, "you surely recognize me from 'Alias.' And 'Alias.'" I love that – it's the only thing anyone has ever seen me in [laughs]. But I was totally honored and flattered when Josh called me because the whole "Big Shots" experience is where we got to know one another. We honestly had such a great time on that show – which is odd because it was terrible to watch despite having so much potential. So when [Josh] called me for “Backwash” I got excited that he thought of me as being funny. It's a great feeling when someone you work with says, "Oh, you're not completely horrible."

PW: What are you looking to do next?

Michael: I'm not sure -- I met with my management a while back and said, "I either want to do comedy, something really dark or I'm going to quit because this is getting really boring." And 'Backwash' has been a very small crack in that door, so I'm excited about what's next.