photo:
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ObSGi4XI1hg/S-Cl41TCgmI/AAAAAAAAAFg/TviZLPDNjFE/s1600/michael+vartan.jpg
Biography
He grew up in France and the U.S., the son of a Jewish American mother and a Bulgarian father of Armenian and Hungarian descent. He is the nephew of French pop singer Sylvie Vartan. His parents divorced when Michael was 5. At age 18, he did not wish to fulfil the mandatory military service required in France, so Vartan moved to Los Angeles from France with his mother. In Los Angeles he attended an acting school because he had been told he had talent.
Acting career
Vartan in a screenshot from Alias
After many minor film roles, Vartan had noticeable supporting roles in major movies, including Never Been Kissed (1999), One Hour Photo (2002) and Monster-in-Law (2005). He also starred as Michael Vaughn in the American television series Alias (2001-2005) and is now starting pre-production work on an Australian horror film, Rogue.
He has also had guest appearances on Friends (as Dr. Tim Burke, Tom Selleck's character's son), Ally McBeal (as Jonathan Basset), and most recently Kitchen Confidential (as a rival French chef) starring his former Alias co-star Bradley Cooper.
Rumors
It has been claimed that Michael Vartan refused to sign a waiver allowing footage of himself being Punk'd by Ashton Kutcher to broadcast on television. The prank was supposedly done to him on an airplane. Vartan claims the "Punk"-ing never happened and denies any threatened legal action.
Vartan's departure from Alias is a source of speculation. Some claim that Ben Affleck had a hand in it (as he was uncomfortable with Jennifer still doing love scenes with her ex). Others speculate that Vartan himself was too uncomfortable to continue working on the set with ex, Jennifer Garner. The official reasons given by J.J. and the Alias reps is that they felt the character had run its course and couldn't come up with any more original storylines
2005-2006 will be Alias's last season. Michael is scheduled to return as a guest star for 2-6 episodes. It is not known if his character will still be dead, will appear in flashbacks, or will be resurrected.
Selected filmography
Monster-in-Law (2005)
One Hour Photo (2002)
Alias (2001) (TV series) (2001–-2005)
Never Been Kissed (1999)
The Curve (1998)
The Pallbearer (1996)
To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything! Julie Newmar (1995)
