from the late 90s to the late 2000s
michael vartan seemed to be everywhere
before he suddenly wasn't just like that
an actor who had been all over film and
television was nowhere to be found
why can't the star of romcom's past find
work anymore here's the truth
leaving a tv series for a movie career
is risky the actor may assume that the
show was successful primarily due to
their involvement and not due to say
another star of the show
a unique premise or a visionary
showrunner unfortunately for michael
vartan who left alias during its fifth
season
the popularity of the series could be
credited to jennifer garner who
portrayed an international super spy
under the watchful if show creator jj
abrams the entertainment industry and
people who follow entertainment news
generally react the collective wince as
they brace for impact of the fleeing
actors career crash landing
especially if it follows the example set
forth by people like shelly long and
david caruso who abandoned tv mega hits
cheers and nypd blue respectively for
a-list movie star runs that never
materialized but when vartan left alias
it's likely that he didn't think there
was any way he'd wind up like long or
caruso
the actor must have thought he'd turn
out like those performers who
successfully moved from tv to films
people like george clooney you can do
this
you have to varton ultimately returned
to alias but being lumped in with
previous show jumpers could only have
hurt his career prospects
hollywood is ultimately a business and
money weighs greatly on the minds of
filmmakers
studios and production companies actors
who repeatedly prove themselves bankable
can continue to get roles for years
based on their track records
others tend to see their roles dry up if
they're given a few shots that don't pan
out
this could be the case with michael
varton the actor has never starred in a
genuine blockbuster produced by a major
studio that poured a lot of money into
marketing
his 1999 comedy never been kissed earned
a decent 55 million dollars at the north
american box office and six years later
monster-in-law took an 82 million
dollars not only are those not outright
smashes but they're more associated with
other actors
co-stars drew barrymore and jennifer
lopez respectively martin was only given
the chance to star in one more big movie
the 2011 action thriller colombiana
also starring zoe saldana the film
earned just 36 million dollars in north
america less than its budget
in the numbers game of hollywood michael
vartan unfortunately just doesn't seem
to be a draw
even though he hadn't found a ton of
success outside of alias barton had
established himself as a likable and
charming actor
his films never found blockbuster
success but he did line up a decent run
of indie films
shooting to build a stronger fan and
critical base the acclaimed creepy indie
thriller one hour photo
brought in 31 million dollars at the
american box office while the
crocodile-based thriller rogue made just
over ten thousand dollars in a limited
us release
meanwhile a few other shots at indie
success never even made it to theaters
and while large paying audiences didn't
enjoy much of barton's ladder big screen
output
movie reviewers were often similarly
unimpressed don't
be smart with me understood lindy west
of the stranger called jolene a mediocre
movie
which matches its 48 positive rating on
rotten tomatoes demoted was called
tedious and unfunny by several critics
many critics seem to enjoy small town
crime but still others said it was
forgettable or lack charm
unable to carry a big budget studio
movie or get a small film noticed barton
may have run out of chances to prove his
movie star medal
in 2007 abc added big shots to its fall
lineup the show has a cringe-worthy
description which says
the story of four friends at the top of
their game until the women in their
lives enter the room the show was
impacted by the 2007-2008 writers guild
of america strike with production
interrupted and a 13 episode order cut
to just 11
that was unlucky enough for varton but
big shots didn't exactly score with
viewers or critics either
it finished in 53rd place in the annual
tv ratings and amassed a woeful 6
rating on rotten tomatoes in may 2008
abc canceled big shots
yet another setback for varton after the
disappointing receptions of his movies
both major and minor and the quick
cancellation of big shots michael vartan
moved to the then burgeoning world of
basic cable dramatic television in 2009
serving as the second lead on the tnt
medical series hawthorne on this show
notable for its quirky title stylization
that emphasized the rn to let viewers
quickly know that this was a series
about a nurse
jada pinkett smith played christina
hawthorne head of the nursing staff at a
virginia hospital
barton portrayed dr tom wakefield the
chief of surgery and hawthorne's
commitment pushing boyfriend and later
husband
farton was back at his go-to role of
charming love interest that he had
played so many times before
it didn't quite provide barton with the
comeback he may have been after critics
found hawthorne to be thoroughly okay
responsible for giving the first season
a mid lane 45 rating on rotten tomatoes
the first episode attracted nearly 4
million viewers which was a lot for a
cable drama at the time but the numbers
had dropped to just around 2.4 million
by the show's third season
which would also be its last a michael
vartan led show called the arrangement
seemed like an ideal fit for the
e-network
the channel spends a lot of its
broadcast day rerunning movies from the
90s and 2000s when barton was the male
hollywood ideal
so it was just good synergy to cast the
actor in a brand new sexy soapy drama
series in 2017 christine evangelista
played megan morrison
a young actor selected to sign a
lucrative contract and serve as the
public fiance of kyle west a major movie
star and the most famous adherent of a
cult-like organization
barton portrayed terence anderson kyle's
producing partner and also the head of
the coltlight group a provocative and
envelope-pushing series the arrangement
gave barton a chance to show audiences
that he was more than just that guy from
alias
or romcom's past considering barton had
made his name playing nice charming guys
this was a chance for him to play
against type as the creepy and intense
terrance
audiences were into the arrangement at
least at first it initially averaged 1.3
million viewers which was a pretty solid
number at the time but by the end of
season 2
ratings had dropped off a cliff leading
e to cancel the arrangement and put
vartan out of work once more
as of the 2020s michael vartan doesn't
appear in many movies or tv shows but
then that's nothing new
in a career that dates back to 1989
barton has just more than 40 acting
credits to his name
a relatively brief resume for someone of
a stature and age and while he hasn't
proven to be much of a viable box office
draw or tv ratings lure
the problem with this lack of casting
may be more fundamental
casting agents wouldn't care to hire or
advocate for an actor whom critics
repeatedly call out for poor
performances
in high profile films take martin's work
in his biggest box office hit
the thoroughly drug monster-in-law
critics repeatedly attacked the lack of
chemistry between barton and jennifer
lopez
and considering lopez's stardom most of
the blame is not going to be put at her
feet
even at barton's best he seems like he
was never able to differentiate
himself from other similar actors
washington post critic amy argetzinger
even wrote a piece in 2005
attempting to differentiate fartin from
similar actors who often play rom-com
boyfriends like john corbett and dermot
moroney whom she dubbed the guy
attractive likable actors are all over
hollywood and they tend to bounce back a
few pegs if they don't do something to
differentiate themselves
i'm gonna do all three walls yeah i
think it's time to take a break
all of these points about the slow and
quiet fading out of michael vartan's
ears as a leading man of the big and
small screens may actually be entirely
mood he's acted in so few screen
projects over the last five years that
it would suggest the 50-something actor
has walked away from show business
after releasing small town crime in 2017
and the cancellation of the arrangement
in 2018 after two seasons
barton professionally acted just one
more time he guest starred on a first
season episode of the cbs spiritual
drama godfriended me
but after 2018 there's nothing on
vartan's imdb resume
not even anything in production or
awaiting release for the coming years
that said there's also a chance he's
just taking a break to regroup and
figure out what kind of movies and tv
shows he really wants to make
or at least what comes next speaking
with entertainment tonight in 2017
barton said for the first part of my
career i've really been an insecure
actor
i've really struggled to find ways to be
good as i get older it's not that i care
less but i really do
i care less about what people think
about me i care less about what i look
like he also told them he felt his best
work was still to come
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