Summer 1998

Boys of Summer

All he had to do was walk into a room and set down a toolbox. "But I was so nervous, I couldn't function," says French-born Michael Vartan (pronounced Var-tawn) of his first acting experience. "After about 30 takes, the director, who was French, said, 'Here kid, maybe this will loosen you up a bit,' and he gave me a glass of champagne." Since moving to the United States in 1992, a much more relaxed Vartan has appeared in The Myth of Fingerprints, The Pallbearer, and the upcoming black comedy Dead Man's Curve. In a way, Curve-- about a group of college students who murder their roommate-- has brought the 29-year-old actor full circle. "We were always goofing around on the set," says Vartan, who is engaged to his girlfriend of 10 years, Shannon Gleason, an actress. "So after each take, the director would say, 'Okay, Michael, now why don't you try giving me something I can use?' "

Thanks to vartanetc.!

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