July 2002

Actress of the Week: Jennifer Garner

Thanks to Jackie, Vartan Ho #101, for the heads-up! :)

why we like her?

In addition to being devastatingly attractive, Jennifer would have no problem taking out our entire panel with her martial arts skills (so perhaps we should be generous in our critique of her). She also plays a wicked character, double agent Sydney Bristow, on Alias, the show that has made Sunday evenings entertaining and ABC cool again.

why is she famous?

She plays CIA double agent Sydney Bristow on ABC's Alias, laying beats to bad guys while in a variety of disguises which, in turn, allow for a variety of sultry outfits. Her first major film role will be in early 2003, opposite Ben Affleck in Daredevil.

Comments:

overall rating: 84

We're grateful to ladies like Kelly Hu and Zhang Ziyi for starting the trend of attractive female characters who can kick butt. Not only has Jennifer Garner ensured that this fad will continue until at least the end of the 2002-03 television season (when Alias' current contract with ABC expires), but she has expanded its conventions to allow for the attractive female in question to sport a bikini or a French maid's outfit while in the midst of kicking butt. This is a development that we endorse wholeheartedly.

The success of Alias, and Jennifer's contributions to that success, have solidified her status as a television actor for years to come. If the film Daredevil, slated for release early in 2003, is as lucrative as many anticipate it to be, Jennifer could very well become one of Hollywood's most sought-after personalities. Rightly so: talented, beautiful girls who can take on any fellow mano a mano deserve fame and fortune.

personality & talent: 84

To take on the multidimensional role of a college student/CIA agent pretending to be a spy pretending to be a banker would present a challenge to any actor, but Jennifer seems to have no problem pulling it off on a weekly basis.

The acting capabilities that Jennifer has showcased on Alias frequently overshadow her stunning looks, which is a task in itself. Nonetheless, we couldn't give her top marks in this category, as one character in one series doesn't make for much of a frame of reference. Once we see her in the star-studded Catch Me If You Can (slated for release in 2002) and Daredevil (early 2003), we'll have a better sense of her range.

As for her personality, Jennifer seems as sweet as any product of a conservative Bible belt upbringing. The press raves about her politeness and grace in interviews, fans rave about her personability in encounters, and everyone who's worked with her gushes about her too. No problems here.

sexiness: 87

There's something about a woman who has the skills to play a martial arts-trained CIA agent that makes her terribly sexy. There's also something about a woman who has a striking physique, a gorgeous face, and soft, pouty lips that makes her terribly sexy.

When you stumble into a rarity like Jennifer Garner, who fulfills both these categories, well that's just almost too good to be true. Well, guess what: it is too good to be true. She's married to former Felicity star Scott Foley. Yeah, we were disappointed too.

accomplishments & fame: 82

The primetime series Alias has been getting plenty of press as of late, most of which has centered around Jennifer. And with good reason -- while the show's formula -- a blend of intricate investigative realism and over-the-top action sequences -- is certainly a strong one, there's no doubt that its ratings would falter considerably without Jennifer as its star.

That's why she was awarded the 2001 Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series (Drama). This would be a coup for any actor, but one would imagine that it is especially satisfying for Jennifer, being the survivor of a number of failed television series (remember Significant Others? Us neither).

Although Jennifer is the reigning queen of TV, she has yet to make her break in movies. She has made appearances in a number of successful films (Pearl Harbor and Woody Allen's Deconstructing Harry amongst them), but has yet to prove that her presence in a leading role can translate to the big screen. This test will come in early 2003, when the comic book adaptation Daredevil is released in theaters. Jennifer will play Daredevil's nemesis/eventual lover Elektra, a role that seems to be fairly substantial.

natural beauty: 88

Beautiful skin, ravishing dark hair and pouty lips contribute to Jennifer's gorgeous face, and working out daily for her Alias role has given her a body to match. Good looks aside, the fact that actor Scott Foley had played the role of Felicity's boyfriend could have landed him any lady in America. He saw Jennifer as a keeper, and that speaks volumes for her attractiveness.

personal style: 79

Jennifer is a frequent visitor to the red carpet spread in entertainment magazines, but mostly because she's one half of a Hollywood couple (the other half being actor Scott Foley) that photographers just can't get enough of.

She wouldn't be landing on any fashion pages on the strength of her style alone -- not because she dresses badly, but rather because she doesn't dress outrageously. It may be a remnant of a conservative upbringing, but Jennifer sticks to the solid, earthy colors in simple arrangements, and has been seen in red on more than once occasion. When not in the awards show or movie premiere limelight, she tends to stick to casual clothes like jeans and sweaters -- not a stretch from how she appears in the Gap ads.

If there is one remarkable aspect of Jennifer's appearance, it could be the number of fight scene-induced bruises she wears. Rare is the interviewer who leaves her without commenting on her Alias wounds, and the sheer number of them apparently once prompted a masseuse at a spa to lecture her on spousal abuse.

Secret Wish:

To strip CIA agent Sydney Bristow of all her aliases, and really get to know her.

Biography:

quote

"It brings to mind the old quote about how Ginger Rogers had to do everything Fred Astaire did, only backwards and in high heels. Likewise, [Jennifer] Garner is Jackie Chan in a slinky cocktail dress."

-Writer Mark Binelli, on the difficulties involved in Jennifer's role on Alias

biography

Jennifer Anne Garner was born on April 17, 1972 in Houston, Texas, to a chemical engineer father and an English professor mother. She was the second of three daughters, all of whom were a young age when the family relocated to Charleston, West Virginia.

The Garner household was a conservative one, wherein makeup and earrings were prohibited, making for a great discrepancy between the appearances of the young Jennifer and the older one that television audiences have come to know.

from toe shoes to leather

As a child, Jennifer was an aspiring ballerina, practicing for up to six hours a day. Over the course of her youth, this passion for performance translated into an interest in acting and, after graduating from George Washington High School in Charleston, Jennifer enrolled in a theater program at Denison University in Granville, Ohio. Jennifer's love for acting blossomed fully during her undergraduate years, and she shunned the traditional college party lifestyle in favor of honing her craft. Upon her 1994 graduation from Denison, Jennifer decided to forego her previous plans to extend her theater studies at Yale University, opting instead to move to New York City. Her plan was to try her hand at some auditions to see how far her training to date would take her.

beginner's luck

Whether attributable to good schooling, innate talent, extremely photogenic looks, or a more likely fusion of all three, it did not take Jennifer long to find stage work. Within a month of her arrival in New York, Jennifer landed an understudy role in a Broadway production of A Month in the Country. Now fully conscious of her capabilities as an actress, Jennifer moved to Los Angeles to seek out television and film work. Again, success did not elude her, and she soon made her screen debut in the made-for-television movie Zoya.

Over the next two years leading up to 1998, Jennifer found consistent screen work. Although the roles she landed were often small ones, their situation among popular sitcoms and successful films raised Jennifer's profile in Hollywood. Guest spots on the programs Spin City and Law and Order, and appearances in films such as Deconstructing Harry and In Harm's Way all contributed greatly to Jennifer's acting resume. In 1998 she was cast in a leading role on the Fox drama series, Significant Others.

give her some felicity

Due to poor ratings, Significant Others was pulled off the air after only a month. Out of work, Jennifer auditioned for a spot on the popular WB series Felicity and, after four further auditions, won the job. Her role, that of Noel Crane's meddling ex-girlfriend Hannah, was initially forecast as a onetime guest spot, but Felicity producer J.J. Abrams (a.k.a. Jeffrey Abrams) was sufficiently impressed with her performance to call Jennifer back for several additional appearances.

Felicity provided Jennifer with more than consistent work: it was on the set of the show that her relationship began with actor Scott Foley (who portrayed her fictional ex-boyfriend, Noel), which led to the couple's marriage in the fall of 2000.

Jennifer got a second stab at a leading role in 1999, when she was cast in the Jennifer Love Hewitt vehicle, Time of Your Life. Although Jennifer's individual performance was critically acclaimed, the Party of Five spin-off shared the same fate of Significant Others, and was canceled after a brief stint on the air. Despite its failure, Jennifer's appearances on the show had contributed to her ever-heightening visibility, and she went on to portray roles in such large-scale projects as the films Pearl Harbor (as Nurse Sandra) and Dude, Where's My Car? (as Ashton Kutcher's girlfriend).

alias: multiple successes

In 2000, Jennifer was approached by then familiar Felicity producer J.J. Abrams with an offer to audition for his new project, an action series he was putting together for ABC. Her interest was aroused by his description of the show, called Alias, and she enrolled in martial arts classes in preparation for her audition. Jennifer's perseverance paid off, and a month later she was cast in the leading role of Sydney Bristow, a CIA agent who juggles multiple identities as well as a host of slinky get-ups.

In a welcome change from Jennifer's previous experiences, Alias has enjoyed respectable ratings, a strong critical reception and an extension into a second season. The program has spawned a loyal fan base and, in February of 2002, Jennifer was awarded the Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a Drama.

Alias is under contract with ABC through the 2002-03 season, and as the program's popularity continues to soar, there seems to be little doubt that another contract renewal will follow. In the meantime, Jennifer has continued to expand her acting experience, and will appear alongside Ben Affleck in a film adaptation of the comic book Daredevil, and in a small role opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in an upcoming Steven Spielberg feature, Catch Me If You Can.

What else do you need to know?

© AskMen.com 2002

Back To All About Alias 2002