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The Washington Post
June 5, 2006
THECHAT: Michael Vartan
By Rich Campbell
Thanks to Zoe, Vartan Ho #1034, for the scan!
Actor Michael Vartan grew up in France playing soccer, but he embraced ice hockey after moving to the United States as a teenager. He played agent Michael Vaughn in the recently concluded ABC series "Alias" and has appeared in several films, including "Monster-in-Law," "One Hour Photo" and "Never Been Kissed." Vartan also will appear in the upcoming thriller "Rogue."
You play in an adult ice hockey league?
I play in a regular pickup league run by this French-Canadian guy. He's about 75, and he's been running this league for about 30 years. It's basically just a bunch of Canadian transplants who -- if they're not working -- find a way to get off at lunch and go skate. It's a pretty good level of hockey. What I love about it is that there are actually no actors. I'm the only one. We don't talk about acting. We just talk about hockey.
I wouldn't expect a league like that to exist out in L.A.; maybe New York or someplace up north.
You know what happened? When [Wayne] Gretzky was traded to the [Los Angeles] Kings from the [Edmonton] Oilers, there was a huge boom of hockey in Southern California. It went from maybe having four or five rinks in the area to now we have about 15. And the [Anaheim Mighty] Ducks arrived and the [San Jose] Sharks arrived. I think he's solely responsible for me having ice time in Los Angeles, so I thank him for that.
Were you a hockey fan growing up in France?
No, I actually became a hockey fan a little later on in life. I was a soccer fan when I was growing up in France, and I was actually drafted by a pro team when I was 14. My father said, "No," which is always great. But when I moved to the States, at the time I think the NASL [North American Soccer League] was just folding, so there wasn't really any soccer. Sure enough, hockey was the one sport I found that was kind of similar. You have your defense, your offense and a goalie. So, I just kind of naturally gravitated toward hockey.
Which club drafted you in France?
It's a team called Paris Saint-Germain.
Wow, that's impressive. PSG is a great club.
It's definitely the best one in France right now. French soccer is going through a midlife crisis. They're not doing so great right now. But, yeah, it's one of the premier clubs in France. They weren't drafting me at 14 years old, obviously, to play on the first-division team, but it's one of those things where they take young kids. It's like a farm system, if you will. But my father wanted me to be a banker or a lawyer, and look where I ended up.
What do you think about the French team in the upcoming World Cup?
I don't really expect them to do much only because their true superstar players who are coming back are now on the older side, and some of younger players I don't think really quite have the experience of other teams like Brazil and England. A few years ago when [France] lost the opening game to Senegal, that was sort of the lowest point, I think, in French soccer history. But that's why they play the games. You never know who is going to win. Obviously they have a chance to go very far in the tournament because I think they are in a very easy qualifying group. In terms of making it to the semis or the finals, I think it's very unlikely, although I'd love to see it.
What are your plans for watching games? Are you going to be into it?
Yeah. I consider myself American, no doubt about that. I love the NFL. I love the NHL. I love baseball. I miss my L.A. Rams like you wouldn't believe. But there's something about the World Cup -- most of it is because it's once every four years and it's a huge, global event. It is one of the greatest experiences in the world, so I'm pretty fired up about it. I haven't decided yet if I'm going to get up at 5 o'clock in the morning or if I'm going to be TiVo-ing the early morning game.
© The Washington Post Company 2006
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