The actor that Alias may finally make famous

By ELEANOR BLACK

Talking to Victor Garber, you can't help feeling he should be more famous: Broadway scene-stealer for more than 20 years, respected sitcom actor and movie regular, he falls into that category of someone you recognise but can't remember the name.

The genteel Canadian is what used to be known as a character actor, one of those solid, versatile types who pops up everywhere and is as believable playing a doomed ship's architect (Titanic), a sleazy law professor (Legally Blonde) or an impossibly efficient butler (Frasier, for which he won an Emmy nomination).

This might change with the success of Alias, in which he plays dad to secret agent Sydney Bristow (Jennifer Garner).

It might seem a departure for a man who is best known for playing cerebral gentlemen on stage (a talent which has earned him four Tony nominations). But Garber loves his new role as Jack Bristow, a double agent for the CIA and a murky bunch of villains known as SD-6.

"It's wonderful, it's challenging. The scripts are really smart, I love the cast, I love the writing, it's kind of a dream job really. It's turned out to be really great," he says in an appealing mix of rolling American "Rs" and long Canadian vowels.

His — okay, I'll admit it, sexy — voice helps to explain why the man whose name you don't know has a dedicated band of female fans who call themselves Victorites and hang out in cyberspace chat rooms, panting over recent sightings.

At 53, Garber says he finds such adulation a little "creepy" but he is widely reported on these sites to be more than passingly polite to autograph-seekers who mob the man they refer to as God, in reference to his Jesus role in Godspell.

But true to the old-fashioned manners that Garber is, again, widely reported to possess, he does not seem keen to chat about himself. He wants to talk up his co-star.

"This is [Jennifer's] breakthrough role and she's becoming very famous here and deservedly so. She's a remarkable person, incredibly generous and wonderful to spend the day with. She's extremely talented, so it's kind of a joy. It could have been a nightmare."

In the first episode, dad and daughter are estranged for some reason which is not immediately clear. Their chilly relationship will improve as the season progresses, says Garber.

"We're now working together more closely. The trust is deepening, and in fact I've saved her life a couple of times and she's helped me a couple of times, so we're working through our issues as they say."

A complicated mix of genres and effects, Alias seems to be trying to appeal to a wide range of viewers. There are James Bond moments (Sydney's lipstick is really a tiny camera), Matrix-style fight scenes (absurdly one-sided but fun nonetheless), and shades of Buffy (normal girl saves the world in her spare time).

This exhausting blend appeals to Garber. "I grew up doing theatre and I love doing theatre but, as an actor, I think what I enjoy most is the variation. After you've done a run for 18 months in a theatre you long to do something different."

While industry insiders are predicting a healthy run for the show, Garber is guarded.

"I count on nothing, I've been around too long. You can't count on anything but it seems to have caught on with the public's imagination and that's all you can really hope for with a series. I think we have a good chance of staying around and that suits me just fine."