GoodVsEvil
Cadet
The Boston Herald
January 16, 2004 Friday ALL EDITIONS
SECTION: THE EDGE; Pg. E31
LENGTH: 610 words
HEADLINE: Televison; AGENT ANDERS; 'Alias' star discovers he's a teen idol
BYLINE: By AMY AMATANGELO
BODY:
David Anders, who stars as Mr. Sark on ABC's "Alias" (Sundays at 9 p.m. on WCVB, Ch. 5), knows his fan base.
"I always say I have the Backstreet Boys contingent," Anders said in a recent telephone interview. As proof that teens adore him, Anders reveals he was invited to three proms last year.
"It's interesting. The fans are really, really drawn to my character," he said. "I guess I've always been a cocky guy. I thought I was a decent looking fellow, but I never thought I'd be thought of as a sex symbol."
Perhaps that has something to do with his role on the cult show. As the nefarious and mysterious Sark, his character has switched sides more times than Roger Clemens.
"It's only going to get worse," he said.
The series, now in its third season, already has undergone numerous mind-bending plot permutations. It's something even the actors have trouble keeping up with.
"We know week to week. We're just barely ahead of you in our knowledge of what's going to happen," he said. "It can be frustrating not knowing, not being able to form a back story, but it can be exciting and the fun part, too. On 'Alias,' you expect the unexpected, even the actors."
Although Anders sports a convincing British accent as Sark, he's actually from Grants Pass, Ore. When he auditioned for the show, he tried out a Russian accent.
"They called and said, 'We love you, come back with anything but that accent.' " He tried a German and then a more generic European accent before the series decided his alter-ego would be British. Although Anders never had any formal training, the accent comes fairly easy to him.
"I don't think there's any of me in Sark," he said. "It's easy to hide behind him."
After graduating from high school, Anders was accepted at both the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Pasadena, Calif., and Circle in the Square conservatory in New York. He skipped higher education to move out to Los Angeles to begin auditioning. He had bit parts on "So Little Time" (the Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen series) and the independent film "The Surge."
"It was two years in L.A. before I got the show," he said. "It seemed like an eternity. I was working at the Gap."
The 22-year-old initially was signed on for only three episodes at the end of season one. "I kept waiting for them to tell me, 'We're going to kill you off,' " he said. But he was bumped up to series regular in the show's second season. The most difficult part of the role is "trying to hold my own with Ron Rifkin, Jennifer Garner, Victor Garber and Lena Olin. It's challenging but fun to work and learn from these actors."
It's also a lot of fun for Anders' parents. "They tape the show and watch it over and over again, fast-forwarding to my parts."
Anders, a self-proclaimed Red Sox fan, used to spend a lot of time visiting "Alias" fan Web sites.
"When I was first starting the show, I was on these Web sites all the time. I'd chat live about 'Alias' if I recognized stuff about me. One time I read, 'Don't you think he has a crooked lip?' My heart just ripped out of my chest. That's when I stopped."
Now his brother runs his official Web site (www.davidanders.com), and he uses it to communicate with his fans to answer important questions - such as, boxers or briefs?
He's looking to do a comedy and play "someone completely opposite of Sark" this summer during the show's hiatus. But he knows that other work may pale in comparison.
"This set is going to spoil me for any future sets that I'm on. Everybody is so awesome. It's the most giving and warm cast. There's no ego or anything like that. I think it's very rare in Hollywood."
January 16, 2004 Friday ALL EDITIONS
SECTION: THE EDGE; Pg. E31
LENGTH: 610 words
HEADLINE: Televison; AGENT ANDERS; 'Alias' star discovers he's a teen idol
BYLINE: By AMY AMATANGELO
BODY:
David Anders, who stars as Mr. Sark on ABC's "Alias" (Sundays at 9 p.m. on WCVB, Ch. 5), knows his fan base.
"I always say I have the Backstreet Boys contingent," Anders said in a recent telephone interview. As proof that teens adore him, Anders reveals he was invited to three proms last year.
"It's interesting. The fans are really, really drawn to my character," he said. "I guess I've always been a cocky guy. I thought I was a decent looking fellow, but I never thought I'd be thought of as a sex symbol."
Perhaps that has something to do with his role on the cult show. As the nefarious and mysterious Sark, his character has switched sides more times than Roger Clemens.
"It's only going to get worse," he said.
The series, now in its third season, already has undergone numerous mind-bending plot permutations. It's something even the actors have trouble keeping up with.
"We know week to week. We're just barely ahead of you in our knowledge of what's going to happen," he said. "It can be frustrating not knowing, not being able to form a back story, but it can be exciting and the fun part, too. On 'Alias,' you expect the unexpected, even the actors."
Although Anders sports a convincing British accent as Sark, he's actually from Grants Pass, Ore. When he auditioned for the show, he tried out a Russian accent.
"They called and said, 'We love you, come back with anything but that accent.' " He tried a German and then a more generic European accent before the series decided his alter-ego would be British. Although Anders never had any formal training, the accent comes fairly easy to him.
"I don't think there's any of me in Sark," he said. "It's easy to hide behind him."
After graduating from high school, Anders was accepted at both the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Pasadena, Calif., and Circle in the Square conservatory in New York. He skipped higher education to move out to Los Angeles to begin auditioning. He had bit parts on "So Little Time" (the Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen series) and the independent film "The Surge."
"It was two years in L.A. before I got the show," he said. "It seemed like an eternity. I was working at the Gap."
The 22-year-old initially was signed on for only three episodes at the end of season one. "I kept waiting for them to tell me, 'We're going to kill you off,' " he said. But he was bumped up to series regular in the show's second season. The most difficult part of the role is "trying to hold my own with Ron Rifkin, Jennifer Garner, Victor Garber and Lena Olin. It's challenging but fun to work and learn from these actors."
It's also a lot of fun for Anders' parents. "They tape the show and watch it over and over again, fast-forwarding to my parts."
Anders, a self-proclaimed Red Sox fan, used to spend a lot of time visiting "Alias" fan Web sites.
"When I was first starting the show, I was on these Web sites all the time. I'd chat live about 'Alias' if I recognized stuff about me. One time I read, 'Don't you think he has a crooked lip?' My heart just ripped out of my chest. That's when I stopped."
Now his brother runs his official Web site (www.davidanders.com), and he uses it to communicate with his fans to answer important questions - such as, boxers or briefs?
He's looking to do a comedy and play "someone completely opposite of Sark" this summer during the show's hiatus. But he knows that other work may pale in comparison.
"This set is going to spoil me for any future sets that I'm on. Everybody is so awesome. It's the most giving and warm cast. There's no ego or anything like that. I think it's very rare in Hollywood."
