Rising star

>> Ted Whittall plays an anti-Nazi crusader in Varian's War

by MATTHEW HAYS

"You really have to get over it," actor Ted Whittall says to me, after being asked the question. And a reasonable question it might be, after the year he's just had: does he find it intimidating to work in scenes opposite household-name, Oscar-winning actors?

Whittall's latest project, Varian's War, stars William Hurt as Varian Fry, a little-known man who helped Jewish intellectuals--including Marc Chagall and Hannah Arendt--flee Nazi-occupied Europe during WWII Europe. Whittall appears in a supporting role as an American diplomat sympathetic to Fry's cause.

"William is such a great actor," says Whittall. "But we're both there to do the same job. And frankly, you feel confident when you're working with someone really good."

The gig in Varian's War, which also stars Julia Ormond, Alan Arkin and Lynn Redgrave, caps an amazing year for Whittall, who now divides his time between Montreal and Toronto. He starred in the third TV miniseries incarnation of Armistead Maupin's popular book serial, Further Tales of the City. He played Natalie Cole's manager in the made-for-TV movie based on the singer's life. He had a recurring role as a cocaine-snorting sleazebag on Traders, and guest shots on such TV series as PSI Factor, La Femme Nikita and The Hunger.

And then, the pièce de résistance. Last summer, Whittall scored a role in David Mamet's latest film, Heist, which led to a scene opposite none other than Gene Hackman. "I confess, I was a bit starstruck around him at first. But I got over it pretty damn quick. Gene's a very comfortable guy, very approachable. And you would think Mamet would be stoic, telling by his plays. But he's very outgoing and has a wicked sense of humour."

Whittall says he's always had an interest in acting--ever since he was five years old, when he appeared in his father's travelling productions of shows like Peter Pan and The Diary of Anne Frank. But the trade seemed a bit too much of a far-off dream, so Whittall did a degree in economics at Concordia. He followed that up with a film production degree at the same university, and then realized his inner thespian was crying out. He managed to land a coveted spot at New York's prestigious Neighborhood Playhouse, which he graduated from in '94.

Whittall then worked on a broad range of projects, from Vittorio Rossi's play Paradise by the River at the Centaur to a number of commercials. (He won a Bessie Award for Best Actor in a Canadian Commercial last year for his quirky turn in an absurd Kellogg's Eggo commercial, in which he discussed the virtues of waffles with a group of stuffed animals.)

After years of piecemeal work, Whittall is happy with his current status as what is referred to in the business as a walking miracle (a working actor), finding himself in the odd position of turning jobs down. "I'm very thankful to the training I got at the Playhouse," he says. "As an actor, a majority of my success right now is because of that experience."

Varian's War opens Friday, June 8