Michael Vartan made his first screen appearance in the 1988 television film ‘Black Leather Jacket.’ He went on to make his silver screen debut in the 1991 romance drama film ‘One Man and Two Women’ directed by Valérie Stroh. Following his debut, he went on to star in films like ‘Summer Walks’ (1992), ‘Fiorile’ (1993), ‘To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar’ (1995), ‘The Pallbearer’ (1996), ‘Touch Me’ (1997), ‘The Myth of Fingerprints’ (1997), and ‘The Curve’ (1998). In 1999, he starred as ‘Sam Coulson’ in the American romantic comedy film ‘Never Been Kissed’ directed by Raja Gosnell. The film grossed over $84.6 million on a budget of $25 million and while it opened to a mixed reception, the film gained cult status in subsequent years. The following year, he portrayed ‘Kevin Lasater’ in the American comedy-drama film ‘The Next Best Thing’ directed by John Schlesinger. The film received mostly negative reviews from critics and holds a 19% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. In 2001, he joined the cast of the American action thriller and science fiction television series ‘Alias’ created by J. J. Abrams. He played the role of ‘Michael Vaughn’ which earned him a ‘Saturn Award’ and 2 ‘Teen Choice Award’ nominations. The series ran for 5 seasons and aired its final episode in 2006.
After making brief appearances in ‘Kitchen Confidential’ (2005) and ‘Big Shots’ (2007), he became a part of the main cast of the American medical drama television series ‘Hawthorne’ created by John Masius. He played the role of ‘Dr. Tom Wakefield’ and remained a part of the show until it went off-air in 2011. He next appeared in television series and shows such as ‘Go On’ (2012), ‘Ring of Fire’ (2012), ‘Bates Motel’ (2014), ‘Satisfaction’ (2014), and ‘Rectify’ (2015). In 2017, he starred as ‘Detective Crawford’ in the Eshom Nelms-directed American neo-noir thriller film, ‘Small Town Crime.’ The film received a positive response from critics and holds a 79% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. He was last seen playing the role of ‘Jeffrey Bloom’ in the American comedy-drama television series ‘God Friended Me’ in 2018.