Don’t mess with Sydney! Jennifer Garner proved herself as a leading lady and bona fide action star on Alias.
The actress played super spy Sydney Bristow on the ABC series for five seasons, which aired from September 2001 to May 2006. The CIA double agent not only kicked butt and thwarted crime but also found love with her former handler, Michael Vaughn (Michael Vartan).
Garner reflected on the impact of the show in November 2005 ahead of its series finale. “I hope this show is included with all of the shows that have celebrated strong women [in TV history],” she told Entertainment Weekly at the time. “To me, what’s mattered about this character is how much she’s struggled to hold on to her humanity in the middle of this weird world that she lives in and how incredibly hard she works at doing the right thing when that isn’t always cut-and-dried.”
Fifteen years after Alias ended, the 13 Going on 30 star revealed whether the cast would be up for a revival. “First of all, it is insane how close I am to that cast still,” she said at SeriesFest in June 2021. “I’ve texted with Kevin Weisman and Merrin Dungey in the last week! I’ve spoken to Victor Garber in the last week. Ron Rifkin. I mean, I just love those people still. Michael Vartan, Carl Lumbly and of course Gina Torres. So, I guarantee we would all be game.”
While Garner was prepared for some more spy games, she noted that other forces were at play. “The thing is you’ve got to talk to your buddy [series creator J. J. Abrams] and you’ve got to talk to your buddies at Netflix. They would have to want to do it,” she elaborated. “You better just speed it up a little bit if you want me back! … I don’t necessarily do 5 [a.m.] anymore, but yes, I can still do those fight scenes if I have to.”
In the meantime, the Yes Day star is keeping up with her former costars off camera. She and Bradley Cooper, who played her pal Will Tippin on the series, even sparked dating rumors in August 2020 when they were spotted hanging out together at a beach in Malibu. However, a source told Us Weekly at the time, “They are friends and have been forever.”
Scroll through the gallery below to see where the cast of Alias is today.