The Maytag Man. Is It the End for Colin Ferguson?

Don’t you hate it when an actor or actress from a show you love seems to take a nose dive? His or her acting career faltering and seemingly becoming nothing more than a joke?

Colin Ferguson, better known as Jack Carter from Eureka and William from the show Haven, is unfortunately just such an actor, although I hope I am mistaken. Now, this may have been his choice so as to spend more time with family, like in the case of Janine LaManna, better known as Carmen Sandiego in the kids show many of us who grew up in the ’80s and ’90s remember, Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? (More on that adventure at The Huffington Post.) I certainly hope it was choice for Mr. Ferguson and that he has many more great acting roles in the future, but I recently saw a Maytag commercial with Colin as the new Maytag Man mascot.

Really? Seriously, the Maytag Man? Oh how the mighty have fallen.

No, Colin Ferguson hasn’t reached the caliber of Tom Cruise, Julia Roberts, Robin Williams, Tom Hanks, or Brad Pitt, but I’d put him on par in celebrity with Sandra Bullock and even Nathan Fillion, best known for his leading roles in Joss Whedon’s Firefly series and the more recent popular series Castle. For fans of Eureka, Colin Ferguson has become a household name and we hoped he would reach those heights.

Don’t get me wrong. Colin makes a great Maytag Man, and I like the commercials. While everyone else is advertising additional features like water dispensing from the refrigerator door and smart kitchen appliances, Maytag is going back to its roots, advertising the reliability of their products in a comical way. I don’t know how reliable Maytag products actually are, but as advertisements go getting a leading man who’s best known for being the sheriff in Eureka, a town full of crazy scientists where everything that can go wrong does, makes sense. He’s got experience at keeping things running smoothly.

Colin Ferguson as Eureka’s Sheriff

What I mourn is Colin Ferguson’s acting career. Hopefully I’m wrong and Colin still has a bright future ahead in great shows we can all love. I really enjoyed seeing him in Eureka and hated when the series was cut short by Syfy. Like many great actors, sometimes you really get to see them as friends and follow their careers, even though you’ve never actually met them. I’m not a die-hard fanatic skulking in the bushes to try and get a pic of celebrities behind the scenes or anything, but when I find an actor or actress I like, I want to see them do well. I can only hope that this was a personal choice for Mr. Ferguson, not the death knell of his acting career.

What are your thoughts? Any actors or actresses that come to mind who you had high hopes would do well, but didn’t?

Weston Kincade ~ Author of the Altered Realities series, A Life of Death collection of novels, and Strange Circumstances