No, the actuator is the little piece that sticks out the bottom, and pushes the leaf switches together.
As far as the fan control idea, someone else here actually made a similar push-rod type switch system about a year ago, or so.
The theory is pretty simple.
You take an auto fan control, lawnmower throttle cable, auto choke cable, etc... and hook it to the cab so that the cable inside pushes/pulls on the restrictor plate.
The areas that need special attention are:
1) Making sure that the cable body is secured near the restrictor plate with a mounting block of some sort.
If you don't do this, the entire cable, shield and everything will move, and it won't turn the restrictor properly.
2) Making sure the cable doesn't turn too tight of a radius on the way across.
The straighter the cable runs, the easier it will work.
3) Making sure that the piece attached to the restrictor is secure enough to last.
I haven't actually done this hack, so I'm not sure what problems you may run into getting a lever on the restrictor to stay securely.
One idea I had was to remove one of the screws, and use the slot for that screw to secure the end of the cable in place somehow.