Milo was interviewed by the
Palm Beach Post- FL:
'Rocky's kid' is in Stallone's corner
By Leslie Gray Streeter
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Rocky isn't the only Balboa that figures prominently in the new installment opening today — his son, Robert, is all grown up and in full-on resentment mode of his famous father.
Milo Ventimiglia, who plays Jr., talks about taking his place in the legendary series, the power of Sly and the interesting things people yell at him.
Question: Were you always a Rocky fan?
Answer: Yeah. I wasn't born when the first one came out, but I had already seen the third and fourth ones before I saw the first two. So I became a big fan of the films, and when this one surfaced and I got to ultimately be a part of it, I was excited.
Q: The last person to play Robert Balboa was Sage Stallone, Sly's own son. Was it daunting to try to play the guy's son as well as his own son?
A: I don't think I thought about it like that. There were two other actors to play Robert before that — one was a baby, one was a toddler. For me, I approached (the role) by thinking, "What can I do for the character now? How can I take this character, since it's been 15 years since his last appearance, and make it true and honest?"
Q: Tell me about Robert as he is in Rocky Balboa.
A: He's a young man who is on the wrong path. He's a guy who wants to distance himself from the world of boxing and his father, but he went to the extreme of falling into corporate Philadelphia where he puts on bad suits that don't fit him and has a bad haircut. Even though he chooses to step away from the world where his father found success, he blames his father for his own shortcomings.
Q: What was it like filming the big final fight scene?
A: It was crazy! We were in Vegas, in the arena where an actual title bout was being held. With all the excitement, it kind of blew me away. When people were rushing into the ring at the very end, the excitement is all real.
Q: Why does Rocky still resonate with people, 30 years after the first film's release?
A: I think it's the classic underdog story. Rocky gives hope. He helps people to understand that even though you may not be the best or the brightest, but that if you put your heart in the right place, there's no reason you can't succeed. Rocky was such a simple man, with a simple story that's relatable for anyone, from the lowest of the low to the highest of the high. It's a human success story. Thirty, 40, 100 years later, even after we're all dead, people will go back and see the Rocky films and be uplifted.
Q: What did you learn from working with Stallone?
A: It was a little intimidating to meet this classic icon of American cinema. You see his body of work, and you can't help but be a little thrown by all of that. I was kind of quiet around him at first, but after the first handshake, he completely disarmed me, treated me with respect and kindness. He brought me into the process, this 30 years of history.
Q: Rocky is the third project you've been involved in that has a huge cult fan following, Gilmore Girls (on which he played Rory Gilmore's no-good boyfriend Jess) and Heroes (on which he plays super-powered nurse Peter). So has this changed what people call you on the street?
A: Definitely. The guard is changing. More often now it's "Hey Rock!" or "You're Peter!" than "Oh my God, you're Jess!" It's nice, I think. It reminds me I'm growing up as an actor, getting roles that are different and reaching a different audience. When I'm walking around, I think I look very different in real life, but if I part my hair differently, I hear "Oh, my God! You're Peter Petrelli!"
Q: Speaking of which ... there's no big scoop on Heroes you feel compelled to tell us, huh?
A: Gotta plead the fifth on that. I can't talk about it, and I really don't know anything. There are a lot of ideas about where the show's gonna go.
Q: Can you at least tell me if Peter's alive? He didn't look so good in the last episode.
A: Well, Peter did stop breathing. I don't know. Let's see if he comes back.