| Here is Milo's interview in the Dec/Jan 2008 issue of Giant Magazine:
Milo Ventimiglia The Heroes Star Defies Convention
Actor Milo Ventimiglia might not become invisible, fly through the New York City skies, or save the cheerleader like his beloved Heroes character, Peter Petrelli. But the two do share some commonalities. Like Petrelli, Ventimiglia is an independent thinker who insists on drawing his own conclusions rather than accepting any predetermined explanations regarding the state of the world.
Born in Anaheim, California, the 30-year-old actor attended UCLA for four years, majoring in theater. But he doesn't have particularly fond memories of his collegiate experience. "I'm not the best candidate for a college environment," Ventimiglia says. "Someone's telling you what class to take and when to take it, and it's a problem in class if you have a different opinion [from the professor's]. I think it's important to have your own perception of something. Anyone can read a book, but it's how you apply that knowledge and interpret it that matters."
Asked to name a book that delivered valuable insights, Ventimiglia points to Munro Leaf's children's book The Story of Ferdinand, which he read as a kid. "It's a story about this bull who was very peaceful and just wanted to sit out in the countryside and smell the flowers, but everybody thought that a bull should be in an arena fighting," he says. "It's a very simple, cute story, but it taught me that just because people want you to be a certain way, that doesn't mean you have to be that way."
Fittingly, Ventimiglia says what initially attracted him to Heroes wasn't the show's sci-fi elements but its character's complex emotional conflicts. "When I first read [creator] Tim Kring's script, I wanted to know more about these people and how having these abilities excited or terrified them. I can relate to Peter's desire to understand who he's supposed to be and how he's supposed to be impacting the community."
Ventimiglia's next project, the psychological thriller Pathology, also explores the human psyche- though the approach is much darker. "It's about a group of forensic pathologists who get a god complex and start killing people as a game," he says of the film, which is slated to open in February. "We spent a lot of time in the LA County coroner's office prepping for our roles. I watched nineteen autopsies and saw a few hundred dead bodies. To see a shell that used to have a life in it just changes your perspective on things. Having the opportunity to have a conversation, shake someone's hand, hug your family or kiss a girl, it's so much more important now." As is his desire to find material that inspires him and that encourages viewers to seek their own brand of knowledge.
-Celia San Miguel
There are two really nice pictures of him in it, but I don't have a scanner. __________________ -Kelly |