[darcybennett]

Thank you so much for doing this, Canopus! It's much appreciated!

I look forward to watching it later!

Thank you, Doodle!

[JustATragicGirl3]

I'm from Orange County and I'm well, jsut thought I'd let you know. There's no fires in my area or in oange where Milo's family lives I think. and he lives in Venice Beach and there's no fires there so I think he's okay

[sk_]

yeah, my dad called today and said his area was safe "for now" as he put it. my father can be SOO reasuring at times!...

[BYtheSEA]

Originally Posted by JustATragicGirl3 (View Post) I'm from Orange County and I'm well, jsut thought I'd let you know.

That's good to hear. Stay safe!

Originally Posted by JustATragicGirl3 (View Post) There's no fires in my area or in oange where Milo's family lives I think. and he lives in Venice Beach and there's no fires there so I think he's okay

Thank you for this too.

sk_ - I'm glad your Dad is also safe "for now".

I sure hope they get these fires under control soon.

[darcybennett]

Glad to hear your area is not affected by these terrible fires, Dani!

Kate- I'm happy your dad's okay and safe where he is.

Things seem to be improving there, according to what I saw on the news this morning. Hopefully, firefighters will finally get the upperhand on this tragic situation!

For all of those affected by these fires, I hope you're all okay and safe, and didn't have to face the added stress of losing your properties.

[Kelly_mv]

Prestige Hong Kong Magazine, October 2007

THE unassuming HERO

MILO VENTIMIGLIA, a star of the smash series Heroes, developed his thespian powers through TV bit parts and teenage angst films to emerge as an actor with the skill and versatility to play a range of characters. In an exclusive interview with Prestige Hong Kong, the budding superstar talks to Joe Yogerst about the Heroes phenomenon, his school days, his career and his upcoming leading role as a murderous pathologist.

MILO VENTIMIGLIA PULLS his Cadillac onto Sunset Boulevard and considers the bright blue sky. "Have you seen that Steve Martin film LA Story?" he asks. "There's this running joke about how it's always 72 degrees and sunny in Southern California. But sometimes it really is." It's actually one degree warmer (73 degrees F), according to the outside-temperaturegauge on the Caddy's dashboard, as the 30-year-old actor drives east across the City of Angels. As one of the stars of the hit television series Heroes, Milo is feeling pretty sunny himself these days. As a matter of fact, he's headed into work at Sunset Gower Studios (the old Columbia Pictures lot), where the mystical action-adventure saga is filmed each week.

Clad in black jeans and black T-shirt, his dark black locks swept back off his forehead, Milo resembles the character he plays in the series - mild-mannered hospice nurse Peter Petrelli - the most unassuming superhero since Clark Kent changed into a Superman costume. The actor and his character have followed remarkably similar paths in the past 12 months. A year ago, when Heroes debuted on American television, Milo Ventimiglia was a fairly unknown actor and Peter Petrelli a minor character in an ensemble cast. Now Ventimiglia is a budding superstar and Petrelli a crucial figure in one of the most complicated plots ever to hit the big or small screen.

Born and bred not far from the original Disneyland in Orange County, Ventimiglia grew up in a southern California milieu where the whole Hollywood thing is largely taken for granted. And it shows in his refreshing lack of 'star' attitude. He comes across as polite, down to earth and even somewhat humble, more hardworking craftsman than celebrity. It's that workmanlike outlook that got him where he is today, after a long list of television and movie roles in which he played second fiddle to larger egos, gradually earning a reputation as someone who was easy to work with (more of a plus in Hollywood than people think) and able to play a wide range of characters.

As an English major and wannabe actor at UCLA in the mid-1990s, Ventimiglia scored small guest appearances on several hit TV shows. But his first break was playing a conflicted gay teenager in one of the four set pieces that comprised the film Boys Life 2 (1997). Two years later he was the opposite extreme, playing the hunky high school soccer player who woos Rachael Leigh Cook in She's All That. This led to Ventimiglia into a string of supporting parts in other teen angst films (Speedway Junkie, Nice Guys Finish Last) before he landed a part in 2001 on an inconspicuous new TV show called Gilmore Girls. The show didn't get much buzz before its debut, but it quickly turned into a cult hit, enjoying a six-year run during which Ventimiglia played bad boy Jess Mariano, the on-again, off-again boyfriend of leading character Rory Gilmore (Alexis Bledel).

Yet Gilmore Girls didn't prove the path to stardom that many people had predicted for Ventimiglia. After a couple of years, his character on the series was phased out, with plans for Jess to reappear in his own primetime spin-off. But that never happened, and Ventimiglia found himself floating through trying times when all he could land were brief guest appearances on other people's shows and parts in films like Dirty Deeds (2005) that were both critical and box office disasters. Then, last year, along came Heroes and a seemingly minor role in a daring new series in which ordinary people from around the world discover they have superpowers. such as the ability to fly, become invisible or heal their own wounds. The series hook is why this is happening to Peter Petrelli and the others and what they're meant to do with their newfound powers. It was an almost instant hit and quickly spread to television sets around the world.

As Ventimiglia settles back into the driver's seat to answer my questions, Heroes is only four days from kicking off its long-awaited second season on NBC. It's been a crazy week for the whole cast - interviews and guest appearances on all the talk shows, squeezed between a monster shooting schedule that had them on set until nearly midnight the previous evening. And he's just come from a European tour with Heroes cast members to stir up even more frenzy among overseas fans. Yet Milo is anything but tired. He's upbeat and animated, riding the wave he's waited so long to catch.

Okay, tell the truth - did you have any idea when you signed on for Heroes that it would prove not just an American hit but a global cultural icon?

No idea... honestly, no idea. I read the [pilot] script like anyone else and I was intrigued by some of these characters and what they were going through. But when it came down to the national and global success of the show, I had no idea it would ever get to that point. Literally not until we got to London and Paris during the recent European tour. Seeing fans so excited about the show - that's when it hit me. To be flown halfway across the world and have people scream your name, holding up pictures of you [from the show] covered in blood or flying off buildings.

What do you think makes this show so appealing to so many different kinds of people?

For one thing, the themes are international. And we have a variety of characters, not all of them American. The basis of the show is what these characters are going through as human beings. People all around the world can relate to their experiences. We all know what it's like to love, to have anger, to have responsibility for friends, family and jobs. I think it's that relativity that makes the show so popular, that keeps it interesting to not just one type of viewer, that really widens the audience.

But all of us don't know what it's like to fly?

[Laughs] Yeah, maybe not flying. There is that fantastic element of what it would be like to have the ability to fly or be broken and heal yourself quickly. But that's just one part of the show. The other struggles the characters are going through are all very human. People always ask me, 'What's your definition of a hero?' I think there are a million kinds of heroes. You don't have to have these amazing abilities. People who inspire our thoughts and lives are heroes as much as a big strong man taking someone out of a burning building.

What makes Peter Petrelli tick in the show?

Peter is looking for his place in life, something that's going to give him importance. He's a caregiver, got a big heart, but doesn't really know where he's going. In his search and struggle to find what he's supposed to be doing, he finds something much bigger than himself - the whole 'save the cheerleader, save the world' theme that runs through the show. It's a big thing to shoulder, a big responsibility. It's like, 'I just wanted to find my place in life and now you want me to save everyone?' Peter is reluctant, but he also believes that you've got to be responsible and stand with conviction and make decisions that are at times not in our own best interest but the best interest of the whole world.

Are you anything like Peter?

That's not who I am today. I think the struggles I had at one point in my early 20s were very similar to what Peter goes through. But I'm a bit older now and I've kind of found my direction, what I'd like to be doing.

It seems like a physically taxing show. And I know you've had some minor injuries, had to have an MRI and that sort of thing. Do you have to work out, keep in shape?

I do keep myself fit. And I think the producers got lucky with the entire cast. We all understand the responsibility of physicality with our characters. If I don't keep myself fit, my acting and the whole show are going to suffer. I really try hard to do every aspect of my job including the stunt work. I had a great stunt guy last year who took a lot of hard hits for me. My double was awesome. But I do like to do as much [of the action] as I can and as much as they're willing to let me do. I don't know many actors who are going to say, 'Let me jump upside down from the top of 17-storey buildings.'

Series creator Tim Kring says he has the show mapped out for five full seasons. Has he let you and the other cast members in on where the story arc - and your characters - are heading?

I tend not to ask the producers [where the plot is going]. I know that whatever they want me to know and when they want me to know that, is the right thing. There's no need to get ahead of myself. I've heard stories about things that are going to happen years down the road, but at the same time I have to concentrate on what's happening now. You can't put too much stock in what's already planned or rumours about what's going to happen because there may or may not be chemistry between characters when certain situations finally come up. The producers may not want to go that direction because they could shoot themselves in the foot. I speak to all the producers and all the writers on a regular basis. It's a pretty good environment to work in. I think it's important to have dialogue with all these people. As actors, they're our aunts and uncles, and Tim is our father. There's always gonna be a lot of advice and a lot of ideas floating around.

What's your earliest memory of acting or wanting to act?

[Thinks a moment] I remember that excitement of being a little boy and going to see The Empire Strikes Back with my family, when the 20th Century Fox logo came on and the camera spun around it, my heart racing and getting the chills. As a kid I liked performing and being the centre of attention, on a stage or in front of a camera. The possibility to make people laugh and make people cry. As I got older, I tried to connect my acting to emotions and make my characters as real as a person who would really be living the experience I was acting out.

You're an Orange County boy, right? How did growing up in the place that brought the world Disneyland and surfer dudes affect who you are today?

I don't know if it was so much Orange County, but definately my family affected who I am, impacted who I am today. I was raised with hugs and kisses and love, but also parents who taught us to pay close attention to how you do things and what you're doing and how it's going to affect other people. My parents never forced anything on us, but let me and my [two] sisters do what we what we wanted to do in terms of acting or other out-of-school things. And if we got interested in something, they were very supportive. They're a very good example of what I'd like to do as a parent when I have my own family.

Is it true that your first professional gig was a tiny part on Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and that Will Smith was a huge inspiration?

Yeah, that was my first paying gig. I was just 18 and had just gotten to LA. I was going to school at UCLA and got that job. I had one line. Here I am, a no one from Orange County on a television show with a major TV and movie star, and he took an interest in me. Will stopped, had a conversation, asked me about myself. An amazing thing to do for as big a star as he was. He didn't overlook any single person on the set. His attitude was that everyone contributes to the show. It taught me a lesson about how to carry myself on set - knowing about people's lives and what it takes for them to do their job.

Did you get into the whole college lifestyle at UCLA?

In four years of going to school there, I never owned a hat, T-shirt or anything with a UCLA logo on it. I never got into camaraderie. A lot of my friends can't believe I didn't. Just went to school, did my work, skateboarded, surfed and went snowboarding on weekends when I could. I have friends now who kind of live and die UCLA sports, but I don't understand it.

Were you a serious student or did you merely see it as a means to while away the time while your acting career was getting off the ground?

I knew it was passing time so I could get my career off the ground. At the same time, I wasn't going to deny myself an education or stop learning. When I first got to UCLA, I thought for a brief time about going into medicine, being a doctor. But then I came to understand how much time and work that was going to take. I ended up dropping out, not finishing school. School kind of got in the way of work. I was four years in, about a year away from finishing when I left. You want to finish what you start. But at the same time, with the industry the way it was, I couldn't turn away opportunities presented to me.

I know you snagged bit parts on shows like Sabrina, the Teenage Witch and Brooklyn South while you were still in school. But you also got your first starring role - Boys Life 2. That was long before gay characters were in the Hollywood mainstream. Did you think at the time that part was especially risky or brave?

No, not really. To be honest, I didn't think anything of it. When you're an actor, it's just playing a part. Playing a part with compassion. For me, I'm fascinated by characters and what they're going through. Whether it's playing a gay teenager or drug dealer or gang-banger, you bring honesty to the character you're playing or you're doing a disservice to both that character and the audience. Some people might stay away from certain roles because they don't want to be labelled. But I know who I am and I don't look down on anyone for who they are or the way they live their lives.

Do you still consider Gilmore Girls your big break?

Yeah, I kind of have to. It was the first chance I had to really be known in the public eye. One of those jobs that changes your career. It was not a huge popular success of a show. But critics liked it, the acting was great and we had a loyal audience. It was a chance to put my head down and do some good work. I was full-time the first two years and they kept bringing me back with guest slots another four years. TV is brutal. The network telling you you're not working and then telling you that you are. You've got to learn to deal with it. When I left the show, I thought they should kill off my character. I thought that would really be cool. Something to kind of spin the world a little bit. But every time they would bring me back. And by the last time I appeared on the show, I really liked where my character had ended up as a young man.

You dated co-star Alexis Bledel in real life for a number of years. Was she anything like the fictional Rory?

[Laughs] Rory was very different. I don't want to say entirely; every actor brings a piece of themselves to a role. But what I found in her was very different from what people saw on screen or saw in her character.

Were the two of you hasseled a lot by paparazzi?

No, nobody cared. They didn't bother me at all. Not at all, man.

But things have changed, haven't they? All the attention that comes from being part of Heroes. How do you handle it?

The cult of celebrity is an interesting thing. For me, my job is to act. But there are things that come along with it. What I try to do is keep my private life private and hopefully keep people interested in the parts I'm playing. People's nature is to want to know more about people or things they're interested in. If they're interested in a show I'm on, they're gonna want to know more about me.

What do you do with your spare time, when you're off the set?

[Dead serious] I work. I've got a production company and I spend quite a bit of time with that. When I'm not reading lines for Heroes, I'm actually sitting behind a desk coming up with ideas with my production partners, trying to put projects together, films and TV shows, and diversify my career. There's a lot of interests I have in this industry and I try to capitalise on all of them.

Like directing?

Directing - oh yeah. I enjoy directing. A whole different challenge.

What sort of things have you directed?

My company did something called It's a Mall World, a series of small films for American Eagle Outfitters. American Eagle wanted to give back to the kids shopping in their stores and asked us to create something. We brought a writer in and I directed a series of 13 short films starring all of the same five characters, placed in a mall. The episodes ran three minutes and 30 seconds apiece. We pretty much tailored and structured the project like you would a full-length TV show. The series aired on MTV and went to internet at ae.com [American Eagle's website]. I'm happy with them. We had a great writer and a lot of talented up-and-coming actors. For me, it was an opportunity to get back behind the camera, which I hadn't done in a while.

And I hear you're into cooking in your spare time?

Did you read that on the internet? [Sighs in disgust]. I wish there was some way you could edit all the untrue stuff they post about you. I said that when I was 18 and trying to be more interesting than I really was. I enjoy cooking, but it's not something I get a chance to do often because of my schedule. But when I've got time, a home-cooked meal is great.

So you're not a lacto-vegetarian either?

No, that's true. I'm definately one of those. An in-the-womb vegetarian - because my mom was when she had me. Thirty years now. It's the way my sisters and I were raised and has never changed. Not interested in dining at steak houses. I mean, sometimes I'll go to a steak house for a friend's birthday or something like that. But I just order side dishes - a big plate of broccoli, potatoes and stuff.

You were in a music video with Fergie last summer - Big Girls Don't Cry. How did that come about?

I got a phone call from her agent saying she was doing this new music video and was interested in me being in it. They sent me the song and concept they were looking for. I got on the phone with Fergie and kind of did it. It fit right into my schedule - they shot it one day on a weekend when I didn't have anything else going on. I play this drug dealer who Fergie leaves behind. For me it was another opportunity to play a character and be seen in a different light. Recently I lined up pictures of all the characters I've played over the past couple of years - they're all such different people, with different stories to tell.

Are you one of those actors - like Kevin Bacon and Jamie Fox - who craves a music career too?

No. I don't think anybody wants to hear me sing.

But you are getting more high-profile movie parts - like playing Sylvester Stallone's son in the latest Rocky film. What have you got coming up in terms of film roles?

The success of Heroes has given me the opportunity to meet a lot more people. But at the end of the day, I've still got to go into work and work hard on my character. But yeah, I am being given the opportunity to work on bigger and better projects, things that appear in more and bigger theatres. I've got a movie coming out soon called Pathology.

That's the one with Alyssa Milano?

Yeah... I play a forensic pathologist who's got a God complex and starts killing people for sport. Alyssa plays my fiancée. My character falls into the dark underworld of pathology. Researching the part, I got to spend a lot of time in coroner's offices. It was fascinating, going back to when I wanted to be a doctor. It's cool to be around the medical world, human anatomy and the body. I don't want to call it fun because that may sound a little sick. But interesting to see that world and how people in that profession live.

Our conversation comes to an end as Ventimiglia pulls into the parking lot at Sunset Gower Studios. Ready to transform himself into Peter Petrelli, he hops out, relishing his newfound success and, if not quite flying like his Heroes character, certainly walking on air.

[ramgirl]

Kelly you are so amazing!!! Thank You so much for writing all of that our Really glad that you did because i really enjoyed the article i liked that they asked him question about his whole career.

So thank you for writing it out and everything

[tearsofglitter]

Wow! What a great article, and gorgeous pictures! Loved reading it, thanks for posting!

[MariSk8]

I loved the bits about medicine and what he said about Alexis. Thanks, Kelly

[sk_]

Loved the article! Thanks kelly.

[Shanti70]

Thanks, Kelly.

[boredliteratireader]

Kelly, thank you soooo much for posting the article..

The writer has covered everything about Milo...I love it..probably my favourite interview of Milo...

'And I hear you're into cooking in your spare time?

Did you read that on the internet? [Sighs in disgust]. '

Hahahahaa

'No. I don't think anybody wants to hear me sing.'

LOL...

I loved what he had to say about GG and the Alexis-Rory thing...

[Héla]

thank you very much Kelly, i really appreciate it and the article was great

[barelylegal]

Summing it up: This interview was actually very well done! Honestly, I haven't read such a great interview for a while!

Milo Ventimiglia is so mature and insightful with his answers He knows how to talk well and what he says is interesting to listen to/read.

Regarding the summary of Milo's career: it is concise and very accurate. Props to the interviewer!

[Shanti70]

Two years later he was the opposite extreme, playing the hunky high school soccer player who woos Rachael Leigh Cook in She's All That.

Not to nitpick, but this is not quite accurate. I guess the interviewer didn't see the movie.