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Milo Anthony Ventimiglia (born July 8, 1977) is an American television actor best known for his role as Peter Petrelli on the NBC series, Heroes. Ventimiglia was first noticed by fans during his 3 year stint on the Emmy Award winning WB series "Gilmore Girls", playing Rory Gilmore's rebel without a cause boyfriend Jess Mariano from 2001 until his final guest appearance in 2006. He showed up on “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” (NBC, 1995) and “Sabrina, the Teenage Witch” (ABC, 1996). These spots landed him a starring role in the short “Must be the Music” (1996) a drama in which Ventimiglia played one of four gay men out on a Friday night in Los Angeles. A year later, the piece was compiled into “Boys Life 2” (1997), a quartet of homoerotic short films. Then he was back on the small screen with more guest spots, this time on little-known and short-lived shows “Brooklyn South” (1998), “Kelly Kelly” (1999) with Shelly Long and the “Touched By and Angel” spin-off “Promised Land” (1999). Since then he has proved that he is a force and a talent to be reckoned with. After a his own short-lived WB series The Bedford Diaries, a recurring role as Meg Pryor's love interest on NBC's critically acclaimed American Dreams, and playing Sylvester Stallone's son in the sixth and final installment of the beloved Rocky series, Rocky Balboa, Ventimiglia's big break came in 2006 when he received the part of nurse-turned super-hero Peter Petrelli on NBC's smash hit Heroes. He can currently be seen on the big screen in Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor's new film Pathology as Dr. Ted Gray. Filming of the third season of Heroes began May 1, 2008. Nurturing an impressive body of work that encompasses film and television, Milo Ventimiglia is positioning himself as one of Hollywood's most promising young talents as his career continues to evolve with exciting and challenging projects. Ventimiglia will next be seen starring in Tom Fontana's new WB Series "The Bedford Diaries" (2006), which focuses on a group of college students in a human sexuality class. Ventimiglia quickly garnered attention when he joined the cast of the critically acclaimed television drama "Gilmore Girls" (2000), as the quiet and complicated 'Jess.' Last year Ventimiglia joined the cast of another critically acclaimed show, NBC's "American Dreams" (2002). He portrayed a 60's war radical and helps bring the show into the 70's. He was also a recurring character on David. E. Kelley's drama "Boston Public" (2000). Before joining "Gilmore Girls" audiences became familiar with Ventimiglia when he starred in the Fox series "Opposite Sex" (2000) which secured him a holding deal with Warner Brothers. His other television credits include guest starring roles on prime time series such as "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" (1990), "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (2000), "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch" (1996) and "Promised Land" (1996). Segueing effortlessly between the big and small screen, Ventimiglia's passion for the art of acting keeps him drawn to both studio and independent features. Ventimiglia recently starred in the Wes Craven/Kevin Williamson thriller Cursed (2005) and next up is the indie film Dirty Deeds (2005). His other film credits include Winter Break (2003) and Massholes (2000). Additionally he starred in the short films Nice Guys Finish Last (2001) and Must Be the Music (1996), which debuted at the 1996 Sundance Film Festival to rave reviews. Ventimiglia currently resides in Los Angeles and enjoys skateboarding, snowboarding and wake boarding. He also has a passion for restoring vintage muscle cars. Ventimiglia was born in Anaheim, California, the son of Carol (née Wilson) and Peter Ventimiglia. His father is Italian of Sicilian descent and his mother has Irish, English, Scottish, French, Cherokee and Blackfoot ancestry. His last name, "Ventimiglia", is the name of a town in Liguria, Italy and mean "Twenty Miles". The youngest of three children, he has two older sisters. He was born with dead nerve endings in his lower left lip. When he was younger, Ventimiglia's older sisters dressed him up as Madonna and took photos. He found the photos when he was 13 years old and tore them up. Ventimiglia attended El Modena High School in Orange, California, where he wrestled and held the office of president in student government (ASB). He graduated in 1995. At eighteen years of age, Ventimiglia received a scholarship to study at the American Conservatory Theater for their summer program. He attended UCLA as a Theatre Arts major for four years. At eighteen years of age, Ventimiglia started auditioning, booking jobs, and working his way up. From there, Ventimiglia studied at UCLA before landing a role on The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. Ventimiglia has also guest starred on such television series as CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Law and Order: Special Victims Unit and Boston Public. He had the part of the main character, Jed Perry, in the short-lived FOX TV series, Opposite Sex. From 2001 to 2004, Ventimiglia played brooding teen Jess Mariano on Gilmore Girls. He signed on for a spin-off of Gilmore Girls, entitled Windward Circle, which was going to be focused on the relationship between Jess and his estranged father (played by Rob Estes), but the proposed series never made it to the air because of high filming costs. The season 3 episode Here Comes the Son, was the pilot for the California-set spin-off, which would have starred Ventimiglia, Rob Estes and Sherilyn Fenn. Ventimiglia returned to Gilmore Girls for a few episodes in seasons four and six since his 2003 departure. In the third and final season of the NBC drama American Dreams, Ventimiglia played Chris Pierce, the rebellious boyfriend of Meg Pryor (Brittany Snow). Pierce and his single mother, Shelly (Daphne Zuniga), a Playboy bunny, move into the house next to the Pryors. Chris Pierce evades the draft, fearing he would be forced to fight in the Vietnam War, where Meg Pryor's older brother, J.J. (Will Estes) was wounded. Chris and Meg escape Philadelphia in the series finale to Berkeley, California, much to the sadness of Meg's best friend, Roxanne Bojarski (Vanessa Lengies). In 2005, he starred in the mid-season replacement series The Bedford Diaries, for which he did not have to audition. The producers had only Ventimiglia in mind for the role. However, the show lasted only eight episodes and was one of several shows not picked up by the newly-formed network The CW. During his off-time from television and production work, he has had supporting roles in horror films such as Cursed and Stay Alive as well as starring roles in the short-film Intelligence and the full-length feature Dirty Deeds. Most recently, he played Robert "Rocky Jr." Balboa, the son of Rocky Balboa, in the latest Rocky installment Rocky Balboa which was released in December 2006. He can currently be seen starring as Peter Petrelli in the NBC program Heroes, a show about "ordinary" people discovering they have superpowers. Alongside his work in Heroes, Ventimiglia has also taken on other projects. In mid-2007 he starred as the love interest of pop singer Fergie in the music video for her single "Big Girls Don't Cry". He has also to star in the horror film Pathology, which should be in theatres soon. The movie co-starred Charmed actress Alyssa Milano and was directed by Marc Schoelermann for MGM. After working with writers Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor on Pathology, Ventimiglia signed on for the pair's next film, Game. He has called Neveldine and Taylor the "next big thing" in filmmaking and immediately agreed to play the part of Rick Rape in the futuristic thriller. Ventimiglia describes the character of Rick Rape as "a pretty sick movie," and that "Moonraker, silver grill, with a latex outfit making him look like a bumblebee. With the perverse nature of a teenage boy on speed." In addition to being hired as a second unit director for the 2003 and 2004 "Image Campaigns" for the former The WB Network, Divide Pictures (the production company Ventimiglia co-owns and operates with best friend Russ Cundiff) according to USA Today, is now producing and developing a mini web-series called It's a Mall World as part of a marketing campaign for American Eagle Outfitters. The "webisodes" are due to start airing on American Eagle's official website, during episodes of the new season of MTV's The Real World, and in American Eagle stores nationwide on August 2nd. According to American Eagle's website, Ventimiglia will be directing the series, while his friend Cundiff will be producing it. Ventimiglia played the school’s newspaper editor who threatens to expose an illicit affair between a student (Tiffany Dupont) and her professor. His next series, “Heroes” (2006- ), was not only a hit, it became a cultural phenomenon. A comic book-like drama about eleven supposedly ordinary people from around the world who begin to discover they have supernatural powers, “Heroes” survived the cancellation onslaught of 2006 to rise above the competition and become one of the few new shows introduced that fall to be picked up for a second season. Ventimiglia starred as Peter Petrelli, a New York hospice worker who at first discovers that he can fly, but learns that he actually absorbs the superpowers of those around him. Meanwhile, the actor costarred opposite Sylvester Stallone in “Rocky Balboa” (2006), playing the Italian Stallion’s son struggling to get out from under the shadow of his father’s past. In 2005, Divide Pictures created The DSC, or Divide Social Club, an online and global social network for like minded individuals co-founded by Ventimiglia with his best friends Cundiff and Dino DeMilio, a radio producer for "The Tom Leykis Show". In addition to t-shirt production, Divide Social Club also produces "internet content" in the form of videos that have appeared on YouTube. Has been a vegetarian since childhood. Has signed on for at least 6 episodes of a currently untitled spin-off of "Gilmore Girls" (2000). The series will focus on the relationship between Jess, his character from "Gilmore Girls" (2000), and his estranged father. The "Gilmore Girls" (2000) spin-off (which was to be titled "Windward Circle") has been canceled due to the high cost of filming on location in Venice, California. Directed the 2003 and 2004 WB Image Campaigns for popular shows such as "Gilmore Girls" (2000), "One Tree Hill" (2003), "7th Heaven" (1996), etc... Some of the WB stars he directed included David Boreanaz, Tom Welling, Kristin Kreuk, Michael Rosenbaum, Jamie Kennedy, James Marsters, Rose McGowan, Allison Mack, Chad Michael Murray, James Lafferty, Beverly Mitchell and 'Reba McEntire'. When he was seven, his two sisters used to dress him up like Madonna! After the proposed spin-off series for his character "Gilmore Girls" (2000) character Jess fell apart, he chose not to reprise the role as a regular again on the series, citing that he feels that the character has "run his course" He returned a few times for guest spots. Didn't have to audition for "The Bedford Diaries". The WB had Milo, and only Milo, in mind for the role. The part of Chris Pierce on "American Dreams" was written specifically for him after he met with the show's creators. He attended El Modena High School in Orange, CA. He graduated in 1994. Made his debut in "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air: Bourgie Sings the Blues (#6.4)" (1995). Boyfriend of "Gilmore Girls" (2000) co-star Alexis Bledel from 2002 to 2006. He and Bo Barrett once traded seats on an airplane having no idea who each other were. He is of Sicilian Italian descent on his father's side and a combination of Irish, English, Scottish, French, Cherokee and Blackfoot descent on his mother's. He has a '67 Chevelle Super Sport named "Evelyn". Is best friends with 'Heroes' co-star Adrian Pasdar. Milo and 'Heroes' co-star Adrian Pasdar auditioned for roles in the proposed Gilmore Girls spinoff where Milo was to be the son of Pasdar's character. As there are only 12 years difference between them, the casting director said they would be better off playing brothers. Eight years later, they were playing brothers Peter (Milo) and Nathan (Pasdar) Petrelli in 'Heroes'. He was with his co-star Ali Larter on the Red Carpet of Golden Globe 2006. Started a production company named DiVide Pictures (or the Divide Social Club) with 2 childhood friends. Originally auditioned for the role of Clark Kent in "Smallville" (2001). Although the role went to Tom Welling, the producers at WB liked him so much they gave him the role of Jess on "Gilmore Girls" (2000). Close friend of Heroes co-star Kristen Bell. Similar to his fellow Gilmore Girls cast, also donates to the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation, one of his favorite charities. His favorite book is The Long Walk (Richard Bachman). Close friend of Sophia Bush. He has a great interest in directing. His Favorite Bands are The Strokes, Deftones, A Tribe called Quest, The Hives. Ventimiglia and fellow former Gilmore Girls co-star Alexis Bledel dated for three and a half years; the relationship ended sometime before July 2006. In late December 2007 it was reported that Ventimiglia was dating Heroes costar Hayden Panettiere. On April 22, 2008, Ventimiglia confirmed on The Chris Moyles Show on BBC Radio 1 that he is dating Heroes co-star Hayden Panettiere. Ventimiglia is a lacto-vegetarian, and does not smoke cigarettes or drink alcohol. He is a fan of British band The Clash, and is an avid skateboard fan. Before being cast on Heroes, Ventimiglia had been living with close friends Steve Berra and Patrick Fugit. |
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