Milo Ventimiglia Biography


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Milo Ventimiglia Bio


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" I'm tough on the outside and soft on the inside [...] I'm really a shy guy." - Milo Ventimiglia
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Full Name: Milo Anthony Ventimiglia
Date of Bith: 8 July 1977
Place of Birth: Anaheim, California. USA

Trade Mark: His Smile
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Early Life:



Ventimiglia was born in Orange County, California, the son of Carol (née Wilson) and Peter (Piero) Ventimiglia. His father is of Sicilian descent and his mother has Irish, English, Scottish, French, Cherokee and Blackfoot Indian ancestry. His last name, Ventimiglia, is the name of a town of Ventimiglia in Liguria, Italy, which later gave its name to another city of Ventimiglia di Sicilia. Ventimiglia also means 'twenty miles' in Italian. The youngest of three children, he has two older sisters. He has explained in an interview with USA Today that his "crooked mouth" is a result of dead nerves on the left side, which cause that side to remain immobile, much like, incidentally, Sylvester Stallone, with whom he worked in Rocky Balboa.


Ventimiglia attended El Modena High School in Orange, California, where he wrestled and held the office of president in student government. 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 an English Major for four years, but did not graduate.

Career:




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.[8] 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. Milo also played a key role in an Apple advert for the Apple iBook.

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 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. Coincidentally, in the Gilmore Girls episode, Nag Hammadi Is Where they Found the Gnostic Gospels, Lorelai Gilmore refers to Milo's character, Jess, as being able to "pull off an extremely convincing 'Adrian'", a reference likening Jess to Rocky Balboa.

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/R&B singer Fergie in the music video for "Big Girls Don't Cry". In 2008, he starred in the horror film Pathology. 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 appeared in the pair's next film, Gamer. 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. When describing Rick Rape, Ventimiglia said that "Moonraker, silver grill, with a latex outfit making him look like a bumblebee. With the perverse nature of a teenage boy on speed."


Production work:




In addition to being hired as a second unit director for the 2003 and 2004 "Image Campaigns" for the former 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 2. According to American Eagle's website, Ventimiglia will be directing the series, while his friend Cundiff will be producing it. Ventimiglia is also acting as a back ground character and a cello player in the "Prom Scene".



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.


Ventimiglia, Russ Cundiff and Divide Pictures partnered with Devil's Due Publishing to produce the comic series REST which will be a monthly limited series, starting in August with the .99 cent special issue. The comic is about John Barret, a white-collar New Yorker whose life changes when he becomes addicted to a drug that prevents him from falling asleep.



Ventimiglia will co-produce and appear in "Ultradome," a web series which will debate the comparative merits of science fiction characters. The project is a collaboration between Agility Studios and Ventimiglia's DiVide Pictures. In the first episode, Ventimiglia will argue in favor of Lord of the Rings' superiority over Star Wars.


Campaign:




Ventimiglia took a United Service Organization tour from July 6 to 12, 2008 in support of American troops in Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan.



He is also active on behalf of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) helping in April 2009 to launch a groundbreaking national public service advertisement campaign, www.SupportYourVet.org, which gives friends and family of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans critical tools to support their transition home from war.

Milo Ventimiglia Relationships:
Family:

Father - Peter (Piero) Ventimiglia

Mother - Carol (nee Wilson) Ventimiglia

Two Older Sisters
Romance(s):

Companion: Alexis Bledel. Met on the set of the WB series, Gilmore Girls from 2002 to 2006


Companion: Hayden Panettiere. Met while appearing together on the NBC series, Heroes ; dated for a year, from 2008-2009

Milo Ventimiglia Awards


Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA
Year Award Category/Recipient(s)
Result

2009
Saturn Award
Best Supporting Actor in Television
for: "Heroes" (2006/II)

Nominated



Teen Choice Awards
Year
Award
Category/Recipient(s)
Result
2009 Teen Choice Choice TV Actor: Action Adventure
for: "Heroes" (2006/II)
Nominated
2008 Teen Choice Choice TV Actor: Action Adventure
for: "Heroes" (2006/II)
Won
2007 Teen Choice Choice TV Actor: Drama
for: "Heroes" (2006/II)
Nominated

Milestones

-1995 First TV appearance on an episode of "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" (NBC)

-1996 Featured in the short-film, "Must be the Music" playing one of four gay men out on a Friday night in Los Angeles; later compiled into "Boys Life 2" a quartet of homoerotic short films

-1999 Played a soccer player in the teen classic "She’s All That" starring Freddie Prinze, Jr. 2000 Played the lead in the short-lived FOX series, "Opposite Sex"

- 2001 Played Jess Mariano, a love interest of Rory (Alexis Bledel) on the WB’s "Gilmore Girls"

-2001 Played a murder on an episode of "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (CBS)

-2003 Guest-starred on three episodes of "Boston Public" (FOX)

-2003 Signed on for a spin-off of "Gilmore Girls," entitled "Windward Circle" that was never aired 2004 Joined the third and final season of NBC’s "American Dreams" as Chris Pierce, the rebellious boyfriend of Meg Pryor (Brittany Snow)

-2005 Had a small role in Wes Craven’s "Cursed" with Christina Ricci

- 2005 Landed a regular role on the mid-season replacement series "The Bedford Diaries" (WB)

-2006 Cast as Peter Petrelli, a New York hospice worker who can absorb the superpowers of those around him in NBC’s "Heroes"

-2006 Cast as the son of Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone), in the latest Rocky installment "Rocky Balboa"

-2007 Directed the original short comedy series, It s a Mall World made exclusively for American Eagle Outfitters; mini-episodes aired on MTV and is also shown on the official American Eagle website


Trivia:
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Has been a vegetarian since childhood.
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Has signed on for at least 6 episodes of a currently untitled spin-off of "Gilmore Girls". The series will focus on the relationship between Jess, his character from "Gilmore Girls", and his estranged father.
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The "Gilmore Girls" spin-off (which was to be titled "Windward Circle") has been canceled due to the high cost of filming on location in Venice, California.
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Directed the 2003 and 2004 WB Image Campaigns for popular shows such as "Gilmore Girls", "One Tree Hill", "7th Heaven", 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'.
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When he was seven, his two sisters used to dress him up like Madonna!
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After the proposed spin-off series for his character "Gilmore Girls" 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].
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Didn't have to audition for "The Bedford Diaries". The WB had Milo, and only Milo, in mind for the role.
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The part of Chris Pierce on "American Dreams" was written specifically for him after he met with the show's creators.
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He attended El Modena High School in Orange, CA. He graduated in 1994.
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Made his debut in "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air: Bourgie Sings the Blues (#6.4)" (1995).
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"Every job built my career in some way or made me grow as a person or I got to meet someone great. I had one line on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, but I met Will Smith and he took 20 minutes out of his day to talk to the kid with one line. To this day, I think that guy is amazing because of that.''
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Boyfriend of "Gilmore Girls" (2000) co-star Alexis Bledel from 2002 to 2006
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Is best friends with "Heroes" (2006/II) co-star Adrian Pasdar.
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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.
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Starred in a season three episode of "Gilmore Girls" (2000), which was the backdoor pilot for a California-set spin-off titled "Windward Circle", that was to have starred Ventimiglia, Sherilyn Fenn and Rob Estes. The network dropped the project citing cost issues due to filming on location in Venice, California.
*
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).
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Close friend of Heroes co-star Kristen Bell.
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Similar to his fellow "Gilmore Girls" (2000) cast, also donates to the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation, one of his favorite charities.
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He and Bo Barrett once traded seats on an airplane having no idea who each other were.
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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.
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He has a '67 Chevelle Super Sport named "Evelyn".
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He was with his co-star Ali Larter on the Red Carpet of Golden Globe 2006.
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Started a production company named DiVide Pictures (or the Divide Social Club) with
2 childhood friends.
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Milo ranked #2 of 20 on DC's list of Hottest Comic Hunks, losing the #1 spot to Hugh Jackman.(2009).
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His favorite book is The Long Walk (Richard Bachman).
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Close friend of Sophia Bush.
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He has a great interest in directing.
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His Favorite Bands are The Strokes, Deftones, A Tribe Called Quest, The Hives.
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Was the boyfriend of _Heroes_ co-star Hayden Panettiere; the press have dubbed them "Haylo".
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His favorite actors are Sean Penn and Edward Norton.
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Favorite movies are The Godfather, The Matrix, Blow, and Those Good Boys.
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Favorite bands are The Sex Pistols, The Clash, and No Doubt.
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Milo's mouth is crooked because he was born with dead nerve endings in his lower lip.
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Milo has a star tattoo on his right bicep.
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Favorite book is The Long March by Stephen King.
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One of his many hobbies includes working on renovating his 40 year old house.
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Milo's favorite color is black.
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When Milo was younger, his sisters liked to dress him up as Madonna.
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In high school, Milo was the Associated Student Body president.
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Milo has an interest in directing.
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Milo's motto is "Enjoy every moment".
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His mother was a fan of Gilmore Girls prior to Milo being on the show.
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Broke up with Hayden Panettiere on Valentine Day (2009).
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His family name, pronounced VEN (as in VENice)- TEE - ME - LIA (as in "LIAison"),
is the name of a small city in Liguria (Northern Italy) just 9 km away from the border
with France).
*
Milo Ventimiglia's Upcoming Projects


Aromred (2009)
Order of Chaos (2009)

Milo Ventimiglia Links
Milo Ventimiglia IMDB

"I don't seek attention. If anything I'd rather blend in, remain anonymous." - Milo Ventimiglia
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"I'm a homebody, I'd rather be in the kichen cooking than hanging out in a bar" - Milo Ventimiglia