Milo Ventimiglia Biography

Summary

"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 boyfriend Jess Mariano from 2001 until his final guest appearance in 2006.

After 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 Rocky series, "Rocky Balboa", Ventimiglia's big break came in 2006 when he received the part of nurse-turned-superhero Peter Petrelli on NBC's "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.

Biography

Early life

Ventimiglia was born in Orange County, 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 of Ventimiglia in Liguria, Italy, which later gave its name to another city of Ventimiglia di Sicilia, and means '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.

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". 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 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/R&B singer Fergie in the music video for her huge hit '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 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. 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 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 2. According to American Eagle's website, Ventimiglia will be directing the series, while his friend Cundiff will be producing it.

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.

During the 2007 Writers Srtike, 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.

Personal life

Ventimiglia and fellow former "Gilmore Girls" co-star Alexis Bledel dated for three and a half years (aproximately from December 2002); 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 was dating 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.

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