ooking back, American actor Milo

Ventimiglia entered into the world

of show business in what can only

be described as one of the defining

shows of 90s TV, Will Smith’s “The

Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” back in

1995. Other than that, he was
      once best known for his work on
      “Gilmore Girls” where he took
      on the role of Jess Mariano, Rory
      Gilmore’s troubled love interest,
      then as the son of Sylvester
      Stallone in 2006's Rocky Balboa
      and as Peter Petrelli in the sci-fi
      drama “Heroes.”
      Nowadays, though, he’s known
      for his leading role as Jack
      Pearson opposite Mandy Moore
      on NBC's hit drama series “This Is
      Us.” For his role as Jack Pearson,
      Ventimiglia has received three
      Primetime Emmy nominations
      for Outstanding Lead Actor in a
      Drama Series back in 2017 and
      2018, as well as this year. And to
      top it all off, three new seasons of
      “This Is Us” has been confirmed,
      starting from 2019-2020 until
      the 2021-2022 season—which
      speaks volumes of the show’s
      success and the performance, not
      to mention the star power, of its
      leading performer. For more on
      Ventimiglia’s recent work and his
      upcoming projects, DA MAN sat
      down for a trans-continental chat.

DA MAN: Hi Milo, thanks for having

us. How are you doing these days?

Milo Ventimiglia: I’m great, thank

you very much.

DA: So, let’s talk about “This Is

Us.” If we’re not mistaken, last

year, the show scored 11 Emmy

nominations. What was it like for

you coming into this show?

MV: Working on an Emmy

nominated show is just like working

on any other show. You showed

up, you got excited to be there.

You work well with the crew, your

writers, your casts, your pre and

post-productions. You just remain

present. At least that’s what I’ve

done and I think as the show has

going on and we stayed in the

Emmy conversations, it actually

makes me work even harder. Go

even deeper into the characters,

the stories, just kind of double

down the material, not to stay in

the conversation for awards, but

just to do the good work.

L

DA: Speaking of which, NBC

announced that “This Is Us” would

be renewed for a fourth season.

The network has also confirmed a

fifth and sixth season going all the

way until 2020. How do you feel

about this development?

MV: I’m very excited about the

three seasons pick up. I think that’s

a great thing for the audience.

I think it’s good that we are able

to let them know that they can

committed to us, that we’re going

to tell more stories and get through

more stories, and we’ll be around

for a little while. I think that this

will also let the audience know that

we have an end plan, or end game,

and we’re not just telling random

stories, but it’s all directed into one

path. And I’m looking forward to it.

DA: By the way, after three

seasons, do you still remember

what it was that first drew you to

audition for “This Is Us”?

MV: It was just a great script. You

know, I read it first as an audience

member and then I found love with

the story. Beautiful story about

family, and then also individually,

about this man who so deeply

wanted this, to build this family. So,

it was just really that first read of

the script that really pulled me in.

DA: Between seasons one, two

and three, which version of Jack

do you enjoy playing the most?

MV: I enjoyed playing moustache

Jack. That’s how we break down

the parts when we’re talking on

the set. There’s bearded Jack,

moustache Jack, goatee Jack and

then represents him in his 30s, 40s

and 50s and then clean shaven

Jack, pre-war Jack, Vietnam Jack,

post-Vietnam Jack. In other words,

there’s tons of facial hair. But my

favorite is Jack in his 40s. He’s a

little easier to laugh and having

more fun with his kid and his

wife. He’s not with his problems

anymore in the 40s—of course

the drinking. He’s a lot easier on

himself in his 40s.

DA: Being part of the cast of “This

Is Us,” are you still able to enjoy it

as a viewer as well?

MV: Absolutely, I am still able to

enjoy it as an audience. Because

Jack is deceased in the present

day, so I don’t get a chance to

work with everybody else from the

cast. So, for me, when I watch the

show, for the good majority of it,

I’m watching us as a member of

the audience. I get to see the great

work they are putting in, and the

words that the writers come up

with, come out of their mouths. I

can absolutely enjoy it as part of

the audience.

DA: Do you have any favorite

moments from over the past three

seasons of “This Is Us”?

MV: My favorite? There are so many

of them. And If I were to think

about every person on the crew, as

well as every actor that I’ve shared

the screen with, or my co-stars

that I’ve had when we’ve just been

out of the world of press, I’m going

to have moments for everyone.

The highlight, though, honestly,

is showing up to work every day.

We’ve got such amazing crew and

I’m just grateful to be there.

“I’M LOOKING

FORWARD TO

TACK LI N G A N Y TH I N G

THAT COMES INTO

MY WAY, THAT’S THE

GREAT PART OF BEING

AN ACTOR”