Milo Ventimiglia
Milo Ventimiglia is a popular television and film actor best known for his role on Gilmore Girls. He has also worked as a director.
Milo Anthony Ventimiglia was born on July the 8th, 1977, in Anaheim, California . His father was a salesman and his mother a teacher. The youngest of three children, he was an active and energetic boy, and he decided at the age of eight that he wanted to win an Oscar. His amateur acting career began four years later when he starred in the first of many school plays, and his determined work in school drama classes led to him winning a scholarship to the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco . After a summer spent in intensive training there, he went to in major in theatre at UCLA. It was there that he landed his first professional acting job, appearing alongside Will Smith and Alfonso Ribeiro in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. This led to a leading role in Nickolas Perry's short film Must Be the Music which was a hit at the 1996 Sundance Film Festival.
Ventimiglia spent the early stages of his career as an actor appearing numerous minor television roles, with shows including Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Brooklyn South and One World.
He also won roles in the popular films She's All That with Freddie Prinze Jr, Rachael Leigh Cook and Anna Paquin and Speedway Junky with Darryl Hannah and Patsy Kensit. In 2000 he took the lead in teen comedy series Opposite Sex, and it was this which really made his name, winning him a devoted teen following. His next film, Massholes also starring Steve Moreno and Brooke Shields appealed to the same market and firmly established him as a star.
Having established himself as a capable actor, Ventimiglia then chose to diversify, taking parts in series such as CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Boston Public and Law and Order: Special Victims Unit. He then took time out to try his hand as a director, working on a series of promotional campaigns for Warner Bros. and directing stars such as David Boreanaz, Rose McGowan and Reba McEntire. He also starred in several commercial himself, for companies such as Estee Lauder, Mountain Dew, Apple and T-Mobile.
Ventimiglia returned to the teen market when he appeared in Wes Craven's werewolf movie Cursed, alongside Portia de Rossi, Shannon Elizabeth and Christina Ricci. Later film work included Dirty Deeds with Lacey Chabert and Tom Amandes, Stay Alive with Frankie Muniz and Billy Slaughter and Sylvester Stallone's Rocky Balboa.
Ventimiglia remained most successful as television, starring in the hit series American Dreams with Gail OGrady and Tom Verica, The Bedford Diaries with Victoria Cartagena and Matthew Modine and currently on Heroes with James Kyson Lee and Tawny Cypress.
However, he is best known for his work in the long-running Gilmore Girls. Fans were delighted when he developed a real life relationship with his on-screen love interest Alexis Bledel. The couple was together for three years but have since separated.
Ventimiglia continues to maintain a broad range of interests. He runs his own production company and also spends time campaigning on behalf of the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation. For relaxation he enjoys skateboarding, snowboarding and restoring classic muscle cars. |
