‘The Company You Keep’: Milo Ventimiglia Is Ready for Some ‘Sexiness’ After ‘This Is Us’
Milo Ventimiglia has worn many metaphorical hats (and a literal mustache) for his roles in the last 20-plus years. He’s played the internet’s favorite bad boy, the internet’s favorite superhuman, and the internet’s favorite husband/father. Now, he’s going to play a person who could become the internet’s favorite con man. Milo Ventimiglia stars in ABC’s new series The Company You Keep. In a recent interview, he revealed why he was ready for a “sexy” change after starring in This Is Us.
Milo Ventimiglia’s most famous TV roles, from Jess Mariano to Jack Pearson
Though he started acting on TV in 1995, Ventimiglia’s big break came in 2001 when he portrayed Jess Mariano on Gilmore Girls. Jess was the bad boy new kid of Stars Hollow, Connecticut, and he quickly took an interest in protagonist Rory Gilmore (Alexis Bledel). The debate between “Team Jess” and Rory’s other boyfriends remains strong among fans today.
After Gilmore Girls, Ventimiglia starred in the 2006 series Heroes. He played Peter Petrelli, a hospice nurse who had the power to mimic the superhuman abilities of other people. Ventimiglia’s role earned him nominations for two Teen Choice Awards.
Ventimiglia is also well-known for his role as Jack Pearson on This Is Us from 2016 to 2022. Jack was a beloved husband and father in the late ’80s and early ’90s. Even Ventimiglia agrees that his Jack Pearson is very different from his breakout role.
“Jess was a child,” he recently told InStyle. “I think Jess had a lot of life to live. And I don’t think he was quite set up the best way in his younger years — not having a father, not having a parent. He had to find his way on his own a little bit.”
Meanwhile, he said Jack was “someone that we can all strive to be.”
“It goes beyond just men, women, old, young — any background. It’s like, ‘Let’s just strive to have a golden heart.’ We all have our hang-ups. We all make our mistakes. But fundamentally, who Jack was? He was just a good, solid man,” he added.
Milo Ventimiglia shared why he was ready for ‘The Company You Keep’ after ‘This Is Us’
Ventimiglia’s newest role is another step in a different direction. He plays Charlie Nicoletti in The Company You Keep, a con man who falls in love with a CIA agent — except neither of them knows the truth about the other’s profession. Aside from a shave and a haircut, Ventimiglia had to transform his fictional personality from loving family man to morally questionable criminal.
Ventimiglia recently told Entertainment Tonight that he was ready for some “sexiness” after the emotional rollercoaster that was This Is Us.
“This one was a lot of fun. I think we touched a lot of hearts with This is Us. I think we hit a lot of families, I think we got to the core and foundation of being a human being,” Ventimiglia said. “[The Company You Keep] felt like entertainment. This one felt like, ‘Hey, let’s show some sexiness. Hey, let’s show some fun, show a little crime and have everybody kind of ride that train for a little bit.'”
‘The Company You Keep’ will still have some connections to ‘This Is Us’
With that said, Ventimiglia hasn’t completely let go of his ties to This Is Us. Many crew members from the NBC show are also working on The Company You Keep. Additionally, Ventimiglia has said he’s interested in getting some This Is Us co-stars to make guest appearances on The Company You Keep.
“It’s funny, Justin Hartley’s name already came up for something. But of course, he’s cutting together his pilot [The Never Game] over at CBS,” Ventimiglia told Entertainment Weekly. “I just traded messages with Mandy [Moore]; she’s in New York on [Dr. Death]. I read stories of [how] everybody else [is] busy, you know? I’m sure at some point, people will pop up.”
The Company You Keep premieres on Sunday, Feb. 19, at 10 p.m. ET on ABC.
