Interviews mit Milo

Milo Ventimiglia: Lightsabers, Luke and "Heroes"

6. Oktober 2008

By Bonnie Burton

What if Peter Petrelli could add the Force to his arsenal of skills on the hit NBC show "Heroes"? StarWars.com chats with actor Milo Ventimiglia about his love for Star Wars, his lightsaber duel fan films, what Luke Skywalker and Peter Petrelli have in common.

You were born in 1977 a few months after Star Wars hit the theaters. Can you remember what your favorite Star Wars memory is?

The Empire Strikes Back was the first movie I ever saw in a movie theater. I remember waiting in line with my family when I was a little kid. We had pizzas and waited there for what felt like days. We went inside the theater -- the Cinedome in Orange County which was like a stadium-seating kind of theater. I remember sitting down and staring at the big red curtain thinking that people were going to come out onto the stage and perform. I had no idea what to expect. Then the curtain parted and I saw the Twentieth Century Fox logo and heard the trumpets, and I got chills. Darth Vader scared the hell out of me!

Were you the kind of kid who had to have all the Star Wars toys?

I had this great collection of Star Wars toys. For some reason, they had the best selection at Sears, right by the exit door on this one part of the mall. I would run there and try to find who I didn't have, and would be so disappointed when I couldn't find what I was looking for. Then I'd wait and go back the next week looking for the same thing. When you're a kid you don't understand merchandising and stocking shelves. Why isn't it there? It should be there!

What ended up being your favorite Star Wars toy you'd play with?

I'd always play with my X-wing. When Return of the Jedi came out I was big into Luke Skywalker and his black outfit. As terrified of Darth Vader that I was, he was one of my favorite action figures. I guess even at a young age I gravitated to the evil characters.

Well, he wasn't totally bad, there was still good in Vader at the end.

True. [laughs]

Do you still collect Star Wars stuff?

Once I stopped playing with toys as a kid, I hung on to my collection. But I don't really add to it. In addition to Star Wars toys, I also had G.I. Joe and He-man. I never got into the mint-condition action figures collecting side of things. I will admit though that when The Phantom Menace came out, I bought a Darth Maul figure because I just thought he was the coolest. It reminded me of the first time I opened up the package of my Darth Vader figure.

We hear that you're pretty fond of your Master Replica lightsabers...

Whenever I sit in my chair at the office, I grab that lightsaber. It's like my thinking stick. [laughs]

Actually, right when Lucasfilm sent over the Master Replica lightsabers awhile back, I couldn't stop talking about them. At the time I was shooting a movie called Armored with Matt Dillon, Lawrence Fishbourne and Jean Reno. The director overheard me talking about my new lightsaber and he started talking to me about the LA Jedi Knights and how one night he went out to Rancho Park over by Fox Studios and he saw them training. He had a hoodie on and his red Master Replica lightsaber with him, so he walked up to the top of a hill overlooking their practice, and stood there with the hood up and turned on the lightsaber. They all stopped and looked up at him. And then he walked off without saying a word.

What's the back story about the short films you made of the lightsaber duels in the parking garage?

Please tell Mr. Lucas we hope those films didn't offend him! [laughs] It all started awhile back when Tracy Cannnobio from the marketing department at Lucasfilm sent me a poster for the new Indiana Jones film with a note that said she had heard I was a fan. Instead of having my publicist thank her, I picked up the phone and called her myself. We started talking about Star Wars and she offered to send me even more stuff. I said it was totally unnecessary, I was just stoked on getting the poster. A week later, I'm on the set and Russ Cundiff, my business partner at our company Divide Pictures, called to tell me we had a box from Lucasfilm with lightsabers in it!

To give you some insight on how big a fan Russ is: When he was a kid he thought he was Luke Skywalker. So when the two lightsabers came he automatically claimed the Luke Skywalker New Hope lightsaber and I got the Darth Vader lightsaber. Russ then sent me a photo of himself in the darkened office that we share holding the lit up lightsaber. As soon as I got into the office, the Darth Vader lightsaber did not leave my hand. I had it with me in meetings and constantly turn it on and off. I started to play around more and more with the lightsaber and finally said to Russ, "Where's the video camera? Let's just shoot something."

Divide Pictures is a traditional TV, film and digital production company, but we also do little videos just for ourselves. Back in the day, my friends would always make fun of the fact that people viewed me as a celebrity. To them I'm just their buddy, but other people would freak out when they would see me. That's always strange to me. So they would make these videos of me doing the most mundane things like watering my lawn in a tuxedo; or eating Mac and Cheese; or brushing my teeth. So we had this following of people who watched these little videos that we'd make and put them on a small web site. Then we put up the lightsaber videos and got such a huge response for them. But then we got busy and stopped doing them. So when we come back to do them we'll have to do something really big -- like a Seth Green lightsaber duel.

You have no idea how many fans would love to see you and Seth Green smack each other with lightsabers!

We're actually trying to orchestrate a lightsaber battle with Seth Green. Russ and I were at Wizard Con in Los Angeles, and Seth Green was there with his friends from Top Cow and one of their iPhone's went off and its message alert was Darth Vader's lightsaber. So I said that was cool and we started talking about Star Wars, and the philosophy of the Jedi, and bonded over that.

Which of the Star Wars films resonates the most with you as a fan?

For me it's about the characters and the struggle they go through which is what draws me to any story whether it's science fiction or real life. In Empire Strikes Back, everything was about Luke seeking to find about himself and so he had to go on this path of discovery where he met Yoda and really found out about the teachings of the Jedi. There was just something about it that was so fascinating to me as a kid. Given my background of the path I was put on at a young age and the family I was raised in, I really connected to it. Plus as a kid you want to be dazzled, so a big epic space battle is totally entertaining and fun to watch. The great part about movies is that you can relive that experience over and over. The Star Wars films were something that my entire family would watch, not just me. My sisters loved those movies, and my mom and dad loved those movies. It was something we were all connected together in doing.

It seems that Star Wars is the one film franchise that people can instantly bond over.

Much like what happened with J.J. Abrams and Damon Lindelof, it's a good way to gauge if you want to get to know someone. You could be sitting next to someone at a bus stop that you probably won't have a thing in common with but if you say, "What do you think of Star Wars?" and you'll know whether you'd want to continue to talk to him or not based on his answer.

Are there any Star Wars characters you identify with the most?

I don't know if I identify with any one specifically, but as a kid I wanted to be Return of the Jedi Luke because he was the guy who had all the abilities and was in perfect control of that.

So not whiny New Hope Luke?

No, but the funny thing is whiny New Hope Luke was very much like early Peter Petrelli. "I don't know what I'm doing or where I'm supposed to go..."

I don't know if I ever considered your character on "Heroes" whiny.

Oh, Peter was whiny! [laughs] I always love the characters that have these great abilities and they're so focused in how they use them that they weren't abused, and they were used at the right time in the right way. Those are always the characters I'm kind of drawn to. But then again I also love the Han Solo character. He's the everyday guy. He's a guy's guy.

Who do you think is the biggest hero in Star Wars?

Yoda, probably because of his perspective. He's a master and in complete control. He sees all the angles and still won't completely get in the way. He'll allow the younger Jedi to make mistakes and then come to him for guidance. Being a young man, you always look for mentors and people who will teach you, but you also want to stand on your own. You have to fight to show everyone you're good enough but we all need our teachers. We all need someone who has been there and done that to give us guidance. In my mind, it's very much a way of life. I know how I was when I was younger -- in my late teens and early 20s -- nobody could tell me what to do. Now as I'm getting older I realize those people were so patient with me, and didn't intrude with how I was doing things but tried to give me just enough to make the right decision. I really value those relationships I have now, especially with my family.

As an actor, which role in the Star Wars films would you have liked to play?

Wow, I really don't want to take away from anything. I always liked the fact that Jabba the Hutt wasn't originally a big slug. I thought that was cool, but I don't think I could pull it off. I am fascinated by things like that. I think I'm so enthralled and invested in who those faces were who played those characters that there's no desire to play something in the films. I love being on the outside. Granted, if George Lucas asked me to play a character, I wouldn't say no.


Quelle: StarWars.com

Time management


Playing Heroes’ Peter Petrelli and planning a behind-the-camera career leaves Milo Ventimiglia with few breathers.

By Allison Williams

Milo Ventimiglia is a grown-up. Who knew? The world can be forgiven for forgetting; as time-skipping Peter Petrelli in the current season of Heroes, he manages to play both the most massively powerful superhero on the planet and a punk little brother at the same time.

Ventimiglia’s lithe frame lends itself to characters with some maturing to do, including Jess Mariano, a smart-ass romantic foil on the WB dramedy Gilmore Girls, and the pugilist’s progeny in Rocky Balboa. He dates 19-year-old actress Hayden Panettiere, digs skateboarding, and has a sexy, insouciant hook in his lip. No one would ever expect this guy to get into an R-rated movie, much less a bar, without showing ID.

But in person, perched on a sofa in the Soho Grand lobby and ignoring the lunch spread before him, the 31-year-old Ventimiglia is unmistakably adult. He’s less boyish, radiating maturity in a pressed white shirt and cufflinks. Volunteering that he “can’t wait to get back to the office,” he looks more investment banker than TV star (though try finding anyone this calm at Goldman Sachs). A party animal? Hardly. “I sit in my office and worry about production things,” says the budding businessman of his extra hours. His idea of “free time” is the few hours of sleep he gets per night. Woo-hoo.

“The business side of things is so much more fascinating for me,” says Ventimiglia solemnly. “It’s how deals are orchestrated, how they’re put together, how crews are assembled, the smoke and mirrors. It’s kind of looking behind the curtain at Oz.” To that end, he’s directed a series of comedy shorts that ran on MTV and heads production company Divide Pictures.

Still, Ventimiglia’s not ready to give up his lucrative day job just yet. Acting onscreen since appearing in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air in 1995, the L.A. native is confident but realistic about his place on the Hollywood totem pole. “I don’t think I’m as naturally talented as some people out there, but I work pretty fuckin’ hard,” he says frankly.

For just that reason, Ventimiglia isn’t looking to pull a Sly Stallone by directing himself. “I think, as a director, I could find an actor better than me to play a part,” he reasons. He’s most enthused by how his acting has given him the know-how to sit atop the director or producer’s perch. “I know how hard it is to come up with something as an actor, but also how easy it is to just fucking learn your lines.… Not to sound like the police, but I know when someone’s fakin’ it. ’Cause I know when I fake it.”

There’s a lot of faking it on the Heroes set, but not the lazy kind. “I show up and do the cool superhero shit,” says Ventimiglia of the special-effects fest. Peter, a hospice nurse–turned–world saver, picks up any superpower in the room like a nasty flu, so Ventimiglia spends his days pretending to stop time, fly, turn invisible and, on occasion, explode.

It’s a patchwork of magical talents that baffles even him when fans approach to discuss the logistics of Peter’s mutations (if Peter is on the left with Sylar on the right when The Haitian walks in, can Peter read minds?!?). It leaves him to employ what he calls the “distract and walk out” method: “I just say, ‘Guys, I don’t write the show. Register any and all complaints with producers. Nice to meet you. Like your shirt!’”

Ventimiglia doesn’t dismiss his fans’ involvement; he tips his hat to the sci-fi die-hards. He was exposed to the power of inspirational fandom when filming Balboa in Philadelphia, where Rocky-ness is next to godliness. “If you can truly give back to the community through your art, who wouldn’t want to do that?” he says.

That, he claims, and not the fame or indulgent lifestyle, is why he works in the industry. Still, dating a teenage starlet has certainly given him heaps of additional exposure. “There’s nothing I, or anyone, can do about it,” he says with the world-weariness of a veteran star-dater (he was paired with Gilmore costar Alexis Bledel for three and a half years). “You have to be careful to not give up too much of your personal life.”

Not that there’s much of a life to scrutinize. “TV is like school, honest to God,” says the actor. “You get two months off for summer vacation, and masochists like myself decide to work.” This year Ventimiglia banged out a few movies (Game, with Gerard Butler, is out next year) and did a USO tour in Iraq, and is now back on the Heroes set full time. He’s doing the “superhero shit” with an ensemble he raves about, and there’s little he’d change, save one thing. “I miss getting to smile,” he says. “Peter doesn’t smile too much.” Neither does Ventimiglia, but fortunately, serious suits him.

Quelle: Time Out

Putting the super back into these heroes

October 16, 2008


It has been a case of back to basics for Heroes, writes Kerry Coleman.

THE 2007 writers' strike crippled the television industry, bringing many American shows to a halt. But for cult sci-fi hit Heroes, it was a blessing in disguise.

After a wildly successful first season, expectations for the second series were high. But when the new episodes aired, critics and fans were less than impressed.

"The writers took a risk and made a bold choice to take things in a new direction," star Milo Ventimiglia, who plays the mild-mannered mimic Peter Petrelli, says. "There were new storylines and new characters and I thought that was such a departure from who we were. The characters that people fell in love with, the characters people love to hate weren't there and all of a sudden you weren't very involved with the story, we were very disconnected, disjointed."

The strike cut the unsuccessful season short at only 11 episodes. While it was a difficult time for the crew, Ventimiglia says it gave series creator Tim Kring the chance to refocus.

Filming of volume three, entitled "Villains", began earlier this year and Ventimiglia says the series is back to its original brilliance.

"We understood that season two didn't work, so this season we're reclaiming what did work, and that is bringing the old characters together and making sure they're brought together in the right way and not just to serve some plot line," he says. "It's much more natural and in keeping with how we started out."

Sylar, H.R.G, Claire Bennet, Niki Sanders and other regular characters are joined by a few frightening new baddies, but the focus of the series is the struggle within the superhuman heroes.

"I think all of us have a darker streak within us and it just depends on who we come in contact with as to whether the bad stuff comes out," Ventimiglia says.

"This series looks at the notion of good, evil, right and wrong. Peter is one character who is forced to explore his morality and make some difficult decisions, but there's still tones of blood and action."

Ventimiglia is confident the new season will be a success, but when it comes to questions about his private life, he's not so cool.

Asked by a reporter whether he had superhuman powers of seduction, he grumpily demanded a change of subject. Green Guide didn't fare much better. The moment the name Hayden Panettiere (31-year-old Ventimiglia's 18-year-old co-star and girlfriend) passed my lips, the actor scowled, looked away and vigorously waved his hand until I stopped talking.

Eventually, he calmed down enough to say: "I try to keep as private as I can and I think people can assume one thing or another about me personally but unless you've met me, you really don't know anything. It's tough. I try to just be a regular person like anybody else and I think when there's interest in me as a person outside of my work, it's a little ... off-putting."

Ventimiglia's co-star Masi Oka, who plays comic book nerd Hiro Nakamura, can't get enough attention from fans and the media. After years studying computer science and mathematics, he still can't get used to the idea that people want his autograph.

"I get recognised everywhere I go and it's so great to get to meet fans of me and fans of the show," he says. "This show has given me the chance to connect with people from different religious, cultural and socio-economic backgrounds all around the world and I think that's amazing."

Even better is the respect Heroes has earned him with other actors. "I still get starstruck quite a lot," he says. "I get to meet the artists I've idolised ... and these people know who I am and respect me as a co-worker. It's mind-boggling to me."

It's clear that Oka loves the series but he is surprised everyone else does. With over-the-top action scenes, elaborate costumes and superheroes fighting to save the world from terrifying villains, he didn't think the show would have very broad appeal. "When we were filming the pilot, we knew we had something special on our hands that genre fans would really dig," he says. "But I don't think any of us expected the reaction we got from the mainstream. People just love it."

They're going to love it more this season. Oka says the show's makeover has been abandoned and it's back to how it used to be, with a few surprises thrown in: "Pretty much everyone dies. And we all turn into dinosaurs and Mr Muggles (a pomeranian belonging to the Bennet family) plays a very key role."

Quelle: theage.com.au

Hier ist ein Clip wo Milo ein Interview gibt und über den Comic 'Rest' und seinen neuen Filme 'Game' spricht!!!

Milo über 'Rest' und 'Game'

Viel Spass beim!!!

*ggggg*

Schnuffel Milo hat mal wieder sehr viel zu erzählen...*gggg*

Hier ist eines der neuen Interviews wo Milo über das Comic-Buch "Rest" und über seine Fans spricht!!

Enjoy it!!!



Quelle: zap2it

Zu dem Post von gestern, den ich Euch reingesetzt habe, hab ich nun das komplette Interview mit Milo gefunden!!

Es ist ein großes Video-Interview mit drei Clips!!

Viel Spass damit!! *gggg*

Milo Ventimiglia - Video Interview

Milo mal wieder im Interview.. Da müßte am Set von "Heroes" gewesen sein, denn der Mann hat immer noch seine geschminkten Narben im Gesicht.

Milo spricht über die kommende Folge Heroes.

Vorsicht!! Einige Spoiler vorhanden!!

Milo about Episode 3x09