Jack: Milo Ventimiglia

[photo fox]

A topic for the discussion of the character and the actor. 

[BoogieBurns]

I want to know more about him, but I like what we saw in episode one, scene one. 

[Aloeonatable]

Milo will be on the Ellen Degeneres show on Monday.

[Tiger]

It looks like the show is making Milo keep that awful mustache.

In good news, he looks buff as fuck from the stills I saw.

Edited October 4, 2016 by Tiger

[Aloeonatable]

I think Milo's facial hair will be the indicator of the era that he, Mandy and their children will be in. Full beard with the babies, mustache with the 8 year olds and probably clean-shaven when the children are older. 

[SlackerInc]

I just realized how good an actor Milo really is.  I mean, I always knew he was good in the sense of being relaxed in front of the camera and not sounding stiff or forced.  But I thought he was one of those actors who is basically just playing himself.  That Jack comes across differently from his character Jess on Gilmore Girls, I mostly chalked up to his being a decade older now.  But then just now I was watching the GG reunion episode in which Jess returns, and even though it must have been filmed right around the same time as the early episodes of this show, I don't see Jack at all.  He's still Jess.  Different speech pattern, different facial expressions, etc.  So, well done, Milo: you're a bit of a chameleon as it turns out.  At least in a subtle way.

[Guest]

Am I the only one who didn't click with Gilmore Girls?   I couldn't make it through season one even.  To me Milo is the guy from Heroes. 

[SlackerInc]

I'm the opposite: tried Heroes but couldn't get into it.  And I like superhero movies, too!

[Tiger]

I never saw Gilmore, loved him in Rocky Balboa, Pathology, Gotham, and Whispers, hated him in Heroes, and love him here.  

As far as Jack, I want to know how and when he died, and I guess tied into that I want to know if he ever met Beth. I really want two my two favorite characters to interact at least once.

Edited December 11, 2016 by Tiger

[neuromom]

I don't watch much TV, so I've never seen Milo before. I only ever heard of him as the BF to Hayden Panitierre when she was very young. (It probably was a trending story or something)

so, I had no clue who he was (had nor clue what he looked like ). Heck, i didn't know ANY of the cast..including Mandy and Sterling. So I had no preconceived notions. I found him likeable and natural from the very first episode. 

[chocolatine]

1 hour ago, neuromom said:

I don't watch much TV, so I've never seen Milo before. I only ever heard of him as the BF to Hayden Panitierre when she was very young. (It probably was a trending story or something)

Milo is known for dating his costars. He dated Alexis Bledel when he was on Gilmore Girls, and Hayden Panetierre when he was on Heroes (he was 30 and she was 18). Now there are rumors that he's dating Mandy Moore.

[Guest]

That's a little squicky.  Hayden seemed about 15 on Heroes, to me.  

[Aloeonatable]

4 hours ago, chocolatine said:

Milo is known for dating his costars. He dated Alexis Bledel when he was on Gilmore Girls, and Hayden Panetierre when he was on Heroes (he was 30 and she was 18). Now there are rumors that he's dating Mandy Moore.

He is not dating Mandy Moore, she has a boyfriend.  I saw online that Milo was with a "mystery woman" holding hands in Santa Monica. 

[PRgal]

23 hours ago, SlackerInc said:

I just realized how good an actor Milo really is.  I mean, I always knew he was good in the sense of being relaxed in front of the camera and not sounding stiff or forced.  But I thought he was one of those actors who is basically just playing himself.  That Jack comes across differently from his character Jess on Gilmore Girls, I mostly chalked up to his being a decade older now.  But then just now I was watching the GG reunion episode in which Jess returns, and even though it must have been filmed right around the same time as the early episodes of this show, I don't see Jack at all.  He's still Jess.  Different speech pattern, different facial expressions, etc.  So, well done, Milo: you're a bit of a chameleon as it turns out.  At least in a subtle way.

But much hotter, though.  Seriously, I never thought Jess was hot.  I liked Dean.  And Logan (yes, I like Logan types).

[ShadowFacts]

I agree that he's not just being Milo, he's a good actor.  I never thought he was hot before, because I can't find a teenager hot but now that he's an adult playing an adult, he's landing pretty high on the attractiveness spectrum. 

[Guest]

I think the shaggy, 70s look suits him, as well as age.  He kind of had an emo look in Heroes that wasn't my thing. 

[SlackerInc]

He was more of a "rebel without a cause" on Gilmore Girls: 

 

And then here he is ten or 12 years later, as an indie auteur of about age 31.  This is what was contemporaneous with playing Jack but still came across completely differently to me:

Oops, posted a GIF that was actually from Season 7, ten years ago.  Why is it so hard to find one from this year that's not a cast photo?  Aha!  Here it is:

(And yes, that is indeed from 2016 despite the ancient computer monitor in the background.  It's an indication of how out of date the local newspaper's equipment is.)

Edited December 14, 2016 by SlackerInc
Wrong photo.

[Tiger]

Milo was really good and extremely un-Jack-like in a multi-episode arc near the end of the first season of Gotham.  

Edited December 17, 2016 by Tiger

[methodwriter85]

On 12/11/2016 at 11:45 AM, Tiger said:

I never saw Gilmore, loved him in Rocky Balboa, Pathology, Gotham, and Whispers, hated him in Heroes, and love him here.  

As far as Jack, I want to know how and when he died, and I guess tied into that I want to know if he ever met Beth. I really want two my two favorite characters to interact at least once.

Well, at this point, we know it's probably somewhere between 1996 to 2005. We know he's alive at least through most of 1995, and we know he's dead by the time the Steelers get back to the Super Bowl in early 2006. So there's about a 9-year period where he dies. I hope they answer that in the season finale.

It was weird watching him as Jesse on Gilmore Girls, because I really didn't see a trace of Jack at all. I couldn't STAND Jesse because he got in the way of my fantasy of Tristan coming back and sweeping Rory off her feet. Jesse is a cynical little bastard with a secret soft spot for Rory Gilmore. Jack is the eternal optimist who wears his heart on his sleeve. You really couldn't get much more different.

I wonder if his current upswing might convince the writers of Creed 2 to have Milo make a cameo as Rocky's son. I get why they didn't have him show up in the first movie because it was setting up the paternal bond between Rocky and Creed, but it'd be nice if Robert came back.

[PRgal]

2 hours ago, methodwriter85 said:

Well, at this point, we know it's probably somewhere between 1996 to 2005. We know he's alive at least through most of 1995, and we know he's dead by the time the Steelers get back to the Super Bowl in early 2006. So there's about a 9-year period where he dies. I hope they answer that in the season finale.

It was weird watching him as Jesse on Gilmore Girls, because I really didn't see a trace of Jack at all. I couldn't STAND Jesse because he got in the way of my fantasy of Tristan coming back and sweeping Rory off her feet. Jesse is a cynical little bastard with a secret soft spot for Rory Gilmore. Jack is the eternal optimist who wears his heart on his sleeve. You really couldn't get much more different.

I wonder if his current upswing might convince the writers of Creed 2 to have Milo make a cameo as Rocky's son. I get why they didn't have him show up in the first movie because it was setting up the paternal bond between Rocky and Creed, but it'd be nice if Robert came back.

At least 2016 Jess isn't dweebish looking like he was 10 years ago.  Sorry, I never found Original Series Jess hot.  #teamdean

[ShadowFacts]

I've just been watching a George Harrison documentary and it hit me that Milo/Jack is a little bit George. 

[Craig]

Hi,I was needing some help.I'm sorry but I haven't watched that many episodes. I was wondering if someone knew the episode when Jack gets a t-shirt from a homeless man?It is suppose to be a funny shirt and a favorite of his.thank you

[BoogieBurns]

3 hours ago, Craig said:

Hi,I was needing some help.I'm sorry but I haven't watched that many episodes. I was wondering if someone knew the episode when Jack gets a t-shirt from a homeless man?It is suppose to be a funny shirt and a favorite of his.thank you

That's The Pool episode. But he only talks about getting the shirt, there isn't a scene where he physically gets it.

[MyAimIsTrue]

I wasn't familiar with Milo prior to this show but to me he's far and away the weakest link acting wise, almost to the point where I cringe when he's in a scene.  For those who have seen him before is it just the way the character of Jack is written or is Milo that wooden of an actor?

[Guest]

10 minutes ago, MyAimIsTrue said:

I wasn't familiar with Milo prior to this show but to me he's far and away the weakest link acting wise, almost to the point where I cringe when he's in a scene.  For those who have seen him before is it just the way the character of Jack is written or is Milo that wooden of an actor?

I think it's the way he's written or possibly directed.  I've only seen him in Gilmore Girls, and he was a good actor (or course, he was often paired with Alexis Bledel who extremely wooden). I think so far Jack has been written as SO SINCERE that it almost comes across as flat. 

[Enigma X]

I think it is subjective. I think Milo holds his own here pretty well.

[NutMeg]

15 hours ago, Enigma X said:

I think it is subjective. I think Milo holds his own here pretty well.

I do too. If I were to nitpick, the only thing I would fault his for is that he tends to talk from the side of his mouth. It's harder to play a "sainted"/perfect character, which so far is what Jack is, and I can understand that it can annoy some viewers. Me, so far, I'm fine with it.  

[chocolatine]

48 minutes ago, NutMeg said:

I do too. If I were to nitpick, the only thing I would fault his for is that he tends to talk from the side of his mouth. It's harder to play a "sainted"/perfect character, which so far is what Jack is, and I can understand that it can annoy some viewers. Me, so far, I'm fine with it.  

It was MUCH worse on Gilmore Girls (which I recently binge-watched, so it's fresh in my mind). He must be aware of it and working to fix it.

[Enigma X]

If I am not mistaken,  I think Milo has a condition or his face is paralyzed,  and he cannot help but talk that way.

[NutMeg]

1 hour ago, Enigma X said:

If I am not mistaken,  I think Milo has a condition or his face is paralyzed,  and he cannot help but talk that way.

Oooh, then I'm very sorry I even went there, I had no idea :(

[Stanner]

4 hours ago, Enigma X said:

If I am not mistaken,  I think Milo has a condition or his face is paralyzed,  and he cannot help but talk that way.

Yes, he has dead nerves on one side of his mouth.

[methodwriter85]

On 1/10/2017 at 9:10 AM, Stanner said:

Yes, he has dead nerves on one side of his mouth.

Damn, that makes him even better casting as Rocky's son. (Sylvester Stallone has permanent nerve damage to his face because of the foreceps used in his birth.)

[chocolatine]

I did notice a significant improvement in the side-mouth talking between Gilmore Girls and This Is Us though. So maybe Milo has some control and is managing it with speech therapy? 

[AriAu]

I have been binge watching this week and the first time I saw him with the 'stache, I thought..."That's Russell Hammond from Almost Famous", who is really Billy Crudup.

[Bruinsfan]

To me he'll always be the closeted wrestler antagonist to Jesse Eisenberg's character in Cursed.

[methodwriter85]

On 12/11/2016 at 9:54 PM, Winston9-DT3 said:

That's a little squicky.  Hayden seemed about 15 on Heroes, to me.  

That's because she was 16 during season 1.

Milo also played gay in a Boy's Life gay short from the late 90's.

[methodwriter85]

The more I think about it, the more I think that Jack planning to rob a bar was really out of character. It'd be one thing if he was a desperate 18-year old, but at 28, your personality and world view is pretty much set. You're not someone who thinks it's okay to rob a bank at 28 but be a living saint when you're 36. I don't care if you fall in love with the (Virgin) Madonna herself.

Also...Jack's speech at the end. He pretty much confirmed Rebecca's feelings- that he loves her for being a mother, and for still being beautiful.

On the other hand, damn, Milo really is one of the few guys that look better without facial hair. It's a shame he pretty much is stuck with the beard.

[OtterMommy]

32 minutes ago, methodwriter85 said:

On the other hand, damn, Milo really is one of the few guys that look better without facial hair. It's a shame he pretty much is stuck with the beard.

My guess is that the facial hair is to age him up a bit.  We've had scenes where Jack is a decade or so older than Milo, as well as scenes where he's a decade or so younger.  There is only so much they can do with make-up before it starts to look clownish (cough, cough, Miguel, cough, cough), but facial hair is an easy fix.

I'm not so bothered with it except that it seem anachronistic.  I remember the 90s fairly well, and I don't remember anyone looking quite like that.

[ShadowFacts]

Wasn't he just clean shaven in the finale which was in 1996?  He would have been about 52 then, right?  Looked a little rough because of the fight, but certainly not 52, and maybe they should have bearded him. 

[OtterMommy]

1 minute ago, ShadowFacts said:

Wasn't he just clean shaven in the finale which was in 1996?  He would have been about 52 then, right?  Looked a little rough because of the fight, but certainly not 52, and maybe they should have bearded him. 

No, he had a mustache and possibly a goatee in the 1996 scenes (just pulled up a pic to check).  He was only clean shaven in the scenes when he was 28.

[ShadowFacts]

12 minutes ago, OtterMommy said:

No, he had a mustache and possibly a goatee in the 1996 scenes (just pulled up a pic to check).  He was only clean shaven in the scenes when he was 28.

Wow, makes me fear for my mental status, I really thought he had no facial hair in his big solliloquoy. 

[OtterMommy]

4 minutes ago, ShadowFacts said:

Wow, makes me fear for my mental status, I really thought he had no facial hair in his big solliloquoy. 

Don't worry about it....that whole episode is sort of fading into a big smudge in my mind now...

[methodwriter85]

The 90's goatee is actually kind of right, though. At least it seemed kind of hip for guys to wear them. Although I can't see a 52-year old father really caring that much about what's trendy in 1996.

They should just save Milo's facial hair and create facial hair pieces for him.

Edited March 19, 2017 by methodwriter85

[HeyThere83]

I'm commenting on something from the Moonshadow episode thread, where "Winston" comments on Milo...

He has struck me as someone taking themselves too seriously, and there was one interview I read recently where he rudely (imo) responded to a simple question about the fate of his character in Gilmore Girls or whatever. He said he didn't have time to think about something like that and suggested it was stupid or something. Get over yourself, dude. He could have responded in so many other ways instead of insulting fans of that show.

Also, I read somewhere at some point that he had trouble getting parts because he came off as young. As a result, I think that his whole "look" has a lot to do with trying to appear older.

Out of the cast, I don't care for him and Justin. Both who take themselves too seriously. No wonder Justin is just sooo in love with Milo.

[Tiger]

3 hours ago, sasha206 said:

 

I also don't think Milo is all that either.  I find his voice alone irritating.  It almost sounds like he's purposefully trying to make his voice in a lower register and it feels inauthentic.

On the party, I commented on that issue thread on their shitty parenting in how they made a big deal TO RANDALL that he had no friends there.  And they questioned him whether he gave out the invitations.  Anyone who has been a parent and in that position would've just made the decision at that point to combine all parties -- make it more of a "station" type of party.  You don't force your kid to have to make some comment like, "All I need are a couple of friends..." which of course was another in the typical unrealistic reaction by a kid.

That's so funny about "latern jaw."  I also have never thought Mandy Moore was anything but kinda cute.  The first few episodes, I thought she was a decent actress and was impressed.  But now I think my being impressed has more to do with her being a teen pop idol at one point and being surprised she was decent.  Now I'm iffy on her.  I don't think she's bad, but I don't think she's giving a layered, nuanced performance either.  I also think the writing for her sucks ass.

 

2 hours ago, Winston9-DT3 said:

I hear ya on that bit about his voice.  I thought he was hot early in the season but not really anymore due to the combination of reading douchey remarks from the actor in the media and the character being annoying to me.  All I knew him from was Heroes and I like his shaggy look better than that emo look.  But now he does stuff like go on talk shows and says stuff like "focus on Jack's life, not his death" and it makes me roll my eyes.

I've only seen Mandy in Entourage playing herself, as a girlfriend to the main character.  I had no opinion of her since I don't know her from anything else.  And how hard is it to play yourself.  

 

56 minutes ago, HeyThere83 said:

I'm commenting on something from the Moonshadow episode thread, where "Winston" comments on Milo...

He has struck me as someone taking themselves too seriously, and there was one interview I read recently where he rudely (imo) responded to a simple question about the fate of his character in Gilmore Girls or whatever. He said he didn't have time to think about something like that and suggested it was stupid or something. Get over yourself, dude. He could have responded in so many other ways instead of insulting fans of that show.

Also, I read somewhere at some point that he had trouble getting parts because he came off as young. As a result, I think that his whole "look" has a lot to do with trying to appear older.

Out of the cast, I don't care for him and Justin. Both who take themselves too seriously. No wonder Justin is just sooo in love with Milo.

Milo is my type to the extent that when it comes to guys my type actually is Milo-lookings guys.

But if he really has turned into a douche because of this show, I dont care how awesome his ass, tri's, whatever look . . . a bad attitude is a huge turn off.

[sasha206]

1 hour ago, HeyThere83 said:

I'm commenting on something from the Moonshadow episode thread, where "Winston" comments on Milo...

He has struck me as someone taking themselves too seriously, and there was one interview I read recently where he rudely (imo) responded to a simple question about the fate of his character in Gilmore Girls or whatever. He said he didn't have time to think about something like that and suggested it was stupid or something. Get over yourself, dude. He could have responded in so many other ways instead of insulting fans of that show.

Also, I read somewhere at some point that he had trouble getting parts because he came off as young. As a result, I think that his whole "look" has a lot to do with trying to appear older.

Out of the cast, I don't care for him and Justin. Both who take themselves too seriously. No wonder Justin is just sooo in love with Milo.

I don't like Justin either!  He does nothing for me.  He's not that charismatic an actor. He's a nice looking guy but there's something I don't dig.

[debraran]

I saw this youtube video interviewing Milo...he seems to talk about missing cast but then at the end, he is talking about how exciting it is to be renewed for 2 years, it's not just the security but the great cast etc. It was around 1:34. He sounds like he is coming back? confused but maybe flashbacks?

[Guest]

The creator said in interviews the show will always be about the core eight characters, so that means Jack and even William aren't going anywhere.  I think it's a mistake, personally.  

[OtterMommy]

45 minutes ago, Winston9-DT3 said:

The creator said in interviews the show will always be about the core eight characters, so that means Jack and even William aren't going anywhere.  I think it's a mistake, personally.  

I agree that this is a mistake, especially in William's case.  Probably in Jack's as well, although I could see how they could at least effectively keep him around longer.

Unfortunately for the show, I think the format with so much depending on flashbacks, has limited the shelf-life.  They can't keep doing flashbacks indefinitely, especially when they have to deal with the actors playing the younger versions of the Big Three growing older.  At some point they will just have to stop with the flashbacks and, since they have been so important to the narrative of the show, I don't think the show could continue past that. (Unless, of course, Fogelman's entire plan was to have a 3, maybe 4, season series....but I doubt that.)

[debraran]

Does anyone know or have read why the writers wrote Jack off so quickly? So much more could have been done or he could have had a bad accident, coma, anything. Milo wants to return and he alluded to the 2 year contract but maybe that is for flashbacks, he obviously died. Just happened so quickly to a pivotal character.

William's character was told he'd be back in flashback for season 2.

Edited April 2, 2017 by debraran