Milo Ventimiglia may be up for an Emmy for his performance as Jack Pearson in Season 2 of This Is Us, but it sounds like it was the lessons learned about acting from his days as Jess on the set of Gilmore Girls that got him to that point. Ventimiglia recently reunited with showrunners Amy Sheridan-Palladino and Dan Palladino and, among other things, recalled the most important lesson the couple taught him when he played Jess:
Speed. Getting my words out fast. I have to admit, actors at times really like to milk a moment, and I know that I would do that. I felt like I was very much in this intensive acting workshop program to process my emotions, process my words quickly, but yet hit every single note that needed to happen. So it was a different style of acting than I think I had grown up with, but it's been so valuable because no one wants to watch "War and Peace," let alone read it in this day and age. So you have to, as an actor, get to it.
Dan Palladino agreed with Milo Ventimiglia's answer and explained that "War and Peace," pace that the actor referred to just doesn't jive with the Gilmore Girls style. Palladino said the show is written at a musical pace, and an actor on the show had to be capable of moving things along while at the same time being able to give a convincing performance. Everyone joked that it's a pace that may not work on a show like Law & Order, but it did work on their show and was a useful tool for Ventimiglia to pick up early in his acting career.
The Gilmore Girls experience and guidance from its showrunners had a profound impact on Milo Ventimiglia, to the point that he told Variety he'd do just about anything for them. That includes appearing on Dan Palladino and Amy Sheridan-Palladino's Amazon series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, although all parties agreed the timing would have to be right for that to happen. Specifically, they hinted that they'd like a solid chunk of time when the actor isn't committed to This Is Us, as they want to give him a sizable role and transform his look to fit the era. In the meantime, Ventimiglia admitted he's fine sweeping the floors or making sandwiches for The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel crew, as long as it means he gets to hang out with the Gilmore Girls showrunners.
Dan Palladino and Amy Sheridan-Palladino definitely share the same love for Milo Ventimiglia, to the point that Sheridan-Palladino joked she never had children because she couldn't guarantee they'd turn out like him. The couple also doted on Ventimiglia's love of being on set, and his professionalism even at a young age. The showrunners said the young actor was always mindful of everyone's job and made a point to get to know just about everyone working on the show. Ventimiglia brought up that this was a pointer he learned from Will Smith during a brief cameo on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and it's something he continues to do to this day.
Milo Ventimiglia's acting skills will be on display when This Is Us returns to NBC for Season 3 Tuesday, September 25, at 9:00 p.m. ET. Those who read this and are now down to binge the entirety of Gilmore Girls can do so on Netflix. For information regarding premieres of upcoming television shows, visit our summer and fall premiere guides.
