Milo Ventimiglia|||

TeenMag.com:
Name: Milo Anthony Ventimiglia

D.O.B.: July 8, 1977

Hometown: Milo was born in Anaheim, California, but he grew up in nearby Orange, CA.

How You Know Him: Most people recognize Milo from his role as Jed Perry on the short-lived but much-loved Fox TV show Opposite Sex. He's also appeared as a guest star on show's like C.S.I. and Sabrina the Teenage Witch. Now, Milo has joined the cast of the terrific WB show Gilmore Girls as Luke's trouble-making nephew, Jess.

Taking the Plunge: Milo always wanted to be an actor, even when he was a little kid. "When I was eight, I was telling my parents, 'Hey, in twenty years, I'm gonna win an academy award,'" says Milo. "Then I really didn't dive into it until I was 18." When he was in high school, Milo was in plays, but he was too focused on playing sports?football, baseball and basketball?to think about getting into acting professionally. "Then, finally, when the opportunity came up as I got older, I was like, 'Wow, this is really something that I enjoy doing, and I think I could see a future career in it,'" explains Milo. "Plus, I'm not the best salesman, and I can't play guitar." What else was there for him to do?

First Paying Gig: The first professional paying job that Milo ever had was a small role on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. "I had one line," says Milo. "I walked down the stairs at some party Ashley was having because her parents were out of town. I have a girl on my arm, and I say, 'Relax Ash, we're just taking a little tour' and I laugh. It's a great glorious moment," he adds sarcastically.

Big Break: Besides that captivating bit part on Fresh Prince, Milo did a few commercials and appeared as a guest star on a few other TV shows. The public really started to take notice of Milo when he landed the role of Jed on Opposite Sex. This short-lived series earned Milo countless fans and some even made fan pages for him.

Becoming a Gilmore Guy: These days, Milo plays Jess, the new boy in Stars Hollow on Gilmore Girls. So far, we don't know that much about him. "He's kind of a mislead youth," says Milo. "He drinks. He smokes. He says rude things. He's kind of impolite. But, uh, he just doesn't want to be there." Jess is sent to live in Stars Hollow with his uncle, Luke, when he gets into trouble, and his mom just doesn't know what to do with him. Jess isn't just a typical bad boy though. "He's also really intelligent," says Milo. "So I think there's hope that he's going to turn out to be a good guy, or at least kind of he'll settle into his own in the town. He's always got a book in his back packet." And guess who else is always carrying a book around: Rory.

Mystery Guy: Even Milo doesn't know that much about his Gilmore Girls character, Jess. The writers haven't told him where Jess was living before he came to Stars Hollow or even what his last name is. "I guess he's one of those Madonna characters," jokes Milo. We're guessing that both Milo and us Gilmore fans will be getting to know Jess a lot better in the coming months.

Good to be a Bad Boy: Milo admits that he's really having fun playing the bad boy role this time around. "I really enjoy it," he says. "I think, a lot of times, I kind of get stuck with the nice guy. The nice, indecisive guy who doesn't know how to make up his mind about anything. So, it's nice to just be the carefree, reckless youth." Plus, you get to do all those bad things without getting into any trouble. What a deal.

Sticking Around: There's been a lot of speculation about how long Jess will be a character on Gilmore Girls, so Milo wants to set the record straight. "I've got a two-year contract." says Milo. "I'm on for two years. It's kind of weird* My mom is so funny. Gilmore Girls is her favorite show, and so she goes on the web sites and spoiler boards and everything. In some places it says, 'Oh he's only a guest recurring,' and in other places it says that I'm only in two episodes," says Milo. "But no, I've got a two-year contract." So, go ahead and get attached to him girls. He's gonna be around a while.

Making Trouble: Of course, the news that Jess will be on Gilmore Girls for two years may upset some of the hardcore Rory and Dean fans out there. The rumors are flying that Jess is going to come in and break up that adorable couple. Milo isn't really saying what's going to happen. "Yeah, I definitely raise hell," he admits. "In episode number eight, which we just finished, I meet Dean for the first time. It was interesting. It was very quick but it was cool." Jess has already caused one fight between Lorelai and Luke, and it looks like he's just going to keep shaking things up in the sleepy town of Stars Hollow.

Movie Editing: If you look up Milo's movie credits, it looks like he's been in quite a few flicks, but it turns out, the poor guy has been edited out of most of them. For instance, in She's All That most of Milo's scenes got chopped. "It makes me laugh. My part was so miniscule," says Milo. "You see me walk in a door, and, right before I'm about to talk, they cut. So there's that. And then there's a whole following scene with myself and Kirin Culkin [that got cut], and then there's another scene in the movie that was totally cut. So, I kind of laugh when people are like, 'Oh, Milo Ventimiglia, She's All That,' and then they name something else, and I'm like, 'I wasn't really in those movies.'" There are a few movies that Milo managed to stay in, including one called Sheer Bliss, which hasn't been released yet. "I couldn't get cut out of that," says Milo. "I was the lead role." Sheer Bliss is about four guys who graduate from college and decide to try to figure out what the heck the want to do with their live. Check out the official website at www.sheerbliss.com.

Car Guy: Something else Milo is really into, besides acting, is cars. "I'm kind of a motorhead," he admits. "I'm a Chevy guy. I've got two Chevys." In fact, Milo was excited to learn that the teenmag.com shares a building with big name car magazines like Hot Rod and, even better for him, Super Chevy. He even wanted to stop by so we could take him to the car magazine floors and show him around. Milo said he'd call to set up a time to drop by. We're still waiting* (sigh.)

What's That In His Pocket?: Just like his Gilmore Girls character, Milo has always got a book with him. During down time on set, he's usually just sitting back reading a book. Currently, he's reading the Richard Bachman (aka Steven King) book The Long Walk.

Manly Movies: Milo's movie collection has got a lot of classic guy flicks in it. He's got The Godfather DVD collection, Goodfellas, Blow and The Matrix. But Milo's also into some old classics like movies starring James Dean and Marlon Brando. "I kind of dig all that old stuff," says Milo. Milo says that he really likes movies with good character development. He prefers movies "where it's not superficial. You have to kind of see what's going on in the mind of the character, to see their thought process without them giving it away or handing it to you on a plate." So he's a thinking guy. How cool!

Milo's Music: Like most people, Milo has a pretty eclectic music taste. "I listen to a lot of hip hop, and right now I'm stoked on a band called The Strokes," says Milo. "I was up at like five in the morning last week, just doing a bunch of stuff, and then I ended up just crashing on my couch and turning on the TV. I was falling asleep, and I heard the song and saw the band, and I was like, 'Who the hell are these guys?' I went and bought the CD, and I just haven't taken it out of my player yet. Then also like a lot of Deftones, and a lot of Orange County punk that I grew up with."

That's all for Milo. Don't forget to check him out on Gilmore Girls every Tuesday night at 8pm EST/PST on the WB.