Milo Ventimiglia's greatest TV show and movie roles of all-time

There’s no doubt that Milo Ventimiglia’s performance on This Is Us has ensured that Jack Pearson will go down in history as one of television’s greatest dads. Let’s look back at some of Milo Ventimiglia’s greatest TV show and movie roles of all-time.

While many may know him for his role on This Is Us, the Pearson patriarch isn’t Ventimiglia’s only notable role. Here are some of Milo Ventimiglia’s greatest TV show and movie roles of all-time!

TV Roles

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1995) – Party Guest #1

In 1996, Ventimiglia made his television debut on the Will Smith-led sitcom. In the Season 6 episode, entitled “Bourgie Sings The Blues,” Ventimiglia plays a guest at a party hosted by Ashley Banks. Although it was a small role, Party Guest #1 delivers providing us with the iconic line, “Hey, relax, Ash, we’re just taking a little tour,” when scolded for having gone upstairs with his date.

More from This Is Us

Sabrina The Teenage Witch (1996) – Letterman

Ventimiglia made a cameo on another popular ’90s teen sitcom when he appeared on the show about the teenage witch. In the Season 1 episode entitled “Terrible Things,” Ventimiglia plays a student at the titular character’s high school. When he must choose between Sabrina’s friend Jenny and popular girl Libby for sophomore class president, Letterman chooses Libby based solely on her pro-pizza stance. Again, even with minimal screen time, Ventimiglia makes the most of it, returning at the end of the episode to deliver a little quip about the school cafeteria’s meatloaf.

Gilmore Girls (2001) – Jess Mariano

By far one of Ventimiglia’s most well-known roles and my personal favorite is that of bad boy Jess Mariano on Gilmore Girls, a show about a mother and daughter named Lorelai and Rory, respectively, living in the small town of Stars Hollow, Connecticut. After arriving in town, to live with his uncle Luke, Jess quickly became smitten with Rory, who had a boyfriend. The two eventually started dating, although their relationship was ill-fated due to Jess’s inability to be the man who Rory needed. Ventimiglia appeared in 37 episodes of the show between 2001 and 2006 and the 2016 revival.

Heroes (2006) – Peter Petrelli

Following his starring role on Gilmore Girls, Ventimiglia landed a role in the NBC series Heroes, a show about a group of individuals that develop superhuman abilities. In the show, Ventimiglia portrays Peter Petrelli, a hospice nurse who can mimic the superhuman abilities of others. The show ran from 2006 to 2010 with a revival, which Ventimiglia did not appear in, airing in 2015.

Film Roles

Must Be The Music (1996) – Jason

In this 1996 short film, Ventimiglia portrays Jason, a gay teenager. After meeting Michael at a teen night club, Jason develops a crush; however, he’s quickly disappointed to learn that his friend Kevin and Michael have already hit it off. Ventimiglia does a fantastic job in such an ambitious role for a young actor, and the film itself is great, portraying a typical love story between two people who happen to be the same gender.

Rocky Balboa (2006) – Robert “Rocky” Balboa Jr.

In the classic series’ sixth installment, Ventimiglia plays the titular character’s estranged son. Feeling overshadowed by his father’s legacy, Robert begs his father to move on after Rocky comes out of retirement to fight in an exhibition match against an up-and-coming boxer. In one of the film’s pivotal moments, Rocky sets a frustrated Robert straight, telling him that he needs to stop blaming other people for his failures. Stallone and Ventimiglia exhibit great chemistry, and Ventimiglia fills the shoes of Sage Stallone, who originated the role, perfectly.

Grown Ups 2 (2013) – Frat Boy Milo

Here, Ventimiglia showed off his comedic chops portraying a frat boy alongside Twilight’s Taylor Lautner. The movie featured Lautner and Ventimiglia performing elaborate handshakes as well as Ventimiglia calling Chris Rock’s character, “Skinny Danny Glover.”

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What do you think are some of Milo Ventimiglia’s greatest TV show and movie roles of all-time? Let us know!

This Is Us is tentatively set to return for Season 5 this fall on NBC. If you haven’t already, be sure to catch up on Season 4 via Hulu or the NBC app.

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