Big Gay Following: Milo Ventimiglia

When Tina Turner said we don’t need another hero, she obviously had never met Milo Ventimiglia, who plays power-absorbing Peter Petrelli on NBC’s hit sci-fi series Heroes (season 3 starts September 22). Also loved for his roles as Jess on Gilmore Girls and Rocky’s son in 2006’s Rocky Balboa, the 31-year-old heartthrob reveals why gay fans have always been powerless to resist him, and how he’s saving the world -- one shirtless scene at a time.

Welcome to your Big Gay Following interview.
Thanks, man. I was excited to hear you guys wanted to do something with me. I was like, “OK, cool!” I’m completely flattered.

When did you first realize you had gay fans?
It was way before Heroes or Gilmore Girls. I was about 19 or 20 years old. I’d done a short film when I was 18 called Must Be the Music, where I played a gay teenager. I was shopping with my mom and dad one weekend, and these two gay guys came up and said they’d seen the film at a film festival and they just thought I was great. That was actually the very first time I’d ever been recognized for anything. I’m glad that it was my first meeting with a fan, because it wasn’t the standard 14-year-old girl chasing me down; it was men who were fans of the work. That was cool.

Did you get any teasing from friends for playing gay?
No, I never did. At the end of the day, I’m playing a part, and there are many parts to play. I would hope that if I’m playing a killer no one would frown upon or tease me for that.

How did you prepare for the role?
I didn’t do much preparation; I got the part and dove right in the next week, and we filmed in a club called Arena in Hollywood. I’d always had friends who were gay, straight -- just a huge mix of friends—so I understood the story of what this kid was going through. It was less about him being gay and more about him meeting someone he’s interested in.

After Gilmore Girls made you a heartthrob, you played gay again in the 2005 horror film Cursed. Any hesitations about taking that role?
No, I’m just into good characters. I just read a script for a cross-country travel movie about an interesting duo—a man on his way to being transgendered has a friendship with this woman who’s escaping a marriage. I had this meeting to play the man who becomes transgendered. It’s such an interesting role -- the psychology behind a person who feels trapped in a body they don’t think they should’ve been born into. The producer said to me, “It’s very brave of you to consider something like this.” And I said, “Why? It’s a great role.” I tend to lean toward a good role despite any stigma that’s possibly attached to it. I mean, fuck, it’s 2008. The fact that people are still worried about stuff like that just baffles me.