‘This Is Us’ Cast: Was Milo Ventimiglia on ‘Sabrina the Teenage Witch’?
This Is Us actor Milo Ventimiglia captures hearts as Pearson family patriarch, Jack Pearson. Through the NBC drama’s notable flashback scenes, viewers watched how The Pearsons instilled Jack’s lessons into their lives. During the 1990s, Ventimiglia appeared on several television shows until he found his big break. But, did the actor ever star in the sitcom Sabrina, the Teenage Witch? Here’s what Showbiz Cheat Sheet knows.
‘This Is Us’ cast member Milo Ventimiglia studied acting in Los Angeles
Ventimiglia was born in Anaheim, California. The actor grew up as the youngest child of Carol and Peter Ventimiglia. After graduating from El Moderna high school in Orange, California, Ventimiglia studied theatre at the University of California, Los Angeles.
During his time in LA, the actor left school to take minor roles in 1990s movies and films. Many of the parts didn’t last long, including The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and a Fox show called Opposite Sex. In between gigs, Ventimiglia said he could afford to take care of himself by renting apartments in the seedy parts of LA.
Milo Ventimiglia and another ‘This Is Us’ cast member guest-starred on ‘Sabrina the Teenage Witch’
In 1996, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, premiered on the WB. The series followed Sabrina Spellman (Melissa Joan Hart), navigating her new reality as a half-witch, half-mortal. While learning about her skills from her aunts Hilda (Caroline Rhea) and Zelda (Beth Broderick), Sabrina also attended high school with several human teens.
During a 1996 episode of Sabrina, Ventimiglia played a jock named Letterman. In one clip, Sabrina’s friend tries to win his character’s vote for class president. The scene shows Ventimiglia ultimately voting for Sabrina’s nemesis, Libby (Jennifer Leigh Green).
Although Ventimiglia appeared on Sabrina, he isn’t the only This Is Us character to do so. According to IMDb, This Is Us cast member Jon Huertas in Sabrina as Brad . Some Sabrina fans might recall that Brad often tried to convince her boyfriend, Harvey (Nate Richert), that she was a witch.
Huertas starred as Brad for 12 episodes between 1999 and 2000. Currently, he plays Jack’s best friend. When the patriarch died, he married Rebecca, which upset the Big 3– Kevin (Justin Hartley), Randall (Sterling K Brown), and Kate (Chrissy Metz).
How Ventimiglia became Jack Pearson
After agreeing to more minor TV roles, Ventimiglia got his big break in 2001. The actor booked the part of Jess Mariano on Gilmore Girls. Throughout the show’s five seasons, some fans couldn’t get enough of Jess and Rory Gilmore’s (Alexis Bledel) love story. Once Gilmore Girls ended, Ventimiglia played another central character in the NBC drama Heroes. After Heroes wrapped in 2010, the actor starred in That’s My Boy and Grown Ups 2.
Around 2016, Ventimiglia auditioned for This Is Us as Jack. Initially, they wanted someone else to play Jack. Series creator, Dan Fogelman said Ventimiglia amazed the writers with his talent.
“Milo showed up wearing a motorcycle jacket, carrying a helmet under his arm, and I immediately knew this was a different version of Jack—this blue-collar, working-class, quiet stud,” Fogelman said to Men’s Journal. “He speaks to an old-school kind of guy who doesn’t necessarily wear his emotions on his sleeve. He loves deeply, he loves his family, he lives by a certain code—I think that informs a little bit of Milo and a little bit of the character.”
