‘This Is Us’: Milo Ventimiglia Uses This Person to Influence His Performance of Jack
Milo Ventimiglia’s performance as Jack on the dramatic television series This is Us has certainly brought new depths and acclaim for the actor’s talents. The role is not a breakthrough for the actor, who has been performing in dramatic TV shows for two decades, but it has certainly been a major part of his professional identity. Recently, Ventimiglia opened up about where he draws his influence to play Jack.
‘This is Us’ weaves together the story of the Pearsons
This is Us premiered in 2016 and immediately captured viewers’ hearts and minds. The series treads familiar ground in some ways. After all, there are plenty of heartfelt television dramas that focus on the ins and outs of a family. Parenthood, Blue Bloods, and Brothers & Sisters all tread similar territory.
This is Us centers around the Pearsons, a family that’s made up of husband and wife Jack and Rebecca. They have three children who are all born on the same day.
When one of their triplets tragically dies during delivery, they take home an abandoned baby who was born on the same day, and together, the children — Kevin, Kate, and Randall — become the Big Three. As adults, each of Jack and Rebecca’s children is struggling with different major life events, and the show focuses on how they navigate these challenges with advice and lessons learned from their parents.
The thing that makes This is Us stand apart is its time-jumping narrative. The show jumps back and forth between the past and present, weaving together a complex tale that spans decades and provides an intricate picture of how the scars from our past change who we are.
Milo Ventimiglia plays Jack Pearson in ‘This is Us’
Without a doubt, Jack Pearson is a driving force of This is Us and its enduring popularity. Jack is a steadfast and loving husband and father who is trying his absolute best to be the man he needs to be. His speeches are legendary, and his presence is so powerful that he’s still a major character despite having died decades ago in the modern-day scenes.
Ventimiglia brings Jack to life in a portrayal that has showcased the actor’s depth and heart. No stranger to television dramas, Ventimiglia rose to fame as Jess on Gilmore Girls before diving into Heroes, Chosen, and The Whispers. His portrayal of Jack Pearson, however, has stood out as particularly powerful and earned him three Emmy nominations.
This influence drives Milo Ventimiglia’s portrayal of Jack
In speaking to ScreenCast about his portrayal of Jack, Ventimiglia shared how proud he is to be part of a creative project that has a serious impact on people’s lives: “It’s been nice to see the impact that Rebecca and Jack have had on marriages of the audience. The audience talking about, ‘Oh, my husband. Oh, my wife.’ Or being parents. I get a lot of people telling me, ‘Jack is such a good father. It makes me want to be a better father.’ I’m grateful to play the man that inspires a lot of different people in a lot of different ways positively.”
Speaking of inspiration, Ventimiglia draws his motivation for the part from a source that’s near and dear to his own heart. “I base my performance of Jack on my own father and how my mom and my dad raised us,” Ventimiglia explained. “I have a lot of that experience and influence from my mom and dad.”
