Milo Ventimiglia On His Charmed Childhood, Plans For Being A Real-Life Dad

Milo Ventimiglia isn’t a dad in real life, but he plays one on TV. Ventimiglia is so into his role as proud papa Jack Pearson on NBC’s breakout hit This Is Us that he even shows up on the set on his days off.

In a new interview with the New York Post, Ventimiglia revealed that he grew up in an idyllic Anaheim setting, not far from Disneyland, where his mother worked. While Milo couldn’t even get hired to “clean up trash on Main Street,” he was a fixture at the famous park.

“As I got older it became a place to escape, for all of us teenagers to go run around the park,” Milo told the Post. “[It cost] 46 bucks to get in, but if you were from Southern California, they would cut you a deal.”

Milo Ventimiglia detailed a close relationship with his parents, Carol and Peter, revealing that he was “never at a loss for hugs and kisses” from his parents and two sisters when he was growing up. Milo has gone on record as saying his own father helped to inspire him or the role of Jack Pearson.

Milo’s co-star Mandy Moore describes him as This Is Us’ “team captain” and “the true patriarch of our little set family.”

The actor works with two sets of Pearson triplets on the show—the 10-year old Kevin, Kate and Randall ( Parker Bates, Mackenzie Hancsicsak, and Lonnie Chavis) and the teen version of the Big Three (Logan Shroyer, Hannah Zeile, and Niles Fitch), and he seems to have his own on-set “parenting” technique.

“You have to remember that they’re kids,” Ventimiglia said.

“Nurture a fun environment for them, but don’t let them get away with too much. Show them kindness and love, intelligence and strength — they’re going to soak it all in.”

Ventimiglia, who is rumored to be dating marketing coordinator Kelly Egarian, revealed that he is ready to settle down and have a family of his own.

“I’d love to have kids,” Milo told the Post.

“I think it’s more about having that right partner. The older I got, the more I understood that Mom and Dad were going to have to be cool with Mom and Dad together, whether the kids were there or the kids were gone. I think for me the lesson was find a great partner — having kids will be the joy from having a great partnership.”

Ventimiglia previously told Us Weekly that working with the child actors on This Is Us doesn’t necessarily make him want to have kids right now, but that he’s ready for it when it happens.

“It doesn’t make me want to have a family any more than I think I’m built to want a strong family unit,” Ventimiglia, told Us Weekly. “It will happen when it happens. I’m not out seeking it. It’s just kind of, I’m present in the space in my life that when it presents itself and it’s right, I’m sure it will work out.”

Milo Ventimiglia turns 40-years-old in July. The actor revealed that his family wants to get together for his milestone birthday next month, but he hasn’t made any plans for the big day because he doesn’t like to be the center of attention. Still, no matter what, it will be a family-focused day.

“People close to me keep trying to plan things, but it makes me so uncomfortable,” Ventimiglia explained to the Post. “I don’t like attention. My dad’s birthday is a month before mine. So we’re all going to be together for that.”

Check out Milo Ventimiglia in all his Papa Pearson glory in the This Is Us us scene below.

[Featued Image by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP Images]