‘This Is Us’ Actor Milo Ventimiglia Talks Will Smith Influence, How His Dad Is Like Jack Pearson [Spoilers]

The new hit drama This is Us is just about to take a short hiatus as it airs its fall finale Tuesday evening. What Milo Ventimiglia had to say about some things will make it even harder for fans to wait for the big return after the holidays. Milo is no doubt a huge part of the success of This is Us. Ventimiglia’s role as Jack Pearson is nothing short of amazing and just recently he dished on one lesson he learned a long time ago that carried him to where he is now.

Milo has known plenty of success with Gilmore Girls and now This is Us, but that is not where Milo’s acting career began. Ventimiglia’s first television role was a small, but the experience taught him a bunch. Interview shared that Milo played a very small part on The Fresh Prince of Bel Air in 1995. Milo says it was not the actual role that taught him a lot, but rather it was Will Smith’s attitude and treatment of his fellow cast members and crew.

Milo went on to say Smith was already a big movie star by this time and it was amazing to see how inclusive he was of everyone on set. Ventimiglia said, “I just watched and soaked up as much as I could. It impacted me and how I am around my sets and my crews. Will Smith is a good man. So I just try to be a good man. It was a pretty impactful moment, I’m very thankful that that was my first gig—being around him.”

Aside from discussing his first acting gig, Milo also dished on how his own dad is a lot like Jack. Milo said, “I feel like Jack has the same heart as my father. My father was a very fun dad; he was always coaching our soccer sports teams, he made sure that we had activities to do. He was kind of goofy and fun. But at the same time, he had a lot of lessons to teach us so that we didn’t grow up and just not be good people.” Milo went on to talk about a photo of his dad hanging in his trailer. Ventimiglia said above the photo is written “Be a good father” and below it says “Be a good husband.” Milo says it is really simple and easy things to look at before he heads out of his trailer for work.

Milo learned well from his own father and Will Smith. Not only is he loved by the cast and crew, but he’s also loved by fans who adore his new character, Jack. TV Line even named Milo performer of the week for last week’s tearjerker episode called “The Trip.” In this episode, fans see present day Randall interacting with Milo, whose character is deceased at this point in time. It was discovered earlier in the season that Jack is not alive in the present day scenes, but the story line has not yet revealed when or how Jack dies. Fans have and will continue to speculate about that major plot involving Milo until it plays out for all to see.

In the meantime, Access Hollywood spoke with Milo and tried to get a few spoilers from him about what is to come for the Pearsons. While Ventimiglia was careful to not give anything away Milo said, “The Pearson’s are experiencing something that will impact the future.” While he would not elaborate much further Milo did say, “It’s gonna get bloody.” When prompted further if that was literal or metaphorically Milo said laughingly, “Take it as you will, whatever you think.”

Aside from filming This is Us, Milo has also been doing his part for charity. As previously reported by theT Inquisitr, Ventimiglia went on Ellen where he helped raise money for breast cancer research. Milo also recently took to his Twitter to complete the 22 Push-up Challenge, which raises awareness for the 22 Veterans who will commit suicide each day.

Don’t miss Milo and the rest of the This is Us cast as they return Tuesday night for the fall finale on NBC. Following the finale, new episodes will return after the first of the year. If you can’t wait to see Ventimiglia, Milo will also be making another appearance Tuesday on Ellen. Stay tuned for more news to come on Milo Ventimiglia and This is Us.

[Featured Image by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for Children’s Defense Fun]