'Gotham's' Milo Ventimiglia on Playing a Serial Killer, His Favorite Batman Villains, and His 'Fresh Prince' Past
Milo Ventimiglia sat down in our Yahoo TV studios to talk about his television career, and his time on Fox’s Gotham in particular. Monday night’s episode is the second part of The Ogre arc, where Ventimiglia plays a brutal serial killer who hides his secret by also targeting police officers, making the Gotham City PD reluctant to pursue him. It’s quite a ways from his first TV role nearly 20 years ago — as a party guest on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
If you’re wondering why Ventimiglia isn’t returning for the Heroes Reborn miniseries (he starred as Peter Petrelli on the original 2006-10 series), the answer may be hidden in the first video, where he discusses the reasons he likes Batman: “I love that idea of a normal man” who pushes his limits, he says. Four years as the superpowered Petrelli may have been enough for him. Plus, he talks about his love for the Batman villains: The Penguin, The Joker, and Catwoman, obviously…
Related: Get Caught Up With Our ‘Gotham’ Recaps
It’s also possible he was a little too comfortable with his Gotham role. His friendship with Ben McKenzie (which he talks about in the second video) definitely helped, but he also says the advice from his friends on playing cold-blooded murderer Jason Lennon was, “Just be yourself.” Which is less weird than it sounds; even villains need a human side. That’s why his advice for playing the role is “be engaged with the character and have fun.”
Ventimiglia also discusses his early experience with comic books — including his love of Leonard Snart, aka Captain Cold (perhaps he’s angling for a spot on The Flash?) — why he needed to know how to ride motorcycles, the aforementioned “Party Guest No. 1” role on Fresh Prince, and more. And if you still need more Ventimiglia in your life, fret not: He’s around for at least one more episode of Gotham. After that… maybe cross your fingers for a Submariner series?
Gotham airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on Fox.
