Yahoo Lifestyle “This Is Us” star Milo Ventimiglia visits remains of his home lost in L.A. fire: 'Life imitating art'
Ventimiglia, who starred as Jack on 'This Is Us,' acknowledges the sad parallel between him and his character.
CBS;Ron Batzdorff/NBC
Sometimes life imitating art can be a good thing, but for Milo Ventimiglia it's become a sobering experience.
Ventimiglia, who starred as Jack on six seasons of NBC's This Is Us, has lost his family home in the recent slew of devastating wildfires still impacting the greater Los Angeles area. On Thursday's CBS Evening News, Ventimiglia returned to what was left of his property in his Malibu neighborhood.
The report noted that Ventimiglia is one of the first residents to get a look at the damage in the area, driving through a stretch of Malibu where nearly every house appeared to be completely destroyed by the Palisades fire. Ventimiglia already knew that his house was gone, but this marked the first time he was actually seeing the devastation in person.
Actor Milo Ventimiglia tells CBS News’ @TonyDokoupil he helplessly watched his home burn to the ground through security cameras. The 47-year-old father-to-be returned to his property to see what was left. pic.twitter.com/jidcR5ZAsY
— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) January 10, 2025
"Heavy," he said of the experience of seeing it with his own eyes, immediately choking up. "You start thinking about, man, it hits you so quick. You start thinking about all the memories in different parts of the house and what-not, and then you see your neighbors' houses and everything around and your heart just breaks."
Ventimiglia and his wife watched the house burn via their security cameras.
"There's a kind of shock moment where you're going, 'Oh this is real and this is happening,'" he said. "And then at a certain point you turn it off because what good is it to continue watching. We kind of accepted the loss."
The actor's wife, Jarah, is pregnant and due to give birth within the next few days. They evacuated their Malibu home on Tuesday, taking as many of their belongings with them as they could. The couple had already set up a crib for their soon-to-be-born child, but they weren't able to take it and many of the things they had prepared for the baby in the nursery.
Ron Batzdorff/NBC
Milo Ventimiglia on 'This Is Us'Fans of This Is Us will note the eerie parallels between Ventimiglia's loss and the experiences of his character, Jack Pearson, on the hit series. Jack died as a result of a heart attack spurred by heavy smoke inhalation that occurred while he was saving his family and their dog from a house fire. The actor acknowledges the strange turn of events.
"It's not lost on me, life imitating art," he said.
Still, Ventimiglia is grateful, above all, that his family is safe. "We got good friends and we got good people we're working with, and we'll make do," he reflected. "Wife and baby and dog, most important."
Ventimiglia wasn't the only member of the Pearson family to lose property to this natural disaster. His costar, Mandy Moore, who played Jack's wife, Rebecca, also had to evacuate from her home in Altadena in the wake of the Eaton fire.
Moore and her family lost the music studio, which belonged to her husband, Taylor Goldsmith, as well as their garage and back house. However, the main part of their home seems to still be intact. 'We were able to park and walk up our street to bear witness to all the loss. Miraculously, the main part of our house is still standing. For now," she wrote on Instagram. "It's not livable but mostly intact."
After the storyline on This Is Us, Ventimiglia became an advocate for fire safety. The CBS News report noted that now he is hoping to get more involved wildfire safety awareness, as well as finding ways to give back to his community.
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Ventimiglia is not the only Los Angeles-based actor to have lost his home in these fires. Billy Crystal, James Woods, and Paris Hilton are among those who have lost their homes to the disaster. They have all confirmed their safety, but thousands of people have been evacuated from the area, and five people have died according to the latest reporting.
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