Spoiler alert: This story contains details from the premiere of The Company You Keep.
From the Big Three to the Big Scam.
Milo Ventimiglia returned to television as an impostor on Sunday, after a brief hiatus following the conclusion of NBC’s “This Is Us” in May after six seasons. Without Jack Pearson’s moustache, he directs ABC’s The Company You Keep (10 EST/PST), created by Julia Cohen and Phil Klemmer and adapted from a Korean drama.
Ventimiglia, 45, portrays Charlie Nicoletti, a man devoted to his family business as a con man. But the premiere episode reveals that polite Charlie is the one being rushed. His fiancé robbing the Nicolettis $10 million from a high-stakes robbery and putting his family, who own a bar in Baltimore, in debt to a major criminal organization.
Our critic: Review: Milo Ventimiglia is sexy, stylish and swooned on ABC’s ‘The Company You Keep’
The 5 best new TV shows this winter: The Last of Us and the return of Milo Ventimiglia
The role of Charlie appealed to Ventimiglia, who appreciated how different the character was compared to Jack, a devoted father of three and doting husband.
“He has many layers,” says Ventimiglia of Charlie. With “the complexity of these disadvantages running through the family, he has to be a chameleon and he has to be charming and he has to be engaging. He must also be dangerous.”
In addition to This Is Us, Ventimiglia has also starred in NBC’s hit shows Heroes and WB’s Gilmore Girls.
When he thinks about a role, he looks for ways to have fun. “You have to know that he has legs,” he says. “When … I looked at that as an actor, I was like, ‘Hey, is this a character that’s going to be challenging and satisfying? Is it someone who will go the distance? Do we have enough history in who all these characters are on the show? And I think we do.”
Charlie nurses his heartbreak at a hotel bar, where he meets Emma Hill (Catherine Haena Kim), a CIA agent who found out earlier that day that her boyfriend is having an affair. While downing their drinks, the two playfully lie to each other about their job and their upbringing.
“Okay, now tell me something true,” Emma demands.
“I’m a criminal,” Charlie says, in a brief moment of honesty, to which Emma replies, “I’m CIA.” They both laugh away at the truth and end up spending 36 hours in a hotel suite getting to know each other and having passionate sex.
“What we see at the beginning is two trains on a collision course,” says Ventimiglia. “How do life, heart and emotions unravel beyond that?”
Charlie is torn between pursuing his new love interest and focusing on the hustle and bustle of his family.
“Charlie is going through a bit of a transition where he exists as he has with his family for so long,” says Ventimiglia. “Ever since he and (Charlie’s sister) Birdie (Sarah Wayne Callies) were kids, they’ve been screwing each other and stuff like that. It’s all very second nature to him. So when I realize that maybe you want something different and more and the inspiration behind that is a new romantic partner, I can definitely relate to that.”
Ventimiglia and Kim’s chemistry is off the charts. While the scenes appear steamy on-screen, Kim describes them as fun, silly, and a little awkward to shoot.
“It’s like we’re in this bathtub and totally sexy and in between I’m like, ‘If I see an extra bubble, I’ll kill you,’” she says, laughing. Or in a scene where the couple is having sex in bed: “There’s our wonderful hair and makeup team and our wardrobe team and they come in and someone offers me water and powders my nose and brushes my hair . I’m just saying, ‘This should be a service you get in real life.’”
Although Charlie and Emma have an intense relationship, their jobs naturally conflict them.
“Emma has been stalking the woman who is handling Charlie’s family’s debt,” says Kim, 38. Despite “a fun fling for the weekend” that “devolves into something more substantial, of course they have no idea that things are going on.” so it gets professionally complicated for both of them.”
But Ventimiglia says it won’t be too long before the characters discover who their love interest really is. He promises: “It’ll be pretty quick.”
Watch a teaser: Apple TV+ finally announces the release date for Season 3 of Ted Lasso
Netflix reveals ‘Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story’ release date, trailer: Watch
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: The Company You Keep: Milo Ventimiglia in New Show, ‘Dangerous’ Role
Don’t miss interesting posts on Famousbio
