Puppy love
Ventimiglia happy to go to the dogs in ‘Racing’
As the heart and soul of TV’s “This Is Us” and now a sweetheart of a dog-loving race car driver in tomorrow’s “The Art of Racing in the Rain,” Milo Ventimiglia looks to be at a peak point in his life and career.
“I think to myself things are going great and I’m grateful to be here,” Ventimiglia, 42, declared, “but I also feel like I’m at the very beginning.”
Actually, this California native’s career began at 18,
when he was barely old enough to vote.
“It felt like it was a necessity. As a creative person I felt like I needed to be an actor, I needed to be a storyteller, I needed to be a collaborator.”
He joked that his likable Jack Pearson — he died saving a dog in a fire in “Us” — returns in Denny Swift’s body in “Racing in the Rain.”
“Racing” follows Denny racing and starting a family with Amanda Seyfried’s Eve and Enzo, his golden retriever.
Enzo (voiced by Kevin Costner) observes humans and learns life lessons to be able to be reincarnated as a human in his next life.
Little wonder “Racing” is being touted as a four-hankie weepie.
Parker, a 2-year-old retriever (“He was in 75% of the film”), is the young Enzo. Butler, 9, the older Enzo.
Ventimiglia credits English director Simon Curtis (“My Weekend with Marilyn”) with making it all work.
“Simon was my biggest rock during filming. It was him, me and the two dogs for three months.”
It’s no secret that the movies’ best special effect is making audiences believe what they see onscreen. Animal trainers are so fiercely protective of their charges that normally only they are allowed to speak to the dog.
That wouldn’t work for Milo.
“I rely as an actor on a scene partner to be present in the performance and help me do what I do. I needed the same thing from the canine costar.
“So I pretty much asked the trainers to train me to be a dog trainer and we could make something special. The trainers knew I was looking out for the dogs. This was a matter of, ‘What do WE need for the film’s performance?’
“It turned into an amazing working set.”
What is it about dogs and reincarnation that people love?
“If you believe in that sort of thing,” he answered, “it’s a really beautiful message. If you don’t believe, it’s a really beautiful message.”