Milo Interview by
Terry Morrow:
'Bedford' actor dismisses racy talk
By TERRY MORROW
March 29, 2006
PASADENA, Calif. - A little smart sex talk doesn't bother Milo
Ventimiglia.
"The Bedford Diaries," his new series debuting at 9 tonight on WBXX, Channel 20, focuses on a group of college students taking a human-sexuality class. In a January interview, the 28-year-old actor said he had no qualms with the drama's frankness.
"We are trying to put a cerebral spin on a subject matter that people tend not to want to talk about," he said. But as of this week, the WB is concerned, and so is the Federal Communications Commission.
The New York Times reported last week that the WB has re-edited the first episode of "Bedford" due to concerns over its content. The series contains a scene in which two college-age girls kiss in a bar and another female unbuttons her jeans.
The censoring went against the wishes of "Bedford" creator Tom Fontana, the newspaper reported.
While talking about the show's sexual content prior to the censoring, Ventimiglia, who plays one of the students in the class, said he was "fine" over what the show portrays.
He said the show will be judged differently than, say, "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," a hit featuring detailed and graphic violence each week. Sex is still taboo on television, while violence is still being accepted.
"Because we are not a cop/procedural drama and the fact we talk about sex, we're wrong," he said. "We're playing adults, young adults, in college, and we are showing what they are really doing. "We're all over 18."
Ventimiglia, who plays a manipulative student journalist on "Bedford," said he has one scene where he is shirtless. The rest of the time he's fully clothed.
"That's why I signed on to the project," he said. "I saw that this is more cerebral than showy. It's more of a mix of emotions." Instead of sensationalizing sex, "Bedford" details the consequences of some sexual relationships and their influence on "day-to-day life," he said.
On "Oz," the HBO prison show that Fontana created, rapes and other sexual encounters punctuated the drama. Ventimiglia said he went into "Bedford" knowing the WB show would not be as graphic as anything on HBO. (For one thing, the WB has advertisers to please, while HBO does not.)
"If it was like that, I wouldn't have done it," he said. He took the role so he could work with Fontana. "I wanted to be in the presence of Tom Fontana," he said. "I wanted to walk with him. "I learned about story arc, characters and how to tell a good, solid story. I learned how to take a moment in a scene rather than smothering it with unnecessary emotions. I learned a lot from being on this show with him."