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Milo Ventimiglia is starting to make a habit of dying on screen.
Prime Video’s new action series Countdown (now streaming its first three episodes) opens with a surprise cameo from the This Is Us and Gilmore Girls vet. As a Department of Homeland Security customs and border patrol agent, Ventimiglia spends the first minutes of the show racing on foot through Los Angeles and battling bad guys with some seriously impressive fight moves… until his character is suddenly and tragically shot dead right when he thinks he’s in the clear.
That murder sparks the creation of the show’s ragtag task force and propels their investigation. So to make that deadly twist as impactful as possible, creator Derek Haas, whose credits include Chicago Fire and FBI: International, knew he “needed someone that you would instantly like, because there’s no time to get deep into his character before that character is launching this entire series,” Haas explains to Soaps.
Enter Ventimiglia, who first won over viewers as Rory’s love interest, Jess, on Gilmore Girls and then reclaimed their hearts as This Is Us‘ beloved family patriarch, Jack Pearson (who also met a tragic end). Thanks to those fan-favorite characters, the actor didn’t even need to say much during his brief Countdown appearance to endear his character to viewers and make them care about the short-lived DHS agent.
“I got lucky that [Milo] had a window. I got introduced to him through our casting department,” Haas shares, adding that he and Ventimiglia “hit it off immediately. He’s such a likable guy, anyway.”
Ventimiglia’s role is small, but packs a punch – emotionally and literally. “When I met Milo, he knew ahead of time that it was a limited run,” Haas says. “I was like, ‘This is going to be some real action.’ He’s like, ‘I’ve been waiting to be an action star.’ So I was like, ‘Well, we’re gonna be running you all over Los Angeles.’ He’s like, ‘I am up for anything,’ and he was. He did it, and kudos to him, because it made such a powerful first five minutes of the show.”
And if you’re upset about Ventimiglia’s untimely demise on Countdown, you’re not the only one: “My mom, also, was very mad at me for what happened to one of her favorite actors,” Haas shares with a laugh.
