Milo Vetimiglia|||

by Amy Amatangelo

Stars Hollow may be a small town, but Rory Gilmore has managed to find two boys to tickle her fancy. There's Dean, Rory's sweet boyfriend. And this season a new boy has caught Rory's attention. Ever since Luke's nephew, Jess, sauntered into town, we knew there might be trouble.

This month, in our continuing look at the many loves of Rory Gilmore, we turn our eye to Milo Ventimiglia. The 24-year-old actor plays Jess, the troublemaker we just know has a heart of gold.

Fans may be unsure about whom they would like to see Rory end up with and the actor is equally uncertain. When asked why he thinks Jess is the better guy for Rory, he replied, "I'm hesitant to answer that. I bring things out of Rory that Dean can't. Dean has given her things that Jess can't offer Rory. Jess and Rory might work it out and just end up the best of friends."

Rory wasn't the only one who was quickly smitten with Ventimiglia's charm. When he first auditioned for the role, the character was slated to only be a guest star. But then he met series creator Amy Sherman-Palladino and she told him, "We want you for two years."

In fact, Ventimigilia was hired so quickly that "they didn't have a name for my character." "They didn't know where he was from," Ventimiglia said in a recent phone interview. "All they knew was that he was Luke's nephew and that he was a troublemaker. From March to September [of 2001] I really didn't know much. When I finally got my first script, I was giggling like a little girl. Everything coincided with what I created in my head."

The actor, who starred in the short-lived Fox comedy "Opposite Sex" and can currently be seen in a PT Cruiser commercial, wanted to act ever since he was young. "I knew when I was a kid that I wanted to be an actor. When my parents asked me if I wanted to try to break into the business, I always said no. I wanted to wait. I didn't want to leave school, leave sports." But that didn't stop him from performing. Every Friday night, he and his parents would act out plays.

Ventimigilia doesn't have too much in common with his television alter-ego. For one thing, he was a very good kid. "Teachers liked me, parents liked me," he explained. When his friends wanted to do something, all they had to say was "I'll be with Milo" and they were good to go. "The only thing I have in common with Jess is that we both always have a book in our back pocket. We both like to read. My best friend in high school, he was a troublemaker. I'm basing the character on his antics."

But Ventimiglia is still getting to know his character and understand what makes him tick. "I would love to figure out why this kid is so uneasy. He talked about his mom not having him come home for Christmas, but I feel like there's something more to that. He seems unaffected by it, but I'd like to dig a little deeper."

He's also starting to get recognized. The day after his first Gilmore Girls episode aired, a girl approached at his gym and asked "Are you on Gilmore Girls?" When he said "yes," she exclaimed, "Oh my God. I hate you." One time he and Alexis Bledel (Rory) went to the movies. "People really flocked to her and asked me what books I was reading," Ventimiglia said. "It's kind of bizarre, people equate your character with you as a person."

Recently Bledel, Ventimiglia and Liza Weil (Paris Geller) all went to see a taping of "Friends." He loved watching David Schwimmer direct an episode of the popular NBC sitcom. "I'm dying to get on the other side of production. There are lots of talented directors. Some are good with camera and not with actors. Some good with actors and not with camera. I would like to combine the two."

What was it like to join the critically acclaimed series in its second season? "I definitely felt like the new kid. They were all especially gracious and kind. But they had a history. It's like going to a new high school. It's really an incredible environment. They're great people on and off the set. I can only be as good as the people around me and people around me are amazing. Scott Patterson (Luke) is really funny. He makes things very comfortable for me and I feel free to explore this character. Alexis does the same thing."

One thing Ventimiglia is sure of is that he's keeping his lengthy last name. "I had a non-union agent when I was 16 years old. He wanted me to shorten my name to Venti." Ventimiglia was so outraged that he thought about adding his middle name (Anthony) to annoy his agent. "It's my name. I'm not changing it."