“This Is Us” star Milo Ventimiglia loses home to Los Angeles fires in eerie reflection of on-screen tragedy

Actor Milo Ventimiglia has revealed his family’s Malibu home burnt down in the Los Angeles fires — an eerie reflection of the tragedy that befell his character on the NBC drama series “This Is Us.”

Ventimiglia, a 47-year-old father to be, is among the celebrities affected by the destructive blazes that broke out this week amid powerful winds. He spoke to CBS News while returning home for the first time after evacuating to survey the damage on his scorched street.

Although neighbors had already told him his home had been destroyed, seeing it in person made it real.

“You start thinking about all the memories in different parts of the house and what not and then you see your neighbors houses and everything kind of around and your heart just breaks,” Ventimiglia said. 

Ventimiglia and his pregnant wife, Jarah, evacuated Tuesday and watched on security cameras as the flames from the Palisades Fire took over. The couple grabbed everything they could think of — but not everything, like the crib and other belongings in their baby’s nursery.

In “This Is Us,” Ventimiglia’s character Jack Pearson dies of smoke inhalation after his home burns down in the series.

“You know, it’s not lost on me, life imitating art,” Ventimiglia said.

In 2018, Ventimiglia recalled filming the challenging scene in an interview with Entertainment Weekly.

“Your live effects crew that were in charge of it were so responsible, but still when you’re staring at a seven-foot wall of flames, it’s hard not to be completely intimidated by the brutal, fierce fear of what that represents,” he told the outlet.

But unlike Jack, Ventimiglia is still here, with everything, he says, that really matters.

“We got good friends and we got good people we’re working with and we’ll make do. Wife and baby and dog, most important,” Ventimiglia said.

After the fictional fire in “This Is Us,” Ventimiglia became an advocate for fire safety. Now, he says his interest has turned to wildfire safety and is already thinking about ways he might be able to help his community and others.

Tony Dokoupil

Tony Dokoupil is a co-host of “CBS Mornings” and CBS Mornings Plus.” Dokoupil also anchors “The Uplift,” a weekly series spotlighting positive and inspiring stories for CBS News 24/7.