NEW YORK – In"I Can Only Imagine 2,"(in theaters Friday) actorMilo VentimigliaplaysTim Timmons, a contemporary Christian singer-songwriter whose life story helped spur the sequel to the2018 faith-based film. In 2001, Timmons was given five years to live following a terminal cancer diagnosis. Over two decades later, the music artist is still alive and calls Ventimiglia's portrayal of him in the movie"the honor of a lifetime."
"He's able to hold grief and gratitude in the same regard," Ventimiglia, 48, tells USA TODAY of Timmons. "And my job is to honor this real-life human being. So he says honor by way of me, but really the honor is mine to represent him wholly."
The "This is Us" star has learned first-hand about grief and gratitude over the last year. In January 2025, his familylost their Malibu homein theCalifornia wildfires. Weeks later, he and wife Jarah Marianowelcomed a baby girl. And then Ventimiglia packed up a truck and trailer with his family, their 100 lb. dog Duke included, and drove cross country to Nashville to begin filming "Imagine 2." The film's production company, Kingdom Come, gave Ventimiglia the option to back out of the project. He decided to stay on.
"We found it a very healing process to be in Nashville," the actor says, praising the people he met through the film and in the neighborhood that they lived in. "You lose your house, your daughter's born, and it's these two things that are completely opposite happening at the same time. It was running parallel with what Tim was talking about through the course of the movie."
In 2001, Timmons experienced similar highs and lows: amidst his cancer diagnosis, the artist was also expecting a child with his wife Hilary. Timmons was also slated to open for the band MercyMe on tour. It was MercyMe's song "I Can Only Imagine," the best selling Christian music single of all time, that inspired the first film.
The project and Timmons' faith continue to resonate with Ventimiglia, even though the actor isn't Christian. Ventimiglia says his practice isn't "super common. It's a little more Eastern mysticism."
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"I'd read the Bible out of curiosity," Ventimiglia continues. "Having a faith that can bring people together in a community and give you the strength to move forward, no matter what you call it, I think is important. And as long as what you believe doesn't impose on anybody else."
Milo Ventimiglia reveals what he lost in home fire that his wife 'kicks me' for
Ventimiglia recalls days on set where in between takes he was attempting to help rebuild his family's life. The actor remembers trying to attain "the basic necessities of life" while also searching for a new home and dealing with insurance claims. His family eventually found a new home in Los Angeles. But they've spent a lot of the last year on the road, as they've driven with the aforementioned truck and trailer from coast to coast. Ventimiglia's work has taken him to Toronto, New York and Vancouver. And no one gets left behind, including Duke.
The road trip crew is set to expand soon: Ventimiglia and his wife Jorah will welcome a second child this year, which the actor calls a "total surprise." And fans of the"Gilmore Girls"star may get to see more of his travels. Towards the end of 2025, the actor began posting again onInstagram. Ventimiglia's return to the platform after a three year hiatus was in part brought on by his wife.
"In my fire, I lost 20 years of film negatives that I never showed, a body of work that as a photographer I never put out," Ventimiglia reveals. "And my wife kind of kicks me for it. She's like, 'Hey, you got to start doing something with these photos you take because they're meaningful.'
"I think it's a good reminder of, 'We kind of only have the moment right now to do something.' So be present, share, be good to one another, and hopefully it'll come back at you."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Milo Ventimiglia talks filming weeks after losing home, welcoming child
