Sadly, Milo Ventimiglia has a lot of free time these days. The Heroes actor used some of it to speak with Entertainment Weekly recently...

Are you just chillin' now while the strike is on, or are you working on something new?
I'm pretty busy. I'm doing two features before Christmas. One is called Game, and that's with Gerard Butler and Amber Valletta. It's written and directed by Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, the same guys who did Pathology, the movie I have coming out in the spring.

Who do you play in Game?
A very interesting futuristic character that's not necessarily in control of himself.

Tim Kring told us several weeks ago that the ending of Volume 2 was altered due to strike consequences and a desire to reboot the series when it returned. What can you say about the original ending — is it true that the virus was supposed to get out? What ending did you prefer?
It was Tim's intention, I think, to not make people wait much longer. Due to the writers' strike, we were in a position where we're gettin' cut short like everybody else. I think Tim wanted to give some kind of feeling of Hey, we made it. The End. And I think it was the right thing to do. A good thing to do.

With regards to the virus getting out or not getting out, at this point it doesn't, so it's kind of a moot point, which seems like an easy answer for me to give. Now I know we're taking a direction that is going away from the virus— from what I understand. The best answers are always gonna come out of Tim's mouth. I mean let's not kid ourselves: I wear make up and read lines for living.

Have you noticed changes in how Heroes fans approach you on the street this season?
For the most part, people still walk up to you with smiles on their faces saying, ''I love it. I love it. I love it.'' Occasionally, you get somebody who kinda looks at you and thinks, Eh, first season was better, but I still watch you guys. You're doing pretty good.

I think there are a lot of fans that are begrudgingly hanging in there, very patiently waiting for us…. As a person that's on the show as well as a fan of the show, I always want to get back to the great character moments that drive the series. I'm hoping we get back to the feeling of the first season: that kind of base human emotion, that level where these people that have these abilities are understanding them still.

Read the full interview with Milo now.

You can't watch Milo Ventigmilia and Kristen Bell on Heroes tonight.

But you can take a look at two American Eagles Outfitters claymation videos featuring the actors.

The first one is a story narrated by - and starring - as he heads home for the Hholidays, but first has to endure a less than ideal plane ride; the second features Bell stealing Christmas gifts from Santa Claus on Christmas Eve.

With no Heroes episode to preview for Monday, the least we can do is give you a glimpse into one of the show's most popular stars.

Here are a few interesting tidbits about Milo Ventimiglia:

1. He has a birth defect, which the actor describes as a "crooked" mouth, explained as dead nerves causing his lower lip to lie limp.

"It's so cute," Hayden Panettiere one said. "It's a flaw, and I hate perfection more than anything in the world."

2. In 2000, Ventimiglia traveled solo through Europe, where he spent his 23rd birthday in the small town of Ventimiglia, Italy. As you can guess, this is where his surname originated.

3. The actor loves punk rock, but has to be sure to watch his face:"I'm literally standing off to the side, freaked out about getting crushed or punched in the face, and having to explain a black eye to a producer or makeup artist at work," Ventimiglia told the New York Post.

4. Ventimiglia believes he's still being undermined by his Heroes character's boyishly long bangs. Show creator Tim Kring commented on it: "We have a disagreement over the hair, but we're moving toward [a compromise], and it's really cool."

5. Of his Heroes character's occupation as a male hospice worker, Ventimiglia said: "I showed up for the cast photo shoot with scrubs on and Greg Grunberg's in his cop outfit, standing tall, hand on his gun, and I'm like, 'Oh man, I'm a murse [''male nurse'']. Not a doctor, a nurse.'"

As fans yearn to see their favorite Heroes back on TV, at least we can see them fighting for a worthy cause below.

Here are a few shots of cast members supporting their writers on the picket lines:

One positive about the writers' strike for Hayden Panettiere? The Heroes star has more time to champion her cause of dolphin safety in Japan.

Here she is at a recent press conference on the topic, showing off a humorous shirt:

Consider these the opposite of Heroes spoilers.

While creator Tim Kring has outright apologized for a few mistakes the show made in season two, he's also revealed at times the direction of certain characters/stories that never made it on screen.

Here are a few of the changes that were made to the Heroes' chapter "Generations:"

- Kristen Bell was originally suppose to be in eight episodes... and then killed off. But fan support for the actress has made her into a long-term player on the show.

- Elle was setup as a Bob's step daughter (and probably still is), but she was also planned to be the daughter of Meredith. This, of course, would have made her Claire's sister.

- Stephen Tobolowsky (Bob) was meant to be far more sinister than they've made him. Looking back at his initial appearances on the show, you can tell his evil side has been toned down a bit. It appears as though Kring and company are now molding him more along the morally grey lines of HRG.

What do you think of these changes? Would you have preferred to have seen any remain as they were originally proposed?

Masi Oka - seated alongside actor Sean William Scott - is either having a great time at a recent New York Knicks game... or he's laughing at the horrific on-court play of this once proud franchise.

With no new Heroes episodes currently scheduled, the actor (sadly) finds himself with loads of free time.

Kristen Bell may have earned her geek credentials on Veronica Mars, but she's had little trouble transitioning to her role as electric-powered Elle on Heroes.

In fact, the actress picked up the award for "Hottest Newcomer" at Spike TV's 2007 Video Game Awards last week. She looks psyched to be so honored:

Despite the writers' strike - and subsequent lack of any news episodes - we still got a solid turn out for this edition of the Heroes Caption Contest.

It's greatly appreciated.

We now present the winner of this week's contest, a user who goes by the unusual name of "Sylar_is_defined_in_a_sweater." A certain season one character would be glad she hasn't been forgotten about after reading this fan's response.

Scroll down to read it, and the other entries, now. Then, don't forget to come back and play every week!

Peter: If you see Simone, tell her I said hi.

Now that Milo Ventimiglia - or, well, Peter Petrelli - has helped save the world again, he can focus on the one person he wasn't able to save: Adrian Pasdar's character, Nathan.

Ventimiglia told The Associated Press during a telephone interview Wednesday that he hopes Nathan's death is far from final.

"I really hope he's not going anywhere," Ventimiglia said. "That would be really disappointing to me to lose a brother and an amazing scene partner. I'm sure it's all going to work out the way it's supposed to."

Ventimiglia says he didn't watch the finale - and he wasn't alone.

Ratings for Monday's episode were down from the previous week, and the conclusion of Volume Two was the lowest-rated finale episode for the show yet, according to Nielsen Media Research.

Meanwhile, the actor doesn't know anything about future scripts in light of the writers' strike: "We ran out of stuff to shoot. That's basically what it boils down to."

Ventimiglia says he'll appear in the upcoming films Game and The Chaos Theory.

"I try and take a break and take a vacation," he said. "But I keep getting wrapped up in jobs."