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Peter Petrelli, portrayed by
Milo Ventimiglia Milo Anthony Ventimiglia (, ; born July 8, 1977) is an American actor. Making his screen acting debut on ''The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'' in 1995, he portrayed the lead role on the short-lived series '' Opposite Sex'' in 2000 before landing his br ...
, is a
fictional Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places Place may refer to: Geography * Place (United States Census Bureau), defined as any concentration of population ** Census-designated place, ...
superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...
on the
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...
drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...
series
Heroes Heroes or Héroes may refer to: * Hero, one who displays courage and self-sacrifice for the greater good Film * ''Heroes'' (1977 film), an American drama * ''Heroes'' (2008 film), an Indian Hindi film Gaming * ''Heroes of Might and Magic'' ...
. He is a hospice
nurse Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health c ...
-turned-
paramedic A paramedic is a registered healthcare professional who works autonomously across a range of health and care settings and may specialise in clinical practice, as well as in education, leadership, and research. Not all ambulance personnel are p ...
in his mid-20s with the power to absorb and mimic the powers of other people with special abilities, or powers. Sensitive and compassionate, Peter was initially defined by his complex relationship with his older brother,
Nathan Nathan or Natan may refer to: People *Nathan (given name), including a list of people and characters with this name *Nathan (surname) *Nathan (prophet), a person in the Hebrew Bible * Nathan (son of David), biblical figure, son of King David an ...
. Since that time, Peter has had to deal with the outcomes of the decisions that his abilities force him to make. Towards the end of the first season, Peter absorbs the ability of a man who is practically a ticking time bomb. In desperation all the characters in the series race to try and save New York City in fear that Peter will "blow up" the city like a bomb. Minutes from when he's about to explode, Peter's older brother, Nathan, flies him high above the skyline and saves the people of New York City.


Casting

Jason La Padura, the
casting director In the performing arts industry such as theatre, film, or television, casting, or a casting call, is a pre-production process for selecting a certain type of actor, dancer, singer, or extra (acting), extra for a particular role or part in a scr ...
for ''Heroes'', stated that the character of Peter Petrelli was the hardest to cast due to conflicts regarding the Petrelli brothers' ages. La Padura states the Petrelli brothers were originally written to be twins, and it became obvious in the production process that in order to have correct dynamic between the two characters, Peter had to be the younger brother.
Milo Ventimiglia Milo Anthony Ventimiglia (, ; born July 8, 1977) is an American actor. Making his screen acting debut on ''The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'' in 1995, he portrayed the lead role on the short-lived series '' Opposite Sex'' in 2000 before landing his br ...
's role as Peter was one of the last to be cast and the most difficult.
Greg Grunberg Gregory Phillip Grunberg (born July 11, 1966) is an American film and television actor best known for starring as Eric Weiss in the ABC series ''Alias'', Matt Parkman in the NBC series ''Heroes'', Temmin "Snap" Wexley in '' Star Wars: The Forc ...
originally auditioned for the role of Peter Petrelli, but instead landed the role of Matt Parkman.


Powers and abilities


Empathic mimicry

Peter Petrelli's original ability is to mimic the powers of others, acquiring powers simply by being near someone. Peter is eventually stripped of his abilities by his father Arthur Petrelli, before later regaining a modified form of this ability called ability replication through the formula. Series creator
Tim Kring Richard Timothy Kring (born July 9, 1957) is an American screenwriter and television producer, best known for his creation of the drama series '' Strange World'', ''Crossing Jordan'', '' Heroes'', and ''Touch''. Early life Kring was born in El D ...
stated that Peter's original ability is "based on his empathy and his ability to connect with people." As well, Claude refers to Peter as empathic. According to Dr. Suresh, Peter's DNA automatically resequences itself to mimic the abilities of those around him. At first, Peter could only mimic powers while in proximity to their source, but then learned how to recall previously mimicked powers with greater and greater ease with the help of Claude. Angela Petrelli describes Peter as being "the most powerful of us all". During a confrontation with his father in " Dying of the Light", Peter is stripped of his empathic mimicry as well as every ability he had previously absorbed. Prior to his confrontation with his father, Peter used the following abilities, not including powers used by future incarnations of himself:


Ability replication

In the mid-season finale, " Dual", he injects himself with a power granting formula and gains a new, more limited mimicry ability called ability replication. He is once again able to mimic others' powers, but now he requires physical contact to do so, and can only retain one ability at a time, losing the previous power each time he gains a new one. ''Heroes'' producers Joe Pokaski and Aron Coliete said in an interview that, " eteris still trying to get a handle on his powers. Just like during the first season, it’s going to take him some time to get a handle on these powers." By the time of the episode " Cold Wars", he has gained enough control over his mimicry that he can touch people without taking on their powers if he wants to. Peter's current ability is
Claude Rains William Claude Rains (10 November 188930 May 1967) was a British actor whose career spanned almost seven decades. After his American film debut as Dr. Jack Griffin in ''The Invisible Man'' (1933), he appeared in such highly regarded films as '' ...
's
invisibility Invisibility is the state of an object that cannot be seen. An object in this state is said to be ''invisible'' (literally, "not visible"). The phenomenon is studied by physics and perceptual psychology. Since objects can be seen by light in ...
as of ''Save the Cheerleader, Destroy the World''.


References


External links


Primatech Paper tracker site

Peter Petrelli
on the ''Heroes'' wiki {{DEFAULTSORT:Petrelli, Peter Heroes (American TV series) characters Fictional characters from New York City Fictional nurses Fictional paramedics Fictional empaths Television characters introduced in 2006 American male characters in television Italian superheroes pl:Postacie z serialu Herosi#Peter Petrelli fi:Luettelo televisiosarjan Heroes hahmoista#Peter Petrelli