Los Angeles Insider: Venice Actor Ben Parrillo

Ben Parrillo has appeared in a variety of shows during his acting career including "24," "House," "Desperate Housewives," "CSI: NY," "Six Feet Under," "Boston Legal" and "Law & Order." However much he works in Hollywood though, he has called Venice, Calif. home for more than 10 years. Parrillo tells us why Venice's non-L.A. feel, its streets and a certain jeans-shop-by-day-live-music-spot-by-night keep him in Venice. Oh, and there's the beach, too.

Name, Age, Occupation: Ben Parrillo, 40, Actor/Writer.

Neighborhood: 90291 a.k.a. Venice Beach, Calif.

Abode: One bedroom beach bungalow. Private patio, wood shop in the garage and a block from the beach. It's pretty great.

How long have you lived in Venice? 13 years.

What do you love most about your neighborhood?
I love how non-Los Angeles it feels. I walk in the middle of the street and if I don't have an appointment, I am on foot or on my bike.

It's also full of creative, fringe-type people and I think that lends toward a lot of connectivity when you talk to people. People are thinkers, they are not clubbers for the most part. Venice is filled with artists that run the gamut; writers, sculptors, painters, directors, it's pervasive. And everyone stays in Venice. If you are going to party the last thing you want to do is go through 10 checkpoints from Hollywood. If you don't have to leave Venice, you don't. There is a saying here, "AWOL," meaning 'Always West of Lincoln' and that's pretty accurate.

There is also the beach.