Milo Ventimiglia had to keep his Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 role a secret because he was forbidden from telling anyone he had been cast as the fan-favourite protagonist, David Mason.

The 48-year-old actor stars in the blockbuster video game as the beloved Lieutenant Commander - who first appeared in 2012's Call of Duty: Black Ops II - and Ventimiglia has now revealed his contract with publisher Activision prevented him from telling anyone about the role, including his parents.

When the BBC asked the Girlmore Girls star what it was like to tell his friends and family about landing the part, he said: "I couldn't tell them.

"That was actually the thing, like part of my contract [was] I could not say what I was working on.

"So I think like … I didn't even tell my parents. A producer at the company we have together knew, and my wife knew."

Ventimiglia added he thinks the secrecy around his role was something the fans would have wanted, so that the "excitement" around the game could be maintained.

He continued: "I think that's what the fans want. They don't want to be told too far ahead of time. They want that excitement."

As well as Ventimigila, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 stars Kiernan Shipka as Emma Kagan and Michael Rooker as Mike Harper, who had previously portrayed the character in Black Ops II.

Reflecting on joining the iconic shooter franchise, Ventimigila said working on Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 had been "intense, but also really fun".

He said: "Honestly, when it comes to something like this - Call of Duty has such a legacy, such an iconic presence - you really want to get it right. And I feel like so many people on this team have been working on the franchise for years.

"It was lovely being in an environment where I could say, 'This isn't quite working', and be surrounded by people who genuinely cared and helped figure it out.

"It was a super collaborative space, and I'm naturally a collaborative actor, so it suited me perfectly. Everyone was so kind and fun - even though the story is intense, the vibe was always great.

"That's important to highlight: it was intense, but also really fun."

On November 6, London hosted a pop-up event with Call of Duty's Toshin Matcha Bar bringing the world of Black Ops into real life, offering an exclusive preview of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7.

High-profile guests, including Micky van de Ven and Hugo Chegwin, experienced a fusion of London's matcha culture and high-energy gameplay, set to a live soundtrack by Nia Archives.

Inspired by the new Japanese-themed multiplayer map Toshin, the event opened with a serene, neon-lit Tokyo-style matcha bar serving limited-edition Layered Peach and Mango Uji Iced Matcha Lattes from Chinatown's Tea Parlour.

From there, the experience intensified, as guests moved through a smoke-filled red tunnel into a disorienting mirror room, followed by a corridor encounter with the game's villain, Menendez.

The journey continued through an interrogation room and an upside-down bar serving themed cocktails.

The main space featured a 1950s-style Nuketown airstream, gameplay stations, a surveillance-style face-capture installation displayed on a giant screen, and multiple photo moments.

Nia Archives and CLIPZ closed the night with high-energy DJ sets that completed the immersive Black Ops 7 world.