Milo Ventimiglia and Us | Jack Pearson
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No, no, no, no. I can't. Many more. Come on now. Oh my goodness.

How do I even begin to intro this episode? I don't know. Let's figure it out. Welcome back to That Was Us, guys. The moment we have all been waiting for. The moment you've been waiting for. With bated breath, everybody, everywhere we go that knows about this podcast is asked when we are going to get this particular guest. When are we going to get him? When. And he's finally arrived. What's your name, man? Milo Ventimiglia. In the house. In the house.

I'm here. I'm here. What's up, dude? You guys asked me and I'm like, I think I'm out of town. I think I'm working. I don't know. And then finally I was like, okay, wait, wait, wait. No, no, no. I'm here. I'm around. It's like I didn't want to like... Thanks for making time. It was one of those things. I'm like, I missed you guys. I love you guys. And then it was like, I can actually, I really can make it. And I want to be here. I'm excited to be here. Thank you so much. We're so thrilled to have you. That's what we realized when we started talking about doing this podcast was just how much

-we missed each other. - Yeah. And also, how much we missed-- Not miss-- We did miss doing the show, but how much we missed out because we had-- We were so busy doing the show

fully appreciating the show. And we've gotten to sit down and start re-watching it. And we can't, I honestly, I thought I liked the show before. Yeah. And now I'm watching it with brand new eyes. Yeah, it's wild. Which is fun. It is. It's fun. It's like, it's such an emotional journey in such an unexpected way. I mean, to piggyback on what you're saying, Sully, it's just like,

I think because we were so in it and once the machine of the show started rolling, we were able to interact with people to a certain degree, right? Like people that love the show and wanted to engage in conversation, but like to be able to really dig into the nitty gritty and the show just goes so many different directions and there's so much to talk about. I think that's why it's been so satisfying doing this because like,

we are making a concerted effort, like episode by episode to really dig into like the deep stuff that you can't address on like a tweet, you know? Or on Instagram or something. - How deep are you guys into actually watching the episodes? Like where are you guys at? - We finished season one. - Okay. - Yeah. - We're at the beginning of season two. Like the next episode will be 202. - Oh wow. - That we sort of do. - That we talk about. Yeah, we did our finale arc

finale fight and talking about like all of the choreography of that. Yeah. Mandy Moore with her finger under my chin. This is wonderful. So I'll just start by saying, of course, we all know that Mandy Moore is like one of the kindest, heartiest human beings. She is who she, who you all see her to be. Lovely, kind, beautiful, wonderful. Mandy Moore has never been cursed at in her life.

Mandy Moore has never been cursed at in her life. No one said F you to me before. And in the middle of a take, things were kind of going in a direction. I think as Jack was feeling it and I was a little defensive. It got hot. It got a little heated. But wait, did you curse first or did I? I think maybe I did. I think you might have dropped an F bomb. But then at one point, just like in this back and forth at the very end of like the chasing around, I'm just like, fuck you. Fuck you.

But Mandy had like, and I kind of started to look away.

Mandy literally, finger under my chin, pulled my face back. And what did you say, though? I don't remember. Oh, my God! It was incredible, though. Because, of course, that was a one-er. Yeah, man. That was a long one. We were in the heat of the moment. Yeah. That was, yeah. Oh, I know what you said. You said, look me in the fucking face. That's right. You said, look me in the fucking face. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It was great. It was directed by Ken Olin. Listen, sometimes you just have to go there.

go there. We gotta get a director's cut of that scene. I actually do have a video of it in the editing room with Ken. I was watching it. That would be delightful. And you got the look me in the fucking face. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I have it. I'll find it. Finally we were on cool.

Yeah. No, I think there was something else I kept slipping when we're doing that big one. And I think I kept saying, God damn. Uh-huh. Yeah. And you can't say it. You can say God. You can say damn. You just can't put the two together. Right. Right. Yeah, we're so heated. That was, yeah, that was doozy. Wait, let's take a few steps back. Yeah. Let's go back in time just a little bit and talk to us about how the show first

came to you? Was it an audition? Was it an offer? Who'd you talk to? Like how did first Jack come into your life? Bro, I had, it was straight up audition. It was like, hey, Fogelman's putting people on tape. And I was like, great. I read it. I was on an airplane. Yeah. Did you read for Kevin? I didn't. I didn't. They told me specifically they were looking at Jack. Okay. And then as I first got into it, I'm like, okay, okay.

and then I got to, of course, Justin's Kevin and everything. - You're like, "I'm Kevin, I'm not Jack." - Actually, no, I didn't say I'm Kevin. - Yeah. - Oh, really? - I didn't say I'm Kevin. I was reading Kevin and I'm like, "Oh, he's an actor. Oh, he's on his own. Oh, he's trying to find himself." I'm like, "Sounds familiar." - Familiar. - Sounds familiar. - Very familiar. - He's poised a bit. - But then as the more I was reading and I was going through, you know, Randall and everybody's characters and just everything, I was like, "Oh, no, no, I see,

I see where Jack can go. I definitely connected with the character. But it was the same thing. I think we've all said this. You get to the very end, you finish it, you take a breath, you kind of wipe your face, and then you flip it back over and you start again. And I remember, I think I was coming home from New York.

And I just, I read it back to back on the plane. And like, right when I got off, I'm like, I'm so excited to go do this. And then, you know, I went, I had the audition pages in my back pocket. I walked in, Fogelman just sitting there smiling and John and Glenn are there. And then, yeah, like we just had a conversation. And then, and then there was like, well, do you want to read? I'm like, yeah.

I think it was one of those things like, also you guys all know this, like the words were just so there that you don't have to really try. You don't have to think about it. You don't, you just kind of, you pick them up and you're like, all right, great. They're in my head. They're in my heart. They're in like my spine. And then you just kind of like talk. So like, yeah, I had my whoopee blanket pages, my sides and my back pocket, but I was just, I was just ready to go. I was ready to go. I heard though that you were not,

the kind of man that Dan was envisioning for Jack. Dan wanted Dan. Yeah, he wanted-- No, seriously, I think Dan wanted Dan. Yeah. And then you came in and you blew everybody out of the water because weeks later when they started to put together this idea of like a chemistry read with a couple of gentlemen and a couple of ladies,

The only information that I received going into it was like, Milo is the guy. Like, he's the guy to beat. Everybody loves him. And so I was like, okay, like, that's good to know. And I remember getting there and then only reading with you. And I was like,

I hope that's a good sign because they love this guy so much and they didn't have me read with any of the other guys. Who else was there? Do we know anybody else who was there? There were two other actresses and there was one other guy. We know one is Alex 'cause she told us the other day. Which is so funny because she was supposed to read first and then she stepped out, go use the restroom, I think. And they're like, "All right, I guess we'll keep going." They're like, "Mandy, you ready?" Mandy's like, "Yep."

Just like jumped, dove in. So nervous. We talked to Alex and we said that was a power move gone wrong. She's trying to pull like an audition power move. I need a minute. Just a minute. Maybe it came in the flower dress already. No, man. I mean, it was just, it was so immediate in the room. And I remember, I remember like we did our scene. You literally like,

and just walked out. She just bounced. I was nervous. Yeah, she just bounced. Don't talk past the clothes. No, it was incredible. It was really impressive. And I remember like, I kind of like glanced up and I see John and Glenn. And then I see Dan in the back and Dan is just

It's always good. Like the producers try not to give like too much of a thing, but when they're happy. He couldn't help himself. I think he knew immediately too. It was just, you know, it was hell that way. What do you consider? Because like every character, you know, you find somebody and you're like, okay, these are the similarities. These are the differences. For you, what are the touchstones, the points of entry for you and to Jack that were easy? What were the things that you had to sort of reach for a little bit?

I felt like I was playing a version of my own father. It's like we all grew up in the same era, like 70s, 80s. We all grew up on the same things. And so we were basically the same age as the Pearson kids. So when I would look at, like read Jack and kind of hear his kind of essence and his spirit, I'm like, oh, this feels like just a version of Pete, of my own father.

And then I realized that there were a lot of mannerisms that I was putting into Jack that were just my dad. Like the way that he stands, the way he like shift his pants and his belt, like the wardrobe. He never had a mustache, but...

Did he do that with the hair a lot? Oh yeah, he did this. Yeah, that's his signature Milo Jack move. Yeah. Okay. Or like this one, kind of patting that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But so I was kind of playing a version of my dad and my best friend growing up. He is a really good father to his kids. And of course, you guys all have kids and all that. And I just started to kind of see that and really like,

plug that in like the essentials of who jack is yeah and how he's uh handling this uh this this you know being a father yeah but also i had this photo in my trailer of of my dad and me when i was five yeah and i had a sign that said be a good father be a good husband i've seen that picture yeah so it's one of those things where i was just like let me just take with what i know uh from an emotional place like a feeling kind of a place right because the words are there

build the character, a majority of it was literally just bouncing off of you, picking up what you do, what you did.

to create that character. It wouldn't be Jack if it wasn't for Mandy. So that's stuff of what I knew. What I struggled with was the alcoholism side of him. Okay. Because we were talking just the other day because we've gone through the run of the end of season one. I was like, man, this dude is killing it. And I was like, I know Milo doesn't really drink that much. You know what I'm saying? Like every once in a while. But the drunk acting was-

- Drunk acting was solid. - So unbelievable. - Drunk acting was solid. We talked to Sam Trammell also too. And we're like, Sam, was Milo fun and easy to get along with during those days? He was like, no, no, no. - He was a little scared. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - Yeah, he was a little afraid. - He said you didn't even talk on, he's like, I think Milo's just,

he's gonna be over there and we'll just, I'll show up. - But we had some of those days too. It's like, and you were talking about with Sue too. It's like, as actors, like when you know you have to go to a certain place and you're not getting along, it's like, why buddy-buddy and like hang out with each other when you really have to like find those differences on camera? - Do you remember when we were doing that last, that big argument at the end of season one? - You moved your chair out of the room. - Yeah. So of course, like the little room where, you know, chairs and whatnot are.

And I remember like Mandy like walked in and we, I think we took the van together. - Yeah. - To, - Silently. - 'Cause you had that big dress on. - Yes. - Okay. - And then we get there and we walk into the room, Cricky's sound room. - Yeah. - In the house, in the Pearson house. And we walk in and I just picked my chair up and left. - Yeah. - And I saw Mandy just. - Yeah, I was like, oh, it's like that. - Oh. - Okay. Got it.

- But it is, it's a necessary thing. Like for people who are on the outside and might feel like, oh, it's all love all the time. It is. - It is, yeah. - But you know, when you have that connection with people, you have the permission, like they're going to understand the head space that I need to maintain in order to make this scene work. - Yeah. - You know what I'm saying? - Small gift. - Yeah. - Beyond the alcoholism, what were the other parts of Jack or connecting to the character that maybe were like a bit more of a challenge?

I think always trying to find a way to make things honest and real and genuine from a purely creative imagination standpoint. You know, like at the time I wasn't married. Right. Like I'm not a father. So like to be able to... Congratulations. Oh, thanks, man. Yeah, appreciate that. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I got married last year. Welcome to the club. Yeah. But it was...

it was just a different experience, you know, because I don't know how you guys experience your craft, but for me, my imagination never lets me down. Sure. And my imagination can go as far and wide as any personal experience that I could have. Sure, yeah. So I just, I believe in the character. I believe in

I feel like I truly only show up for them, not for myself, like show up for them first. So not having those experiences, like not being a father, not being married in the moment, it was like, well, I don't understand this. So it's let me have faith in my imagination, how far it's gonna go, but also just like approach it with love. Like I had a professor at UCLA when I was going to school there who said,

approach everything with love no matter what kind of character you're playing right find the love in that character it was very easy Jack was a lovable guy you know our family was very lovable but I mean I think you know connecting to the kids and trying to find a way to work within that and like

They're not ours, they're not mine, but also like, fuck, I loved all those kids too. Yeah. You know, like really truly still just like look at them and like they're growing up, I start crying. Totally. You know? I think there's, we've talked about it several times, the theme on the podcast about who populates this world. And it's,

There are all of these characters from our television past who populate this world that make the world feel like home, that make it feel familiar, that make it feel like, "Why do I know that person? Oh, that's the mom from that '70s show." -Sure. -You know what I mean? Like, and...

it's populated in a way that is-- it's not like a trick of casting. It populated so well. And I think the casting of yourself is included in that. Like, our demographic, the people who are watching our show had grown up watching you. - Sure. - Yeah. In this world, in a fantastical world, in all of these worlds, so that by the time they get to the "This Is Us" world, you as a paternal--

figure, it feels like home. Yeah. Like, oh, this guy. I love this guy. Also, too, I mean, for a majority of any of our careers in being in television, we are in people's homes. We're there. We're eating meals with them. We're in bed with them. More importantly, yes. More importantly, yes.

That's what I like to do. Like we are just kind of there for that experience of being home. So I think there is that connective piece for the audience where we are so familiar. Yeah. We are, you know, part of the family. Yeah. How did that affect the way you moved through the world? I mean, you quickly became...

America's dad and the star couple. You know what I mean? Yeah, I was going to ask that. We've talked about it with Mandy. How did it affect you? But also, did you feel like a certain sense of responsibility? Because Jack was a superhero. Yeah. I mean, still is. It's like when people comment on the show, it's like...

you just, you loom so large in people's conscience. And I just like, I wonder if that like had any bearing on, like, did you feel this, just this certain weight maybe? Yes. 100%. Absolutely. I think I remember even a conversation with Fogelman. I was like going through something in my personal life and I sent with Fogelman. I was like, man, I said, Jack is just so hard to live up to. It was just so hard to live up to, you know, cause everybody expects that. Everybody expects that. And I'm like, look, I,

I can plug as much of myself into the character. I can turn the lights on with him. But at the end of the day, I'm like, that's a character. Yeah. Sure. Like vocal tone, dress, hair, makeup. I mean, shit, I got my beard and I'm wearing something that I feel like Jack would wear. Yeah, you're jacking out right now. Yeah, I know, I know, a little bit. Jacking out? You're really jacking off. Jacking out. No, jacking out. No, no, no, jacking out. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

It's a new thing. There's going to be t-shirts at the NBC store now. Are you jacking out? That's right. That's right. It'll be a flannel t-shirt. A flannel t-shirt. Yeah, only on This Was Us podcast. Jacking out. Merchandise coming out in 2025. More That Was Us after this short break.

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yeah no it was it was uh it was very incredibly hard to kind of live up to the the kind of space that jack took up yeah i mean jack is a very he's the show this show we talk about the show as a handbook for living yeah through good bad or otherwise and jack is such an aspirational

Like at every turn, whether things are going poorly or things are going well, or, you know, it's a lot to live up to. What I kind of looked at Jack, but then this also like really truly branched out, like for Randall, like for Toby, for you, for everybody, it's like our characters are attainable superheroes. Like you do, you look up to them in a way that is,

in this bad moment I'm having, what would they do? In this great moment I'm having, what would they do? And that's just kind of like, kind of sets the tone of, and I think that was the inspirational side of the show and being out in the world that we all felt was people connected to our characters so much because they were able to draw so much of our fictional experiences with their real experiences. This show has had,

positive direct effect on my marriage. You know what I mean? Like, like find myself in a certain situation and remember a scene that I was literally in and how that, how that argument went, how it, how it, how it should have gone. We've all talked about how spooky it was. Like it's, it felt like the writers were following us around at times and, and life continues to unfold for some of the three babies, a couple of babies, you know what I mean? Like, and so it's, it's, it's,

It would seem spooky if you didn't realize, I guess, how universal all of this is. Yeah, even in its specificity. We say that a lot. There's so much universal and so much to learn. Even, I think, re-watching the show with this new lens of being a parent now, too. I mentioned this a couple weeks ago, months ago, episodes ago.

there's something that your character like says to Kevin where he just like totally takes accountability. Like I was wrong. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done. And I was like, that's how you do that. In the swimming pool. Yeah. Where you just apologize and you own it. You own the fact that like, I was distracted. I was, I didn't mean to. And it was just like those little things in life that you just like, it's like a light bulb moment of like, oh wow.

It's that easy just to like take accountability with your kids. I'm not necessarily at that juncture yet. This is the crazy part with that. That whole scene was improv. That was all like, that wasn't fogum. That was like no, that was like,

It's just you looking at Parker. Well, I know you may have experienced this with John and Glenn, but yeah, it was me and Parker and Glenn was like, so we kind of want you to go over and like, you know, take responsibility in this and whatever. And like, but you've been looking at the other kids. And I remember Parker and I are just doing the scene. He was so honest and good. I think it was because he had no lines. Like there were no lines. He was just going off of what he felt. Yeah. And he was riffing and I was riffing and then John would holler something out and then Glenn would holler something out. And I'm trying to like,

wait for it to sink and then fire it back and park and just go in. And yeah, so I mean, that was just, I had no idea. And it's interesting because that interaction is good enough for some people watching who never got to have that interaction with their dad, who never heard their dad apologize or take responsibility for anything. And they're living in these characters and they're putting themselves in these positions and they see that interaction and it's healing to see a father apologize

apologize to his son, period. Like that's it. That's the magic. That's the alchemy of the show. - So, okay. This is interesting then because you're talking about living up to Jack and whatnot. And I've had a similar sort of feeling. I was like, you guys know, I'm not Randall. I wasn't raised by white people. I'm not hardly that nice. Like it's not their thing, but like,

It might seem that way. Sterling, you're a very kind man. You have a big heart, bro. I appreciate that. But I think Randall's is bigger. I actually think Randall's is bigger. And I give him all the credit in the world. I try to aspirationally live up to it. I feel like he asked me to be leaning to the best parts of who I am.

oftentimes, you know what I'm saying? But I'm curious, like when people talk to you about Jack, what gets reflected back? Like what are the things that, the touchstones that people would be like, yo, when I saw Jack do this, this sort of happened to me. Like, I'm sure there's a lot, but like ones that really sort of resonate. I mean, I think the fundamentals kind of go back to what I had on my mirror in our trailer, which is be a good dad, be a good husband. And that's what I would get from a lot of men was, you know,

I feel like I can relate to my kids or I'm maybe more patient with my wife where I would have a little bit of a brick wall in front of my head and be a little headstrong as a man in situations. So that was what I would see more, just kind of like simply and fundamentally.

Other times, you know, if it's a woman walking up to me, it's a little more like, I wish my husband was like Jack. - Sure. - And I'm like, hey, they're all, you know, just give him a chance. Just give him a chance. He'll get there. As he watches the show with you, oh, he doesn't want to cry? - Maybe you should try to be a little more like Rebecca. - Which is wonderful. - I gotta go. - No, no, no. But that's true. That's true.

What a random shot. You know what Milo Ventimiglia just said to me when I tried to give him a compliment? Oh my God. - Yeah, it's pretty wonderful, the impact though. And also too, like you guys getting to watch it. So my wife, she just finally started watching it. She's barely ever seen anything I've ever done. Anything I've ever really done. - Isn't that kind of cool? - I appreciate it. - Now can you watch something that I've done? - There's a few things I'm like, you know, this one is actually funny.

Yes, this dog one will make you cry. Yeah, I've been in a lot of things. You know? Yeah, this one, like baby Milo. But no, she just decided to like turn it on when like I was away from the house, like just to watch something while she's like eating a meal. Okay. And so, yes, well, I'll like pop into the room and I'm like, oh, oh, oh. How far in is she? How far in? She's past you guys. She just got past the Super Bowl episode. Oh.

Oh, wow. Okay. She's like two or three past the Super Bowl episode. Okay. Got it, got it, got it. Yeah. So how is it hitting her? She can separate, which is nice. She can separate Jack from me. Yes. But she just, she's like, yeah, just a fucking cry. Yeah. You know? Yeah. That's one of those things. She's just crying and like taking it in and like, we haven't, I'm not,

asking her I'm not badgering her like hey so tell me about this character tell me about this scene tell me about this stuff it's more just like I'm waiting for her to like want to talk to me about it sure but also in a strange way it still feels to me so close and so recent like I walk in I'll be like

- Wow, I remember that. - Okay, I gotta go. And I walk out, you know? - It is. - And sometimes I'll linger just because I'm like, I remember watching this, this is a beautiful moment. And you know, just for myself, my own enjoyment. But then I'm like, I can't watch it just yet. - Got it. I understand that. - Let me ask you, okay, you're talking about the actor's imagination, which is one of our greatest assets. And then there's life experience, right? Those two things will sort of like fill in things.

You're married now. You were married for six years to Rebecca. Do you feel like there's any things from your TV relationship that you bring to like, oh, I kind of like on a scene, I remember doing this or what have you. Like, are they apples and oranges, like completely unrelated to one another? Or does one inform the other in any way, shape, form or fashion? I got to get back to you on that. I feel like I need to analyze moments I've had.

That makes sense. With my wife to see if there was any crossover. Yeah. I think also though Jack and Rebecca had a very specific, very time period centric. That's true. Relationship. We have talked about that 80s dad versus modern dad. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, even to the point like my dad, he's a fortress. And I know Jack, he showed a little more emotion than men of that era that were born in the 40s. Yeah.

But still it was like just that dynamic. And I'm like, man, I talked to my wife about everything. Even the uncomfortable stuff or the things I'm not proud of or whatever. I'm like, hey man, let me just kind of tell you what's going on. And I don't think my father has ever done that. And I don't really believe that Jack

Well, it's like even like the Vietnam stuff. He didn't, he kept it. Correct. He kept it from his wife. He kept it from everybody. It was just men of a different generation. Men of a different generation. Yeah, absolutely. Are there any storylines over the six years that have particular resonance? I mean, the Vietnam thing was absolutely huge. I remember in season six, when you go back to be with your mom. Oh, yeah. Yeah, we talked after that one. F'd me. Oh!

But I'm curious for you because you've lived it for six years. Yeah, or specific episodes that stick with you that were particularly challenging or meaningful. I know it's so hard to distill down. I don't know if I could answer that question. Well, it's also, I mean, in six years, it had changed so much.

It's man, that's such a hard one. I mean, I think if I were to kind of like individually, character by character, almost really break it down. Like there are those moments, like all the time I did spend, like that we spent or I personally spent with the kids, the teens and the littles is just...

It was just special in a way that, you know, I think I've had in jobs, but to be able to like, to grow that and like literally let this young actor know that, hey, I'm going to be around when the show's over. I know we're experiencing all this stuff, but like, I'm going to be around when the show's over. So call me anytime. Tell the parents, hey, call me anytime I'm around. Yeah.

It's like we all didn't get a chance to really dance as much as actors. And that personally was the biggest hit for me. Because I think in a way that also was like, well, that's the experience of being on a set. And I think you and I are so close because we've had so many moments. So many moments. Like the good, the bad, the whatever. It's like we're just there in it. And you have to find a way together. Like we all never really had that. Yeah.

Like we had a couple moments on set. I'm like, oh, that's all I get. And then otherwise, like Sterling and I had an event where everybody's celebrating us. And, you know, it's like we're being pulled in a million directions. Or when you were directing and stuff like that, I'm like, cool, give me another direction. Give me more interaction. Give me more interaction. Come on, please. So everybody knows like Mai was like in a different timeline, right? And so he only had Mandy to really – Mandy and John.

to sort of like bounce off of, really. And so we would be in modern times and Milo had a camera, had a camera, he'd roll his film or whatnot. I'm like, "Hey guys." And he'd just be dicking around the corner. And just, I was like, "Sorry guys." And he's like, "Is that okay? Is that okay?" I was like, "Oh yeah, it's totally fine." Because he just, like the sense was like,

I want to be a part of all of it. - Yeah. - You know what I'm saying? So, and I think for the viewers, oftentimes they'd be like, "Oh, they weren't together all the time?" And I'm like, "No." - Cross paths in hair and makeup. - Yeah. - And also too, like respectfully, I'm like, I'm a guest when I'm on your guys' set. Like I'm showing up as, it's like, yes, it's our crew, but there was a level of respect where I never wanted to intrude.

I never wanted to interfere. Like there was one, actually no, there was one moment where I should not have been on set with Mandy. Oh, with the funeral? Yeah. We talked about it. We talked about it. We talked about it with Logan yesterday. The first one. Oh man, Logan was on. Yeah,

Yeah. We had it. We did. We zoomed with him and we were talking about that. He was like, it was really eerie. Like Milo is there taking pictures and we're like looking at his picture in the funeral. Yeah. Yeah. I shouldn't have been there. I'm embarrassed. No, no. It was fine. I got the most amazing photo of Mandy. There's like, there's the three kids, you know, there's Niles and Logan and Hannah. And like, they're just like,

in profile lined up like just heads you know forlorn and mandy's there and you see the priest and you see jack's photo and mandy just threw eyes at me and i like yeah i was shooting film right so it's not like i got 10 shots of that it's like oh i got one shot of that and it is the most piercing look really i have ever received but i was like

No, no, I was like in the moment of- You're a pro. You weren't saying anything to me, but I also, I felt the vulnerability. I felt the exposure where I'm like, oh, wait a minute. I can't just tuck around a corner. I actually need to remove myself from this.

my contribution to the scene is actually not being here. But what a meta, I mean, what a meta, you were though. So what a meta, what a meta haunting. You know what I mean? Like dad actually there. Oh, it was. We've talked about it before too, but to just sort of jump in time to the Super Bowl episode and Jack's death. Let's talk about it.

I wanna get there. Let's do it. - And Milo actually being there and not knowing that you were gonna be there. - Which, oh, in the bed? - Yeah. - Oh yeah, you didn't know. - No. - Oh, I knew. Yeah, you were. - Of course. - You guys talk about that 'cause I don't know if they know what you, yeah. - So Super Bowl episode, of course, Jack and Rebecca have a wonderful evening. Jack has a fight with the kids. Things aren't great, but they find a way to kind of salvage the day that was usually so historic for the Pearson family on Super Bowl Sunday.

And then of course, fire starts, everybody gets out, everybody's safe, we're in the hospital. And I remember the day we were filming, we filmed all of that kind of progressively. We did. Yeah, like sequentially, which is never- In order, we hardly ever get to do that. Which is hardly ever the case. Yeah, but it was like, we had a bunch of work to do. Maddie had something to do by herself at the vending machines. And then it just kind of dovetailed straight into her seeing me.

- You guys, I just wanna say, this is maybe my favorite moment of the show. - What? Really? - Yeah. - It's pretty, it's powerful when you, yeah. - We'll talk about it again, but finish from this perspective. - So, I mean, I remember,

I can direct that one, didn't he? No, it's John and Glenn. Sorry, John and Glenn. Sorry, because Ken did the one before. Yes. That's right. And so John and Glenn, they're like, yes, we kind of want this tableau where we kind of maybe see you on the bed, you know, monitor still on, shirt open, because they tried to save you. And we kind of want to see you in the background. We're not telling Mandy you're going to be there. She was going to walk in and, you know, see you, and we're just going to, like, let her do her thing. Yeah.

So I remember I got into the bed, Mel, our med tech, she like hooked up all the wires and everything. And then I would just kind of lay in there. And then I hear the whole scene by the vending machine and, you know, I'm slowing my breathing down. And then... My's like doing like a deep seal. Oh yeah, it's like the deepest breath. Wim Hof. You're doing the Wim Hof weapon. Just hold your breath. Yeah.

We have a whole episode about Wimbledon. But so yeah, so I'm like breathing deep in the fire. I just kind of like let it all go and I'm still and peaceful and I feel Mandy walk in. Just that kind of like presence and weight of the moment and it's dead silent. And then I just hear her crumble and hear her break and all of that. It was just...

And like, what can you do but just kind of lay there? Yeah, I had no idea. I just, I don't know what I was expecting, but I definitely, you know, when something's supposed to happen off camera, you don't often expect like the actor to be there. It's like, I guess in my mind, if I really thought about it, I was like, oh, it'll just be an empty bed and I can imagine. But there were so many, like there was so much of that day that I had like built up in my mind of...

You know, we had almost two whole seasons that were leading up to this like gigantic question that loomed so large for people that watch the show and love the show and wanted to know about Jack. And so it was, it felt like this, it felt like a lot of pressure. We were at that strange hospital set that we shot so much of the show at. And yeah, I just remember trying to like stay in my head and stay like,

and grounded. But yeah, seeing you there was just like all anybody would need to completely just lose it. Yeah. I think I even did like the eyes open thing too. Yes. Oh yeah. Like I did the eyes open. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think you can actually see that because you're a reflection. Reflected in the... And you can actually see

see that in the reflection that your eyes are open and not closed. That's 214. Real quick, because I'm going to tell you what the favorite moment is. I think it's one of the greatest feats of acting that the show has seen. It's the candy bar. You do, bro. It's fucking stupid what you do.

It's to hold two things at the same time, like the disbelief of receiving information and just like- Chomping away. Chewing on this thing. I was watching it like, I don't know how the fuck she's doing this shit. Yeah. Yeah.

Well, there's like a weird kind of like technical aspect of it where you're like, do I really want to be chewing on a candy bar when I walk in and I'm a dead husband? Yeah, yeah. And yeah, and like, you handled that. No, she didn't. She took like a big like whopping bite of it and then, you know, it's like swallows. It's gone. And then has the moment of wait. No.

Jack. Jack. Jack. And it is the moment that returns to my brain most often from the show. Oh, my gosh. That's crazy. No, no. I just think about it. Sometimes it does pop in there. I mean, but that is like such a feat of Dan Fogelman to write something like that. Well, because he wrote it too because you referred to it later in the episode. Like I was chewing the candy bar and I was like, oh, like it was planned. Like it was all. Yeah. Yeah.

I know. He's such a crazy genius. It boggles the brain. But you killed that shit. Oh, thank you. I just remember spitting out so much like Mars Bar or Three Musketeers or whatever it was. They had like a little trash can on standby. I'm like, can't eat any more candy bar. Yeah. That was a lot. We'll be right back with more That Was Us.

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I want to talk a little bit about the facial hair of Jack Pearson. Yes. Because I think it was a big thing. Because I think you had the first pitch of like,

how you thought it could play through time. Didn't you in terms of the stache or something? I did because, of course, from the pilot to the second episode, originally it was scripted that Jack is clean-shaven, looking much older. I'm like, bro. I'm going to look like a baby. I'm like, Dan, if you shave me, I'm not going to look older, man. I'm going to look a lot younger. So I think the way we accomplished this, a man of the 80s, we'd give him a mustache. And he was like, I don't know. And it was...

And so then he kind of... That was a real good dad, by the way. It was a real long conversation. I mean, the iconic father and the mustache in modern television don't go together in your head. Right. But this is like the darkness of Dan Fogelman. Apparently, he was walking around the production offices like...

would you yes or would you no if he had a mustache? Yeah. Right. Yeah. Yeah. Would you want to make sweet love is what you're talking about. Thank you. Thank you. Yeah, I got you. I understand. I got you. And it was polarized. This was about six months before he could no longer do anything like that ever again. Yeah.

But also Fogelman in his like sweet cherubic way was asking that like sincerely like, do you like him? Yes. Or do you like him? No. With the mustache. Yeah. And I mean, who were the people that said no? Ken Olin. Ken Olin.

They had to see it in order to understand. I'm like, Milo, you could have four heads. Like, come on. You could have had the Charlie Chaplin. Exactly. Totally. I picked carefully. You picked very carefully.

well. I was like, maybe the artist. Maybe the artist. There we go. Yes. Jock Waters. But I remember the first time actually I did. So I had the beard and the beard was really coming in and growing and he said he wanted to do this when we read the second episode. And then I

I remember he's like, okay, yeah, go ahead and do it. And then Zoe was like, Aaron Mech was like, hey, we got to take a mold to your face because we're going to have to build all these appliances. Right. Build your beard back and think about all this stuff. And so I was at the effects house with Zoe and Michael and the effects team. And we were getting ready to cast my face. We cast my face. Cool. Pulled it off. And it was like, we're going to do another cast.

shaven with the mustache. We had two back to back. And I remember Zoe had just clipped half of my face and there was a PA from the effects house in the back going, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. What? This poor kid was like, okay, we'll call you back. And he goes, they don't want you to shave yet.

And I was like, keep going. Keep going. Yeah, you're already halfway through. But then I was like, maybe I'll fuck with him. So I did a handlebar mustache. Okay. And I said to Fogelman, I'm like, what do you think?

Like there's some big crazy eyes or something. - This here is the wildest ride in the wilderness. - Yeah, yeah. Absolute Thunder Mountain. - Thunder Mountain. - Did you anticipate, I'm sure the answer's probably no, in terms of like time travel jumping, mustache on, clean shaven, beard, et cetera. Like, did you think it was gonna be that much when we first signed on to it? - I didn't know the specificity, but I remember one day you walked into hair and makeup, you're like, "You getting your hair flat ironed?" And I was like, "Yeah."

That's the character. This is what happens. It makes it easy. This is the magic. Here we go. Let me tell you about the rest of it. Get hair pieces, get appliances, this and that. I didn't know, but did any of us really know? No. I mean... We're going to get Zoe and Michael in here to talk about it. I had a wig fitting for a different project a couple days ago, and it was the same person who did all of our wig fittings. Oh, really? Yeah. I was like, I recognize you. Where did I recognize you from? And This Is Us came up. And...

He and I were just talking about the technical proficiency with which our characters traveled through time with the use of hair and makeup on this show was so good that nobody noticed. And unfortunately never got the nods that it deserved because

you, especially you two, slid back and forth through time so seamlessly from like 24 to 65 to full beard. A full beard or a full wig is so hard to pull off on film and television.

And I just don't think people realize like the level of your goatee, your mustache, like Williams, Williams beard. Like you all, obviously your age makeup, like it was just, it was astounding. Every time you guys would come up and you could stand, it wasn't like it looked good on camera.

- You could stand inches from this person. - We could work in like espionage. - Yes. - Yeah. - That's right. - Truly. - Actually, and truly, because our special effects, I feel like they have been known to like do work for like government espionage stuff, so. - Oh yeah? - Yeah, yeah. - Boy, that's a hot take. - Of course you know that. - Maybe Mandy Moore was part of that. I don't even know. Maybe like, you know. - Tell them a little bit, Maya, about the-- - Maybe "This Is Us" was a Deep Ops-- - About. - About.

eating and laughing and talking, et cetera, and having it all on. - Yeah, we talk about this a lot, not trying to like pop your-- - What was that project? - Yeah, yeah. - You got it. - We just watched the video, we just watched the episode with you and William. - Oh man.

sitting there laughing and you are laughing so hard and you're trying so hard not to lose your- - Yeah, and Ron and I are both just. - You guys both have the most iconic laughs though too. It was just, there's something so deeply heartwarming about watching it. But then also knowing like they're both trying not to pop their fake goatee or something. - I do remember every times we'd see each other like at base camp or whatnot and you'd be eating or something and I'd say something funny and Mom would go, "Hoo, hoo."

So here's the thing. I would touch my mustache because my mustache was mine. So you didn't pull anything else off. I'm not pulling anything else off. And then there's Griffin. Griffin Dunn, who's just shoveling stuff in his face moments after Zoe put his beard and mustache on.

- Griffin Dunn plays Uncle Nicky who joins us later on the show. Griffin's like just have beard all over the place. - Everywhere. - He would. - Yeah, what a process all that was. But again, it's like, and then also too, like in conjunction with the wardrobe. - Yeah. - Like really we had this,

creative, artistic team around us, working with us hand in hand that we're creating these characters as much as the words were, as much as our own hearts and minds were. - Truly. - Like all this stuff, it was just, it was wonderful to slide in and out of these eras and these characters and these just different emotional notes. - Knowing you could lean on that made it so seamless. It was like, we could bring whatever we could to the table, but like knowing that you could rely on wardrobe and hair and makeup and like,

all of it coming together collectively was what was gonna sell it eventually. - Yeah. - What do you miss? I mean, whether it's people, story, whatever it is, like anything specific, like what do you miss and what do you feel like you get a chance to carry with you as you move through life because of that six years? - I'll tell you what, I miss the people that we had the experience with. I miss our crew, I miss all of you guys.

But I also take that with me. I took the crew with me. - You literally did. - Literally took the crew with me on the last show I did and then handed back to Fogelman. I think I'm now angling to get everybody back. But then what we all experienced on that set is just one for the deck is, I don't know if you guys ever had a job. Actually, let me ask, did you guys, so I'll tailor it back to what you're asking, Star. Did you guys have a job ahead of "This Is Us"?

that you would measure every other job against? - No. - No. - No. - You didn't? - I was young, I was new. So I didn't have that many jobs. - You my babe. I mean, 'cause OJ happened right before it. So I thought like I would sort of measure things off of that because it was a pretty cool experience.

but like six years in one season is different. - Yeah. - Do you know what I mean? Like we had like longevity and a deepness of roots to things that is hard to compare. I did another six year show before, but like, I don't know, this one hit different. That's all I can say. - What about you, Mike?

I had an experience, well, I guess I had a couple of different shows that were significant. Yeah, yeah. But there was one show that just, it felt different, the making of it. It was a show called "American Dreams." And I remember the guys at the top one day, I heard a story where, and they would say this to the crew where they were privately in their office. It was the show runner and the directing EP. And one of them asked, he said,

you think you'll ever have an experience like this again? And they go, no, I don't think so. I think this was about the best. And they reflected that to the crew and the cast and all of us. And it was just like, well, that's a heavy moment. Because I was just, I was a guest star, like a recurring guest star. But I like really got pulled into this group and the crew and everybody that was there was just a different kind of making of it. But then I took that sentiment and every job after I would kind of assess what was this job like?

You know, did it have that kind of same spirit of making the show that this other show did? Was I able to contribute enough to it? Was I able to kind of like pick somebody up on a bad day, support somebody, kind of pull somebody in? Or was I an asshole or anything like that? You know, like those moments of self-reflection where you just want the experience to be better. So then when I got to this, it was like, oh, same thing. Like I had been on other shows that had gone maybe several seasons, but...

This was just a whole different thing. So I think I always still try to not replicate it, because you can't. I mean, the whole crew with me on this last ABC show, I had a different experience. Just a different beast. Sure. It's hard to gauge the amount of hard work

that went into making this show feel so effortless. - Yeah. - It just felt easy. - Yeah. - It was an exciting thing. I used to say, and I still kind of back this up. I would get to set as early as I could 'cause I just wanted to be there in the experience of it. And when I left every day, I was a little bummed out. - Yeah. - Same. - Same. - Same. There was never a day that you, like, I remember showing up to work like,

You had some early calls too, Mandy Moore. Yeah. But I mean, even when you're like in the crazy heat or you knew it was like an emotionally challenging thing, it was like I was with my favorite people, like actors, crew, everything. It's like we really truly were family. We were doing work that like meant something to us, meant something to the audience. That was positive. Positive. That had positivity built into it. Adding value in the world. Yeah.

And I just, I think we all were so acutely aware from the beginning, like this is different. Yeah. And we would even, I mean, you were much better at this than I was, but like in part that on the children too, on the kids, like, no.

Not every job is like this. I hate to break it to you. I hate to break it to you. This is your first gig and you're not all like this. We've been doing this for 20, 25 years. Yeah, it's hard for you guys to understand, but still. I mean, even now, I'll talk to Niles or something or Logan or any of them after a job and they'll be like, man, it's not the same. I'm like, it's not the same, but you try.

- Yeah. - You try. I'm like, you go in, you be yourself, you remember what we all did here and you try and put that into whatever set you walk into. And I guarantee you will have a good time and so will everybody else. - Yeah. - Yeah. - You know, just by being there, man. - For sure. - Like what a rare thing we get to do. - For sure. - For sure. - Yeah. - What else? How many episodes did you direct? - Three, just three. - Three.

- Yeah, just three. - Just three. - Just three. - That's a lot. That's more than I think anybody else. - You're so good at it. - Yeah, it really is. - It's such a pleasure to be directed by you. - Thanks, man. - You love it. You clearly love it. - I do. It's a different thing. And again, I feel in that capacity, a guest. - Right. - I do feel a guest where I'm like, let me not intrude.

Let me hopefully inspire. Let me stay the fuck out of the way. Right. Best I can. And let me make sure I can protect everybody's performances. Yeah. In front of the camera, as well as the crew, what their artistry is. Best I can. And then, you know, of course, you kind of hand the baby off to...

Fog them in, he kind of chops it up, reassembles it, and it's even cuter. - That's true. - Which doesn't normally happen with babies. - No, no, no, it doesn't happen with babies. No, no, no, no, no. - Which Mandy and I have talked about that. Like when we edited, I only did one episode, but when I edited it, I was very proud. I was like, wow, this is good. And I think it's pretty good, what I'm giving Dan. And then Dan did things to it that I almost couldn't tell you what he did. - Right. - But he,

The musicality of the man, his rhythm, his life rhythm, and the way he infuses it into every moment of this show is hard to explain to people. You know, it's hard though, as a director, if you cut to a different beat. And I found that in my first episode, it was like Fogelman was doing classical and I was playing jazz. Yeah, okay. And when I handed it over, I'm like, hmm, okay. Okay.

All right. I'm like, but also I'm like, I'm a guest. I'm here to service his vision and everybody. But then I remember I had a call with Ken, right? I said, hey man, how do you as an artist hand over something that you feel like you delivered on, you know? And of course, you know, Dan's going to make it what he wants to make it, but also like, like,

he has as much care. He has as much desire to make everybody look good and feel good and move the show. And it's his to do. I'm like, how do you, like, how did you do like manage that? Not deal. How did you manage that within yourself as an artist? And I just, you know, I would just, I would, I would, I would direct. And then I just started like handing it off. And he literally told me he would just,

He wouldn't cut them. Yeah. So he didn't have that personal. Sure. Mm.

- Staking it in the same way. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. And you know, and Falkerman always made everybody look good. He cared about all of us. He cares about all of us. - Did you, have you directed since the show? Did you direct on your show? - No, it was too much, man. - It was too much for him. - I couldn't prep. I didn't have time to prep. - Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. - What we were going to do was I was gonna direct the first episode, first, maybe two episodes back of the second season.

Okay. Just because then, okay, cool. I can prep. I can get my acting stuff in line. Because I was also on that show. I was doing story docs. I was doing story docs, outlines, studio drafts.

And then production drafts. Because for anybody listening, you weren't just the star of the show. You created the show. I didn't create it. I was there when we were chopping up the ingredients. Made the soup, delivered the soup. Yeah. People love soup. Studios love soup. It's timeless. I have to say, Milo,

has ruined me for working with probably anybody else just because he is so unbelievably prepared as a director, but also as an actor. And the way you approach the job, like...

I feel like I care as much as you do. Like I want to be as prepared as well, but I have never really found like my match in that same way. And I hadn't done television before, but I just, I was like, oh, as we all move on to like the next things, I'm like,

Everybody's Milo. Not everybody works this way. Not everybody wants to run lines without even like, we would just look at each other and like Milo would start a scene or I would start a scene and we would just like go through our lines and just do it over and over again or stop when we feel like, felt like we had it. And didn't want to push too much. Exactly. It's like, let's save it for the day. But you truly have like ruined me for working with anybody else because I'm like, no one's going to be my like.

I know. I know. No one brings to the table. He's making a Milo face. You have to see it on YouTube. But that's also like, again, I think that's like one of those things, though. It's like, you know, Mandy, I'm sure whatever, you know, everything that you've done after the show or anything that we've all done after the show, you take, again, the sentiment of what we experienced here and you just try and put a little bit of that in, infuse it in.

- Absolutely. - Yeah. - Maybe it inspires somebody that you're so on top of your shit that someone's gonna be like, "Wow, man, Mandy Moore really brought it. So I gotta..."

I gotta make sure that I'm prepared for her, you know? - Absolutely. - So. - Oh, don't all shucks me now too. - Yeah, yeah, no, she totally will. - You guys both were shucking over here on this couch. - They all shucks couch. - You guys are beasts. - I shuck. - Yeah. - Isay, we're running low, but this was a joy. - A joy. - You are a joy. - Likewise, man. - A lot of intamilia. And I know that our audience is gonna be over the moon ecstatic when they get to this episode.

Is there anything that's going on in your life right now that's coming up artistically that you want to shout out? Oh, man. Artistically, I think we're all experiencing a weird time in the business right now. It's weird. I feel like the sleeping giants just slowly yawning awake. Things are popping up. Development, as we all know, is a slog. Bro, we got to sit and talk about some things. But nothing...

Like, yeah, like set up one show. I got two or three in the hopper. Okay. But like nothing that's like packed, ready to ship out. Gotcha. So. Gives you time to focus on your new man. Yes. Yes. Yeah. Which is nice. I mean, you know, through the strike, of course, it was a very unfortunate thing. And, you know, there are billions of dollars lost in the industry and whatnot. But at the same time, I think through that.

You try and be grateful for the moments you get. Yeah, the silver lining of being with family and people that you love. Exactly. So yeah, I've soaked it up best I can, spent time with my family, my friends, surfed my brains out. And now I'm like, all right, cool, guys. Ready to work? Yeah, it's time to go. Well, we can't wait to see what is next.

I know. Absolutely. You can always find Milo on Instagram where he doesn't post anything. It's pretty freaking awesome. You're funny, man. It's the most curated. It's the most beautifully curated Instagram account on Instagram. 30 shots, bro. It's good. It's 30 hot shots. All at one time. It's like, get on the phone. Like, guys, wake up. Milo's posting on Instagram. Do you know that BuzzFeed actually wrote an article that I didn't know the etiquette to Instagram? Oh, my God.

- I'll try to make this a really quick story. Yeah, so of course, like I have long bouts where I just don't post 'cause I'm like focused on life and you know, I pick things up. - You're healthy. - You have better things to do. - Yeah, sure. But along the way, I still, you know, photograph and like all kinds of different mediums. Like one day when I was like, I think I've been on for like five years. I think it's time to just like drop something in. So I think I had a hundred photos.

And it took a while to prep. Yeah, sure. Because I didn't want to drop them one and then take time. I'm like, nah, here's like- All of them. All of them. Yeah. And so I put up 100 photos. I think it was all in the course of like, it took me three minutes to upload everything.

after I had like prepped it and whatnot. Yeah. I'm just like, push the button, push the button, push the button. But the next day, BuzzFeed had written an article that said Milo Ventimiglia doesn't know the etiquette of Instagram. Does he not know you can put multiple photos in one tag, in one post? Does he not know this? And I was like,

Okay, first of all, whoever established the rules wasn't around in the beginning of it. I was there in the beginning of this shit. It's a bunch of artists share connected moments and all of that. And so, yeah, so articles about... That's hysterical. Yeah. If anybody knows anything about etiquette, it's BuzzFeed. It's all their articles about this or that. Yeah. Ten different things. Ten different ways to show etiquette. Anyways, we hope you love the podcast, though. If you're listening.

- Tangent, tangent, tangent. No, you listen, what's been nice too for me, like I would look, I'm very happy to be here.

i'm very happy to see you guys i love you guys i love you i look forward to coming back thank you i look forward to coming back but also it's a fun kind of proud moment for me to see you guys like pick up the torch and continue it yeah because i think there is a lot of hard struggling stuff in the world that people need that positivity they need the reminders again sure yeah and so when i found out you guys are doing this i was like

"Oh, that's cool." And it's right, you three, 'cause I feel like you guys represent so many sides of the show at the same time. You are able to speak about every little moment of it 'cause you were so embedded. You guys were all so embedded there. So I just, I'm proud. I get emotionally proud in moments.

I feel like people weren't ready to let the show go. No, not at all. And so this was, but rightfully it ended when it should have. But this is our way of being able to honor this very, very special period of time in our lives and the audience's life. And to be able to go back through it, it does feel really special. And I think it's not lost on us that we get to, like you said, characterize

carry the torch and continue having these conversations and people are still hungry to go back and talk about it. Like, like it was this unacknowledged sort of latent emotion that now is able to like bubble up to the surface and people are able to, you know, chat with us about it. What's going to be interesting too is like, you know, I've had,

in my history and my career of working in front of the business that like, you know, they're just now discovering, like teenagers just discovered Gilmore Girls. Yeah. And I'm like, man, you realize like that was 24 years ago for me and you were 13? I watched every episode of that during the pandemic. You did? Wow. It was Rachel's breastfeeding show. No. Amazing. And we sat there with our newborn and me being disconnected, I was like,

Oh, you had no idea? I missed the show the first time around. I was not the demo. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But yeah, that was just, it was one of those. That's one I got to watch, Mai. I told you I'd never seen it before. I haven't seen it. It's a great show. It's timeless. But I know because people would come up to me. They're like, so you team Jess? I'm like, yes. Who? Team Jess. No, I know, I know, I know. You're saying, I was speaking as you. Like, who? Was it you and Jared Padalecki? Yeah, dude, your boy. You and Jared. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's crazy.

Dude, Jer is incredible, man. He's great. He's the best. He's a good dude. He's like a big old puppy dog. He truly is. Anyway.

Guys, this was Milo Ventimiglia. - Yeah. - Yes, Kim, one more round of applause. - Yay, Mike. - Thank you for coming. - Thank you. - If and when we get to 2:14 and other sort of tentpole things. - You can call me up, man. - Big, yeah. - Please and thank you. - I'm around. - Okay. - I'm around. - Appreciate it. - Thanks, Mike. - I just had to make sure I'm like, I can be here for you guys. But like, yes, no, I'm here for you. - Oh, you're so sweet. - This is the wrap up. - All you have to do is look into that camera and say, that was us. - That was us. Peace, yo. - Easy.

What up, gang? SKB here, bringing you a new segment called The Retread, where we give you a quick snapshot of this week's episode and sum up our favorite moments. Today, I'll be giving you a quick recap of the episode Milo Ventimiglia and Us. The Retread is brought to you by Peloton. Find your push. Find your power with Peloton.

Alright, so when it came to playing Jack, Milo felt like he was playing a version of his own father Pete. Good guy. Know him very well. He also felt there was a lot of pressure, a lot of weight to be a superhero for all. Hard to live up to. I can understand that pressure as well. Chris shared that the show had a very positive effect on his marriage. Sometimes he felt like the writers were walking around inside of his house.

Women tell Milo they wish their husbands were a little bit more like Jack. Chris jokingly quips that maybe the women need to be a little more like Rebecca. Shots fired. Pium pium. Milo wishes he had spent more time working with the adults. He was always in the past because he passed away. Always working with the younger versions of us. We would have liked more time with him as well.

Mandy didn't know that Milo was gonna be in the hospital bed when she walked into the room and saw that he had passed away. We'll get more into that in season two, but once we get to it, you'll know what we're talking about. None of us, myself, Sully, Mandy, or Milo could say that we had a job before This Is Us that we could measure every other job against. This show stands out. Thank you for joining us, Milo. We'll see you again soon. Thanks for that retread.

That Was Us is filmed at The Crow and produced by Rabbit Grin Productions and Sarah Wareheim. Music by Taylor Goldsmith and Griffin Goldsmith. That was us.