That Was Us - Faithe Herman and Us | Annie Pearson

Episode Date: June 16, 2026

This week on That Was Us, we’re joined in studio by Faithe Herman, who grew up before our eyes as Annie Pearson on This Is Us. Joining the series at just eight years old and wrapping at fourteen, Faithe reflects on what it was like to spend her childhood on one of television’s most beloved family dramas, and how the cast became a second family along the way. In this episode, Faithe chats about: • Booking This Is Us as her very first TV pilot audition and the unforgettable callback process • Growing up alongside Eris Baker and Lyric Ross and how their on-screen sibling bond became a real-life friendship • What it was like working with Sterling K. Brown and Susan Kelechi Watson as her TV parents for six seasons • Annie Pearson’s evolution from the quiet observer of the family to one of the show's most emotionally insightful characters • The memorable scene with Ron Cephas Jones and why it helped her see Annie in a new way • Learning the craft of acting as she got older and discovering a genuine passion for performance • The emotional party popper scene and the lesson Sterling taught her afterward • Expanding her career beyond This Is Us with projects like Shazam! and Watchmen • Making the long commute from San Diego to Los Angeles • Attending the SAG Awards as a kid and navigating growing up in the spotlight • Sterling’s efforts to make sure Annie remained part of the show’s final chapter and why Annie’s appearance on the train meant so much • Starting college, turning eighteen, and finding balance between school, adulthood, and her acting career And a friendly reminder, you can catch new episodes of That Was Us every Monday, a day early, exclusively on Hulu. Available on Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts on Tuesdays like usual! That Was Us is produced by Rabbit Grin Productions. Music by Taylor Goldsmith and Griffin Goldsmith. ------------------------- Support Our Sponsors: - Elevate your summer wardrobe. Go to https://Quince.com/twu for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada, too. - Get a $49 annual membership with promo code podcast at https://www.shipt.com/offer. Terms apply. - If your glasses are overdue for a refresh, now is the time. Use code PODCAST15 for 15% off your first order at https://bit.ly/4viuTlw - Thanks to Article for sponsoring this podcast! Article is offering our listeners $50 off your first purchase of $100 or more. To claim, visit https://www.article.com/discount/twu and the discount will be automatically applied at checkout. ------------------------- 🍋 About the Show: The stars of This Is Us, Mandy Moore, Sterling K. Brown, and Chris Sullivan, dive back into the world of the Pearsons, reliving each episode and all the life lessons that came with it. Together, they dig in and dig deep, have the tough conversations, bring in very special and familiar guests, share never-before-heard behind-the-scenes moments, and feature listeners in highly anticipated fan segments. Join your favorite family back in the living room to examine our past, cherish our present, and look to the future with new episodes of That Was Us every Tuesday. Executive Producers: Natalie Holysz and Rob Holysz Creative Producer: Sam Skelton Production Coordinator: Andrew Rowley Video Editor: Todd Hughlett Mix & Master: Jason Richards About Headgum: Headgum is an LA & NY-based podcast network creating premium podcasts with the funniest, most engaging voices in comedy to achieve one goal: Making our audience and ourselves laugh. Listen to our shows at https://www.headgum.com. » SUBSCRIBE to Headgum: https://www.youtube.com/c/HeadGum?sub_confirmation=1 » FOLLOW us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/headgum » FOLLOW us on Instagram: https://instagram.com/headgum/ » FOLLOW us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@headgum Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is a headgum podcast. On today's episode of That Was Us, we have a very special interview. We do indeed. With Faith Herman. That's right. Little Annie Pearson. Do you. D-de-de-de-dee.

Who needs an intro? Who needs an intro when you have Chris Sullivan? It's really interesting when you have these people that you got a chance to sort of watch grow up. Yeah. I mean, the young lady was eight years old. Maybe seven when we shot the pilot, and she's 18 now. It's, what is time? And especially with kids, because you get a chance to see the whole, like, 10 years for us is like, okay, Brown's got more gray.

You know what I'm saying? Like, things like change. You guys have children now. Yeah. Yeah. And more gray. And more gray. You have no gray.

You have no gray. Well, that's because I color it. Yeah, me too. Oh, I got it. Do you have gray? Oh, yeah. Yeah. And I'm bald.

One day I'll just let it all fly, but not yet. Yeah. And you're just bald. I can show you my chest here. It's very great. You get it here? Oh, yeah. The silverback gorilla, baby.

You know? But it is one of those things when you see people's babies, right? Yeah. And you see how much they can change in a year. So imagine starting at one age and then growing up to another one. It's kind of, I get a little for clumped up with it. And I feel like they're not my children and they kind of are my children. Yeah, sure.

It's a cool thing. What does this book? you brought, sorry. Yeah, yeah. No, no, no, no, please. I'm interested in this book too. I check out books. Talk to your boys.

Talk to your boys. This dude, Ezra Klein. You guys may listen to him. Love. Very, very cool. And the guest that he had on, one of her books, he ends each podcast. What are your three books a year? And this one was called Talk to Your Boys and a sort of 16 conversations to help tweens and teens

growing into confident, caring young men. And I have a teen and a tween. Yes. Right? I got a 10-year-old and a 14-year-old. It's the perfect book for you. It's the perfect book. I was like, oh, that sounds like a good recommendation.

I should check it out. And a lot of it with the tweens, and I don't know if this applies to girls in the same way or not. You guys could speak to this if you have any expertise. There's this sort of withdrawal that can happen with young men as a way of asserting their own independence, right? So it's not attitude for the sake of attitude. It's like, how do I move from boy to manhood and sort of needing the space to figure that out? and what you as a parent need to do. And so they talk about showing up like a cat versus a dog,

meaning like cat, like you just sort of like go around the corner and you take a look and you see, you know, let them know that you're there if they need you. Whereas puppy energy is like, hey, wanna play? Like, wanna get together? And the puppy energy is usually something that is not as, like, received. Yeah, like, received.

As you know. Yeah. You know, I'll tell you some, this is interesting. Our dog is under the weather. Oh. Because normally as soon as Ryan, like he doesn't get excited for anybody else. Yeah. But when Ryan comes out of the bedroom, he's like, it's time to play.

It's time to play. Ryan came out of the bedroom and I didn't hear anything. And I was like, where's Zion? And I went back to look, he stays in the laundry room in the evening. And he was just down. He was looking up like. Oh, no. Is he okay?

I hope so. I hope so. We're going to take him to the vet. She's going to take him to the vet today. But even Brown, who's not like a super puppy fan, I was like, all right, that's not good. Yeah. Like, I need him to annoy me when she walks out.

Yeah, you're not heartless. I'm not heartless. Buddy, well, good thoughts to run. You just like a cat. I'm just like a cat. And I sort of like that energy is, so I see it with my son. I try to, number one, try to make sure that I'm having conversations with him that aren't just transactional,

but are just sort of like informational. Sometimes he'll be on the computer doing homework and I'll just go lay down on the bed. Yeah. And he's like... Just being present. Just being there. He's like, what are you doing?

I'm like, nothing. And he's like, all right. And then everyone's what I'll just lay there and he'd be like, what did you think of something? Or what'd you think of the soccer game? Like he'll start the conversation. I'll be like, oh bro, you played a great game. But like because so much of what we do is like,

did you take out the trash? Have you finished your homework? Sure, sure, sure. Like have you picked out your clothes? Do you know? And like that can be, I was like, like, oh, that would suck. Yeah.

Every time I opened my mouth, all he heard was do, do, do. Yeah. So I'm working on that. And it's nice. I see he's starting to go to parties. Aw. Starting to go to parties. And the bird is, it's tough.

You know what I'm saying? Because she's like, all right, where's the part? They do these things now where they don't give you the location of the party until the day of. Right. Like they'll do some sort of like. So they're camp. be any evil planning on the part of tweens and teens. Something like that.

And extra people showing up for it, et cetera. Yeah. And Ryan's like, well, the first party you went to, she's like, I need to know the name of a parent, and I need to make eye contact with me. And he's like, you have to walk me into the party. And you forget how easily everything is embarrassing. Well, sure.

Everything is like, you're not going to walk into the party with me. I know. It's so hard to put yourself. back in that frame of mind. You gotta remember. You gotta remember. Because now it just seems ridiculous. Like, yeah, I'm walking you in.

What's the big deal? I don't know that house. Exactly. I don't know those parents. All of these things. And so like Ryan and I had a sidebar and I was like, hey, Byrd. I feel like, and this goes from household to household. And this is probably might even go back and forth between Ryan and I.

It's like, I think we have to give him enough rope to see what he does with it before we just don't give him the rope. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? Like, you got to see, like, he does his homework. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? Like, all the things that we ask of Kim as a young man, he comes through. So let's see how he deals with us.

You know what I mean? And it's, my mom would always tell me this. She is like, you know what, I just let, I just pray to the angels that you'll be safe. Hey. Yeah, sure, that works too. Hey. It could be a little bit of both. Hey.

Yeah. Stuff's going to happen. So it is, it's fun. And I, and. And so just to bring it back to faith, I don't have any of those responsibilities with this little girl. I just have the joy of watching her grow up and become the person that she is. She is sweet as pie. Yeah, always was.

Always was, always will be. Her parents are top-notch human beings. Which is not always the case. Mandy Moore. I'm starting, as a young person that started as a younger person, I'm not a young person. As someone who was a young person in the industry. Yeah. Like having that foundation of great parents

is the most important ingredients. Yes. And she has that. And that's not always the case. I will say... Let's break it down. What do you mean by that? I think we were lucky on our show, speaking broadly,

that the parents were always lovely. You know, I think there's this perception, and it is accurate a lot of times, that parents can, perhaps be stage parents, right? Is it a honey boo-boo sort of thing? Sure, exactly, where you just like, your investment in your child's success is like,

it's all, like, you're too wrapped up in it as well. It has as much to do with you as it does by the child. It's like your own ego, your own dreams. And that never seemed to be the case, at least what I experienced, because we worked with a lot of the, a lot of different ages on the show. But her parents in particular,

I always remember and Aris's parents. Like, just, and lyrics, mom. Like, all of my children. All of your children were loved. I mean, I can say the same thing about all of ours. I loved Parker's parents and Lonnie's parents, McKenzie. Like, everybody seemed to be aligned with, like, good intentions. They wanted the best for their kids.

No one felt like they were sort of as invested in, you know, their child with this. Like, there was none of those shenanigans, which I have sort of seen firsthand and experience. Here's a question for you guys. This is actively asking you to call from your subconscious, if you can, to consciousness. Do you have any thoughts, feelings, desires for how your children's lives would go that if someone put your foot to the fire, you'd be like, yeah, I kind of want X, Y, Z. Oh. I want them to be as joyful and passionate about whatever it is that I was about this. Like to look at friends of mine or family members of mine that were sort of not lost,

but it took them a while to sort of figure things out. I always took for granted kind of the fact that I knew full stop what I wanted to do without question. Unequivocal. There was no backup plan. By what number? Six, seven. Really? Oh, yeah.

Crypto clear. Yes. And there was no, which I realize now is like such a gift. Absolutely. So, I mean, I don't necessarily wish that for them, but to find whatever it is, like, early enough where you can just enjoy the ride of getting to do it in school, like whatever that, however that sort of looks,

but I don't have any particular direction other than that. If they aren't artists, there will be no disappointment from this. Oh, gosh, no. In fact, I kind of hope they're not artists. Okay, okay. I got you. I just hope they're gay. Cool.

You know? Yeah. I would love that too. I mean, my entire family is already, so yeah. I was like, there's a high probability of that happening. Genetic component, for sure, yes. Yeah, I haven't gotten there yet. I think it's, I just am at the stage where I just want them to be passionate.

Sure. To identify, like my son just recently identified a sport. that he likes. Okay. And it's baseball. Cool. Which came out of nowhere and he's good at it. Okay.

And it's like, I don't follow baseball. I don't know baseball. Right. But just seeing him attached to something was like, okay, great. Because if you can, if you can identify, if you can be passionate about things. Yeah. If you can have real passion for things, those passions will lead you to your purpose. Sure.

And if you can identify your purpose and obey your purpose above all else, then everything else falls into place. Yeah. So the ability to identify passions or to... Yeah, clean them real quick. The spot was killing me. I understand. The ability to identify passions.

Leading to purpose. I feel like you have an answer to this. I had, like, there's little things that I didn't realize that I had. and then I confront them. So my oldest son used to be a flag football player and was very, very good. I wore pads from sixth grade to graduating from high school.

Love the sport a great deal. And my wife said early on, she's like, these kids are never going to put on football pads, right? She's like, there's too much information that I have encountered regarding CTs, TBIs, et cetera. And I was like, all right, I can understand that. And so, like, there was a small grieving process as he found soccer, because soccer is his sport.

And I was like, oh, man, that was a part of me that thought he was going to do the thing of his chicken. And so you let it go and you keep moving on, right? With Amari, I think what I want for him, for everybody, is similar to what you guys said, but also it's just the quality of relationships that you sort of bring into your life and that you nurture them and sort of value them to a high degree.

And so every once in a while, I'll see like there's like this, there's a streak of pettiness that my son has that everybody does, that every human being has. And I was like, don't, please don't throw this relationship away. Because like, he'll sort of be like, I don't talk to so-and-so anymore. I'm like, oh, man. Maybe he'll be a talk show host. That'd be cool.

There's a lot of layers to that statement. There's a lot of layers to that statement. We should probably just make sure we bring in faith now. We can talk to her. Check out this interview that we have with Faith Herman. More, that was us, after this short break. All right, gang, check this out the other day. We were hanging out.

Amari and all of his little friends were over at the house. They're kicking it. Playing basketball, playing in the swimming pool, whatnot. Ryan gets excited. She says, I'm going to make an apple cobbler for you guys. She goes all in, makes this apple cobbler. She's about to go divvy it all up, goes into the fridge to get some ice cream? No. No ice cream. No ice. Don't say it. Not a problem. That's not an apple

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You guys? I was in Austin recently and I had one of these trips where you end up doing way more than you planned. Like you've set a certain amount that you've planned and then you do way more than that. Yes, sir. We thought that we were going to spend one afternoon walking around and somehow it turned into like live music.

Oh, man. Two barbecue stops. Let's go. Because you can't go to one barbecue spot in Austin. You have to taste and compare. And those are the best trips, truly the ones, where you don't overplan every single minute. Exactly.

Sometimes the best memories happen in those moments. that aren't scheduled. Sir, that's basically the Pearson family motto. Yeah, and somewhere during the trip, I realized that while I was off making all of these memories, my place back home, no! It was just sitting there empty! Which is probably true for a lot of people whenever they travel.

Yeah, it made me think about listing my space on Airbnb. The only thing that would normally hold me back is wondering, who's managing everything while I'm away? Sir, that's where Airbnb's co-hosts, network comes in. You're going to hire a vetted local co-host with hosting experience to help manage the details. Well, there you go. I feel like I would want

a lot of help with just the communications, you know, with guests making sure that they're... Exactly. And you know what? A co-host can help manage those reservations. They can communicate with guests and provide on-site support. So instead of worrying about what's happening back home, you can focus

on being present wherever you are. If you've thought about listing your space on Airbnb, find a host at Airbnb.com slash host. When you don't have any hair, you'd have to, you have to dress up your face in different ways. Sure, sure.

Glasses. And so I like to have a lot of glasses. The problem is I got all these prescriptions. And now my eyes are changing and I need new prescriptions and I need to refresh my frames. Yeah. My face shape as I'm getting older is shifting. And I need new glasses. And you know what?

Even in 2026, replacing glasses feels like a whole production, a whole ordeal. Most of us just live with it. I know I am. I have glasses. We actually all have glasses. That's right. And you know what? You have to schedule an appointment.

You have to pay a fortune and then wait. But Zeni Optical fixes all of that. So Zeni is an online eyewear shop. Prescription glasses, sunglasses, sunglasses, blue light lenses, all of that starting at under $30. And like $30? Yeah, you go to zeni.com, pick a frame. You start, you pick a frame, all right? You upload your prescription and they ship it to your door.

There's no appointment. Yeah, no store. No upsell at the counter. It's a beautiful. Yeah, and at that price, I think something kind of shifts in you. You're like, do I really need new glasses? And you stop asking yourself that and you start asking, well, why wouldn't I get them? Why wouldn't I get three or four pairs?

You're not agonizing over just one pair. Yeah. You get the ones that work. You get the fun ones. You get the pair that only matches one outfit because it under $30. You don't have to justify it. That's right. There's 150,000 five-star reviews, you guys.

And if you've never bought glasses online before, Zinni has a virtual try-on so you can see exactly how a frame looks on your face before you commit. And I will say I've tried these virtual try-ons on certain sites that you don't really get an idea. This one is actually really good. Oh, cool. I got a really good idea of what those frames were going to look like on my face. And you're waiting to get them, right? They're on their way.

You guys, you better believe it. As soon as I get them, you're going to see them on this podcast. If your glasses are overdue for a refresh, now is the time. Go to zeni.com slash podcast and use code podcast 15 for 15% off your first order. The style sell out, so don't sit on it. That's z-en-n-i.com slash podcast promo code, podcast 15. You guys? I was in Austin recently, and I had one of these trips where you end up doing way more

than you planned? Sure. Like you've set a certain amount that you've planned and then you do way more than that. Yes, sir. We thought that we were going to spend one afternoon walking around and somehow it turned into like live music. Oh, man. Two barbecue stops.

Let's go. Because you can't go to one barbecue spot in Austin. You have to taste, test and compare. And those are the best trips, truly the ones where you don't overplan every single minute. Exactly. Sometimes the best memories happen in those moments that aren't scheduled. Sir, that's basically the Pearson family motto. Yeah, and somewhere during the trip, I realized that while I was off making all of these memories, my place back home, no!

It was just sitting there empty! Which is probably true for a lot of people whenever they travel. Yeah, it made me think about listing my space on Airbnb. The only thing that would normally hold me back is wondering who's managing everything while I'm away? Sir, that's where Airbnb's co-host network comes in. You can hire a vetted local co-host with hosting experience to help manage the details. Well, there you go. I feel like I would want a lot of help with just the communications, you know, with guests making sure that they're...

Exactly. And you know what? A co-host can help manage those reservations. They can communicate with guests and provide on-site support. So instead of worrying about what's happening back home, you can focus on being present wherever you are. If you've thought about listing your space on Airbnb, find a co-host at AirB. Airbnb.com slash host. Hello, friends. If you have listened to this podcast, then you are well aware.

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Ladies and gentlemen, let's give it up for Faith Herman. Welcome, Faith. Thank you. I'm so excited to be here with you guys. Oh, my gosh. We're excited to have you. There's this weird, like, I remember, I remember the beginning. Like, I remember, like, us doing, like, the soccer scene.

In the pilot. In the pilot, right? And you were the one who was just, like, down on the grass, like, playing and wasn't in the game or whatnot. and I had to like pick her up. In the first season, I was like, oh, I can carry her in my right arm. And then I'll take ERIS in my left arm because I have to carry them both up the steps. I can't carry these girls. You're grown.

You're grown. Yeah, it's crazy. It's like, yeah. It is crazy. Yeah, I was eight years old and 14 when we finished the show. And yeah, I remember the first time we even had like family photos. Yes. Yes.

And I was like, oh, we do this for the show because they're like, we're going to have pictures. in the house and I was like, oh, that sounds fun. So we got to dress up in our characters and we got to take them together and that was really exciting. It was awesome. Okay. So we'll start with the beginning. Yeah.

Right? I'm so curious, like, what the audition process was. What do you remember about, like, how this show first showed up in your life? I remember it was pilot season and they told me I had a pilot audition, which was my first one. First one. Yes. And I didn't really know what to think of it. I was just like, okay, I'm excited. I was an audition. And the first audition, I was really nervous. I always get really nervous for auditions. And I think I was about seven years old and it was like towards the end of 2015, probably. Yeah, yeah. And I went into the room being nervous, but there was only like one person in there. And when she started interviewing me, or interviewing me. She's like reading with you.

Yeah, reading with me. I remember she asked me my favorite color, and I was like, my favorite color is blue. And I remember going on and on and on about that topic. And I couldn't stop talking, which to this day is still my favorite. And I don't remember the specific scene that we did, but I had a lot of fun, and I really enjoyed that audition. So then when I heard that I got a callback, I was like, what, no way. Like, I couldn't believe it. And for the callbacks, it was like we're in a room, we were just waiting, and there was a ton of other girls.

And it's funny, because they were all dressed up as soccer players. And I, my mom had me in a gray sweater, a pink owl necklace, and my hair, like, a little back with, like, bows. And I was like, almost supposed to, should I have worn a soccer outfit since, like, that was, like, the first thing. And, like, Annie and Tess are known for playing soccer. Yeah. But it was nice to see all of them in there. We were just waiting, and I remember seeing heirs too, and her dad. And you kind of just, like, get paired up with, like, anyone they pair you with.

So when we went into the room, there was quite a couple of people. And I was like, whoa, that's a lot of people. Because normally it's, like, just one or two. And, but they were all very nice. They introduced themselves. And they're like, okay, you're going to be doing this scene. and I think it was probably one of the bedroom scenes. I don't think we filmed it like in the actual show,

but we still had me and Erez had a couple of scenes in her room since we were sharing it at the time. And I didn't get paired with Eress. But I remember thinking like when I met her, she was like the sweetest person ever. Like I was like, that would be so amazing if she was my sister. So when like I found out that I booked the show and then we had her fitting and then I ran.

into her like I was so excited. And then I was also so excited to play this character because I was like, this is my first ever show and I love this character so much. I can't wait to see what where this goes. Yeah. So it was the best news. That's a, it's so interesting because you, you got that experience, going back just the audition experience, you got that experience at eight years old to walk into a waiting

room full of people who kind of look like you. Yeah. And it's so surreal. You're like, oh, that's what I would look like if I was two inches taller. Oh, that's what I would look like with hair. Or, you know, like, whatever the thing is. Sure. It doesn't really happen anymore.

Yeah. So you might have been at one of the last auditions where people actually get to go on a room. Went into a room. Physically, yeah. And sat and looked across the room and other people had made choices. He made big choice. And, oh, they're dressed like a soccer player. Are they?

Yeah. You can see that, like, people have made a different choice than you. Yeah. You don't know if it's the right choice. Sure. And clearly it wasn't. Yeah. You made the right choice.

He stood out. How did you, like, did you grow up, grow up, even though you were seven when you auditioned for this? But, like, did you always, do you just remember always wanting to be an actor? I actually never really thought about it when I was little. I was always very, like, shy and reserved. So it was my siblings who did background work. Oh, wow. And my parents kind of was like, okay, like, would you like to try it out?

And I was like, okay, why not? It sounds fun. Sure. And then also doing like printwork. When it came to signing with an agency, it was just me and my other sister because I have quite a couple siblings. How many? How many of you are there? I have four siblings.

That's right. So I'm the youngest of five. And- It's all girls. No, not all girls. Four girls and one boy. One boy. Okay, got you.

Gotcha. The boy and my brother, he's the oldest. Okay. And I kind of just thought that I would just be doing background work. and print work. I did like an H&M photo share remember a campaign for them. How old were you the first like print work

or commercial or anything like that? The first job that you got held. That was the first thing you ever did. Ooh, that's a good question. I think I was around like seven. So pretty little. I was so pretty fresh to everything. I didn't really know too much about it.

It's got to be hard to remember since you were just new to memories period. It's true. It's true. It's to have to be some of your earliest full-blown memories. Yeah. And that This Is Us was your first ever pilot audition, like audition for a TV show? Wow.

And you booked it? And I didn't know what to expect at all, so I was very excited for where it was going to go. I was like, I don't know, but I'm so happy. So you've got all these siblings at home, and now you've been introduced to your TV siblings. Yeah. First with ERIS, then with Leris. than with lyric. What was it like growing up literally on television with two sisters?

Two sisters. Two fake TV sisters. It was lovely. I enjoyed every second, like even just like all of us together as like a family. And then when we got, everyone really got to be together. And I remember meeting airs for the first time. Like we instantly connected. Like we like it wasn't just like on set.

We were working with each other. We're also hanging out with each other outside of set. I remember we'd plan like, when are we going to go, like, eat dinner together? And our parents had each other's numbers. And we'd go have lunch or dinner or go shopping. And it was just always, like, so much fun with her. I always enjoyed it. And then when lyric came along.

When lyric came along, I was like, ooh, we get to have a sister. I'm very excited for that. So we just, I remember being, I think we were working that day on set, but we weren't called to set yet. we had to do a reading they told us with someone who could potentially be um the lyric's character yeah deja yeah yeah and um we had the reading with um lyric i was really nervous but i was excited and when i saw her and stuff so when i found out that lyric booked it i was like really excited did you only read with with lyric or did you read with other actors too

i think i'm trying to remember i don't remember that one too much but maybe it was like maybe a couple other people, not too many. Sure. I know I read with two other girls. So I think they brought in three girls for like the final round. But Sue and I read with them. I'm imagining you probably read with them. But they dressed like soccer players.

They were out. They made the wrong choice. Yeah. Yeah. But it was pretty small and it was very quick. But when Lyric joined, like she also like we all instantly connected. And it was just like another addition to the family. And it was really exciting.

You guys were always thick as thieves. Like any time I happened, and granted, we didn't have too much crossover when we were all present day and like the entire Pearson family was together. Rebecca was around. We all got to hang out. But like anytime I sort of spied you guys on set, it was like the three of you were a little unit, like a real family. It was amazing. How did you find the camaraderie between, let's pretend he's not here, Sterling and Susan? Like, how is it to work with them?

And do you remember, like, any advice? Maybe they imparted on you while you guys were working together. I loved working with them. They're great two-parents. Correct answer. Correct answer. We can continue. I'm not here.

I'm not here. I'm not here at all. And they were just, since it was all so new to me, and it was like a learning experience every day, getting to. to work with them and just like witness like their work in like on set every day was always amazing. I always admired them and we like have so much fun on set. They'd always like laugh and make jokes with us and just also like talk to us personally and how we were doing. And then when it came to advice like if we needed anything like they come and talk to us and stuff. And it's just it's

always nice to have amazing TV parents on and outside of set. So they're amazing people, and I always love to work with them every second. It goes both ways. So this is what I have to tell you all about faith with an E. Professional from day one. Oh, yeah. Like was always ready to go. New her lines.

Always pleasant, right? Like, easy to just sort of was game. Like if she got a piece of directions, you're like, okay. And then she'd do it and you'd be like, oh, she took the direction. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? It wasn't just like an okay for the sake of okay. Like she's very bright.

And you can see her synthesize information and sort of just move with it. Timing. Like she became like the one-line assassin, your queen where she would just drop stuff in and be like, she just stole my freaking seed, you know what I'm saying? I've been working hard at this. And this young lady, Faith with a knee, just stole my daughter. I remember one thing, a couple of things from season one in particular that I want to ask you about. Do you remember this whole thing we did with the balloons when we were outside?

At your old house, right? Oh, in front of the house on location? Yes. You know what I'm talking about? And something wasn't going right. Do you remember this? Oh, yes, I do. And it was one of the few times where I was like, all right, Faye.

we got this. We're going to keep it. Like, tell me, tell me what you remember about it. Because I, because you wanted to get it right. And it was something, what was happening? Something was happening and it just wasn't going the way we wanted it to go. Yeah, I don't know. It was a little bit of a silly day.

Like, I, I wasn't feeling well that day already. So I was kind of like getting over, like, being sick and stuff. She's like, I remember it. Yeah. And my mom knows I was, I was not feeling my best. Yeah. You know, I didn't want that. to get in the way of, you know, being excited and being involved into the scene.

But I don't know why, but that popper was not popping. Like, I was, like, trying my hardest to twist it. That's what it was. It was, like, I was struggling so much. With the streamers. Yeah, those streamers. And I was already kind of feeling, like, weak and stuff like that. So it kind of got the best of me.

And I was like, I didn't really want it to. So I tried to have my mom had, like, a moment with me and was there for me and, like, checking in on me. But yeah, it was a little bit. It was a moment because, yeah, like, I remember it wasn't popping, it wasn't popping. That's right. And her face is like a little cherub, just a little cute face. And you all of a sudden you just see like tears.

And I was like, Faith, we got this. It's going to be okay. Because she's just on it all the time. Yeah, you're a professional. And it's like you want to deliver and do what is asked of you. Yeah. But sometimes there are situations that are completely. out of our control.

Yeah. Like, if a popper's not going to pop, if there's nothing we can really do about it. That's on props. Yeah, exactly. That is props fault. It was sent an email. We love the props team.

They're amazing. They were loving. Of course, of course. Here's it. And I'm going to come back to something else. But like, I would often tease you because Faith was doing like big projects while we were doing the show.

Like, I was like, okay, Hollywood. I see you because Faithly and Shazam. Yeah. Oh, yes. And stealing Shazam. I would go to the mood and I'm like, you better go, baby! I would get hype because she was so good. And then we're doing our network television show, Faith popping up in Watchman, baby.

Oh, yeah. Faith and Watchman, like, doing the dead gum thing. I was like, all right, well, we'll just sit back on our little network show and let Faith through a thing. So what was it like sort of comparing and contrasting being on set with us? And each set has its own sort of vibe and its own sort of mojo. Like, what was it like going from place to place? How did you compare and contrast the different environments?

And you've done more since then. So, like, just talk to me about that a little bit. I feel like with being on this as us, since it was my, like, first big project and my first show, I've learned a lot, like, growing up and being on there. So kind of what I've learned on set with being in this community from the cast and crew, I've brought it over to those other sets.

And it was really nice to meet those other people. I remember it's funny because when getting miced, like you have a lot of different ways you get miced up. And I remember one day on Shazam, I kind of got to do it myself. I was like, oh, I think I kind of know how to do it because I learned from being on set, from them always like just doing it and paying attention and stuff.

So that was pretty funny. I remember that. I got it. I can handle it now. I know how to mic myself. I think I got some sense of direction on how to do this. Yeah. But yeah, I think I just, I was able to remember from what I've learned on set and like carried

it over to those ones as well. And everyone was always very nice. And it was, it's interesting to see how differently every casting crew works. Yeah. So very, very good learning experience. One of the first scenes where we really got. to see. I was about to bring this. Go.

I mean, you have a very quiet scene with Ron Sevis Jones. Yeah. William, our heart. Yeah. And we meet this little girl who has these words of wisdom for this grown man. Grown man.

Grown, on the stairs. What do you remember about working with Ron? Because we talk about him a lot on the podcast. But it was an incredible moment on television. Yeah. I was pretty excited to do that scene because Annie, she's very, I feel like she's pretty similar to me, very quite. She's the youngest, so she's kind of reserved herself, but very observant. Oh, yeah.

So I feel like as I went back and I watched the show, it was nice to see and have this scene with Mr. Ron and being able to see the bond and relationship between. Annie and Grandpa William was really nice because they, because like she hasn't known him for so long. Yeah. So, you know, like they spent some time together and then you get to see this closeness and stuff. And then her being vulnerable with him sharing her story on like when she went to a sleepover, like if she would have left, she would have been sad. So like if you leave, you're going to be sad. And then I also noticed like that's her showing her like emotional maturity, which is really nice because she's so young. So you would have never thought, like, her, like, saying this.

Like, oh, this is coming for me. Like, that's surprising. Yeah, very surprising. But it was really comforting. And it was a lovely scene of film. I'm very glad that we got to do that. Yeah. And see the relationship between the two.

Special standout scene for sure. When you work on your scenes, I'm curious, especially, you're 18 now, but you're seven when you first start doing these things. Like, is it just saying lines for you? you or do you understand like emotionally where that person is? Like I'm curious for you in terms of your own maturation process, like how attuned you were to like the emotions under the lines at the time. Or is it one of those things where you just do them over and over again until like they

start to like sink in and affect you in a particular way? Or did you have like, oh, what is it that I'm trying to do when I say this from the beginning? Yeah. Yeah, because it's like you want to know what's going on. You want to know what is going on personally with your character. So I feel like asking questions and then like, yes, like doing it over and over helps because that's one thing that I had to like discover and figure out where I wanted to go with these certain scenes with Annie. And I feel like as I've gotten older like doing like character dives and like really learning about your character.

really helps you like go on these different journeys and figure out where you want to go in these scenes. Yeah, that's something I feel like it was a process that I didn't have too much in the beginning though. Right. Yeah, I didn't know too much of it and how to study my character so much. I mean, how could you at seven? That's what I'm saying. It's impossible. Because you're doing this at a way younger age than I did.

Like the first player I ever did, I was 14. Mandy Moore was younger. Chris, when you start? 14. Around 14 or whatnot. And I'm wondering what kind of choices I could have been able to make when I was seven. Because you've made really good choices, like throughout the course of the show. And I don't know if I've ever actually asked this question specifically. But what is your relationship like to acting?

Is it something that you want to do in perpetuity? Is it something that like you see like it was fun to do for a particular period of time in your life? Like, how do you relate to it right now? I feel like at the time, it was very fun for me. Yeah. And I got to spend, especially on the show, we got to spend so much time with these characters and working with everyone. So I feel like it grew my love for acting that I didn't know that I had before. And it just, it made that watch stronger for me. That I really do want to be in this industry, that I really want to continue it. Because every time. I'm getting an audition.

Like, I'm so excited. I'm like, this is so fun. Like, this is something new that I get to do. And they're all so different in every way. Yeah. I love the process. I love the work that goes into it. And I want to keep doing it.

Like, it's something that I really enjoy. And I truly love. This is your jam. You feel it. Like, this is, you can hold on to this for a minute. I have a question sort of more generally, broadly speaking about the show. When did you realize, like, what? how big the show was and how much it meant to fans.

Like, do you remember a particular moment where you were like, whoa, this is sort of beyond anything I could have ever expected? And I'm sure you had maybe interactions with people in your life, like maybe coming up to you on the street or strangers that wanted to talk to you about being on the show. That's a good question. When do you remember that, like, really becoming a parent to you? Probably around, like, when I was like maybe 10 years old, I feel like I kind of like took in the information that they were giving. Not that, like, I ignored anything they said, but, like, just coming to that realization,

because you never know how big the project could be. Sure. And I've always heard, like, how important the show was to people. Were you allowed to watch the show? I did watch. Oh, I did watch the show. You did? I did watch the show.

Every Tuesday I watched the show. Oh. Did you block anything out or you just watched? Okay. She watched. Yeah. Okay. Yeah.

Anything if I had to, I'll. cover my eyes, but otherwise, like, you know, I watched every single episode. I wanted to tune in and I wanted to see it. And I was always so excited. I was like, no way I get to see myself on TV right now. Like, this is insane. That's fun for you? For younger me, it was fun. Like, I, yes, it was like, oh, my God, I don't really, you know, I'm a little picky on myself. But I was so little, so it was like, I was like, I'm just excited to see myself. Like, I mean, I'm still excited. I was 35. That's fun for me. Yeah. I also love it.

It's always a fun experience. I love it. And it feels so surreal. Like I couldn't believe that I could see myself. But it's just like, you know, like when you get when I was becoming a teenager and stuff, like I'm like, I don't really like the way I look in that scene. But I'm like, it can't be picky. You just, you know.

I mean, that's a part of growing up no matter what. You're just living your teenage life like on the big screen. It's magnified for everybody. But was there a moment you remember when the show, You were like, the show, the show is big. Like, I'm on this big TV show. This is kind of crazy. I'm just curious as a young person, like, how that affects you.

I feel like maybe I'd say going back to school, I had, like, people at school, like, in the staff that would watch the show and say how much they loved it. And then also hearing, like, just other stories on how much people connected to it and could relate to it with these characters. I was like, wow. that's like everyone really does watch it. Like, I remember even having a classmate was like, my parents watch the show. And I was like, that's crazy. And they couldn't believe that.

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Was it the first time that we won Best Ensemble? Oh, at the Saga Awards. That was amazing. Because we did win twice. We did win twice. But when we were all there, and you were there. And I mean, everyone was there. Not just the five, seven, or eight of us.

Right. And it was this giant, and we will put the photo on the screen right now of all of us holding the actor, awards. Yeah. They're now the actor awards. Yeah. And at the time, one of those weighed, you know, the same amount that you did. They're heavy. They were so heavy. They were so heavy. I was like, whoa, I didn't expect that. Yeah, totally. It was like a giant dumbbell. They now have like a stand next to the microphone. So if you win, you can put it on the stand so you don't have to hold it all the time. Because it's that heavy. They're like 15, 20 pounds.

It's heavy. It's not, yeah. But that photograph is. still one of my favorite photos. It's like us kind of like going crazy or something. Yeah, yeah. All of us cheering. Yeah. Yeah. And there must be 20 of us. Yeah, it was a big group. Yeah, it was really big. 25 cast members. Were those experiences fun for you? Yeah, it was my first time there. I didn't really know much about the Saga Awards at the time. And I was like, you get to dress up. You get to wear a dress. You get to get ready. And I went with my mom the first time. I believe I went with my dad the second time. And I remember. It was my mom's birthday, too. What a birthday gift? Yeah, and then just seeing everyone outside of set,

and we were all, like, you know, dressed up and stuff. That was very exciting. It was always fun to, like, get dressed up and see everybody, like, oh, we're outside of, like, the office. Especially when we all got to be together. Yeah. And to be recognized as an ensemble. By our peers.

Yeah, because, I mean, I didn't get to see. I don't get to. work with everyone, like at least I guess like the younger versions like Lonnie McKenzie and, you know, and Parker. And then you have your teenagers. So getting to really see everyone, that was really exciting. As we got further down into the seasons, you even got to see yourself, your character transported into the future, right?

An older version of Annie was cast. What was that experience? That's a good question. It's surreal. Yeah, that was crazy when I found out that I was going to have an older version. And I was like, oh, I'm so curious, like, how is she going to look? How did she think she looked? I think it's pretty identical.

The casting was pretty mind-blowing, right? Yes, it was. We've just gotten to this point in the podcast and watching the show. And I was watching it with my husband, and he was like, that's Annie. He called it immediately. He called it immediately, like, didn't remember. We get to this point in the show where seasons four and five are like a little fuzzier. We remember six.

We remember one and two. But yeah, it's funny. Like even just totally like out of context, he like was walking across as I was watching. He was like, it's Annie. I'm like, yeah, you're right. Yeah, it was really good. And then even like with cautioning to see like how Annie dresses in the future, that was exciting to see. I loved it.

Yeah, she has kind of a bohemian vibe to it. That's really cool. Yes. And continue to wear her like colorful cardigans. That's right. That's right. I loved it. Here's a question.

How do you feel just, I mean, in life from. seven to now 18. Because you're always sweet, always very respectful, what have you. How do you feel, are you a different person? Are you the same person? In what ways do you think you have changed, right? Like, just as a person. I'd say I'm different from when I was younger.

Being 18 is such an awkward age. There's, like, change that happens, but nothing. I mean, I guess it's pretty big for me, because, you know, I was so little and I was working on the show and then, you know, then you're a teenager and then you're in high school and then you experience that and as you're working and then now I'm in college, which is like a crazy different experience. And I didn't know how to, how it would go. I was really nervous and stuff, but I was like it was a very exciting chapter that I was ready for. I think you'll find as we can attest and as the show. this is us can attest the ages don't get any less awkward as you continue forward.

Yes. Just different levels of challenge. Everything has its own challenge. I'm curious for you, as you just sort of told us that this is your passion, right? You want to be an actor. This is what you're studying in school. Do you have sort of a dream role? Is there something like, are there kinds of parts or projects that you tend to gravitate towards more or you're looking to do?

And then, like, ultimately, what is the ultimate dream? That's a good question. Good question, Mandy. Yeah, that's amazing. You know, it's like sometimes you're like, oh, yeah. I want to do a horror film or, like, a musical would be so fun. Like, there's, like, all of us have our own little, like, you know, pet projects that you're dreaming one day might come to fruition. Mandy wants to do a horror musical.

A horror musical. Yeah, that's nice. I mean, when I was, it's funny, when I was little, I always wanted to do a superhero movie. Oh. So when I got the audition for Shazam, I was, I was so excited. I was like, no way I get to audition for superhero. So that was something that I really wanted right now. That's bucket list, yeah.

When I think about it. I don't know. I don't know. I'm kind of like, I'm open. All everybody. You're open to everything. But I'm open to everything. I feel like I've had auditions for some.

scary movies. And I'm curious how this side is like, I get, not nervous. I get scared watching those movies, but I still watch them. And I'm, I'm curious on how the filming processes and if it really is scary, like being on set. I feel like that would be a lot of fun. I bet it would like diffuse the tension and the fear a little bit. You probably watch. If you wind up doing it. If you did a scary film, you would probably realize like, oh, actually. Yeah. I've seen like, silly. Exactly. It's kind of silly. Have you guys done horror? No.

Not, no. Getting ready to. You are? That's right. That's so exciting. One of those, I get to be, I get to turn into a werewolf. No way. That's so cool.

That's all I'm going to say. Oh my goodness. And then you get to know all the fun details that went into it. And then when you watch it, you're like, I know what happened right here. I know how that works. Yeah. Yeah. Wow.

A werewolf. I'm so excited. I'm so excited for you. Is there anything about you that you think people would be surprised? surprised by. Like, you think people may read you for one thing, but like, what's something about you that you think people would find surprising?

I don't know. Huge M.MA fan. Mixed martial artists, too. She's not even a fan. Like, she is a... Yeah, yeah, yeah. She's a fighter. Oh, that's hard.

I know. Also, don't tell them. Let it be a surprise. It can be a surprise. How about you'll just surprise people. They'll have to wait and see. I'm curious. Are there any... fun or funny stories from like the show that really stand out to you.

Like anything that happened on set. I know you guys were getting into trouble. You guys were only laughing. Honestly, that's when I think about like the Pearson family, your Pearson family, I was like, no, it was only like a barrel of, ours was not a barrel of laughs. No? Well, no, we definitely had our laughs. But every time I looked over at the three of you, you were all laughing about something.

Yeah, you guys had like your own. inside secrets. So I want to know. Inside jokes. Oh my gosh. I loved eating around you guys. It was like always so much fun. Like when the cameras weren't rolling, we were always laughing.

We were. Especially ERIS, she always had something funny and stuff. Like, I loved it. Yeah. It was great. I feel like towards the end you guys started doing TikToks. Yeah, there's a lot of TikToks. Oh, yeah.

I remember I had ERIS do like a TikTok with me even like when we weren't rolling. On like one of the episodes, that was pretty funny. You'd do that like outside of the set. and stuff. And then when we'd have like the big gatherings with like Thanksgiving and Christmas, those are really exciting, like all of us together and stuff because normally like we don't get to see everyone. I know.

So that was always a lot of fun. I love those episodes. And just to see what the Pearson's like their family traditions were. Yeah. Like for Thanksgiving. That was really nice. Yeah. Yeah, it was a good time, man.

Like there's something. Like every once in a while I have these pictures of you guys at my house. The only, like, kept a couple of things from the show. And it's really just, like, pictures of you and heiress and lyric. And me and Sue, when we were younger. And it's sort of just surreal for me. I'm not your parents. They're your parents.

Right? But I got a chance to see you, like, grow up, right? And there's nothing, like, faith is not the person that ever had to be, like, rained in or anything. You know what I'm saying? And like, every once I was like, Ares, we're shooting. Ares, we're shooting the show now. And she's like, oh, sorry, sorry. You know what I'm saying?

But, like, Faith was always just sort of like taking it all in. And she's like, I know it's time to shoot. Like, you don't have to tell me. Like, I'm ready. Yeah. You know, and it's, I don't know, man. Like, I feel like, thank you guys. I'm pointing to their parents because I only have two boys,

but I kind of feel like I got a chance to raise three girls, too. even though I didn't, but like kind of. In your own way. It is. I mean, we spent so much time together. So much. Yeah. It was a joy.

Like, it was a joy to see how you consistently showed up, like, really ready. Like, there was even a moment like in season six where I was like, I think, I think Faith needs to have, like, she wasn't on the train for a moment. And I remember reading the first one. I was like, Dan, I think we had to have faith on this train. Yeah. And he's like, yeah, we do. Because you were just, you made everything better. Like these lines that they would give you.

Like, did you know that you were as funny as you were? I don't think I did. Sometimes I'd say things and then I was like, oh, that's pretty funny. Like, that's what I loved about Annie. I feel like she wasn't trying, it wasn't intentional. Like sometimes she just say things. And then like, but she really knowing. much she was saying sometimes.

I don't know. Like one of the episodes I remember about her having her inhaler and Beth giving it to her. And she's like, my vice is asthma. And then she's like, his is cocaine. And then it's like, do you know what's going on? Yeah. Like that was pretty funny. Nothing speaks by her.

Yeah. And then even I remember like at the dinner table, like the knock knock jokes like trying to distract. Like there were certain things. Like maybe I realized, yeah, that was pretty funny. Yeah. But not all the time. There was one. I realize.

When Malik's family came over to the house and you're like, I want a baby. Oh, wait. I remember that. Yes, that dinner. That awkward dinner. I want one like she was holding the baby. And then Annie, Annie said some comment. I don't remember exactly what it was.

But she was like something like, doesn't that make Deja the stepmom? Yes. Yeah. You guys are like, Annie, what? Yeah. And, you know, we are always excused from that dinner table. Like, they're like,

okay, that's the knock, guys. Was the knock, was the knock, joke in the episode I directed? Was it?

When there, we had a big dinner table of the scene, where, again, you guys were dismissed from the table. Yeah. Yeah.

It happened a lot. Yeah, because we had that little, like, seeing, um, in the living room together. Yeah.

And he's just like, okay, when I tug on me ear, like, you're going to say the knock knock joke, have you said them? And I was like, not in a while.

Yeah. But I did it anyways. We meet, Tess and Annie showed up It didn't work out. It didn't work out. Dude, but you, but you, it was funny.

You worked out each and every time. Like, your, your mom and dad was such beautiful people, right? Like, you, you come from such a solid background. Well, here's the other part, too, the whole time around the show. You guys commuted from San Diego the whole time. Yeah. Like, mom, you tell me about waking up, like, early, early. Like, what do you remember about?

did you just sleep in the car? Did you ever try to keep your mom a company? Like, how did it normally go? Oh, my goodness. Yeah, it was pretty early. And then having to drive from San Diego to Lai, like sometimes it's two hours or three hours. And I remember I would love to, you know, stay up with my mom.

But then she's like, think that's okay. Like you could go see. It was like, oh, you can't comfy, you know. That's off to mom and dad for all of that driving, all of the miles that you put on the car. And going back at night. Like you never like, how often did you guys stay in L.A. if you had to have an early call the next day?

Did you always go back home? Usually I'd always go back home. But sometimes, yeah, we had moments where we stayed in hotels. Like if we were there for like maybe like two days and stuff, so we'd stay up. So it was nice that we were like, oh, now we're like 15 minutes away from the studio. Much easier. It's a much easier commute. Much easier.

But yeah, my mom and dad, they always brought me like pillows and blankets and made sure that I was comfortable and getting the sleep that I. I needed. And even like with school with my mom, like when they would send me off my school with like, okay, this is the work that you're going to be doing while you're on set and Ms. Monique would make sure that I would do it. If there was something that I didn't finish, but I had finished school, my mom would even stop like at a restaurant and like we'd like eat dinner and then I'm doing schoolwork on the side to make sure that I got my school in. Because the next morning, I just go back to school and, you know, and continue going from where I left off. So how How is that? Going back and forth between like going to actual school, like, attending with your friends and then like doing school on set, like, did you feel like people regarded you different or treated you different?

Was it a weird thing to jump back and forth between those two worlds? Yeah, it was a little weird on how to navigate it. And I didn't really know how school was going to be. I was like, I'm going to be missing some school. Like, how am I going to be able to keep up with the work? But I had really amazing teachers that were always there for me and making sure that I had all the schoolwork that I needed. They had a schedule planned out for me. Even when it came to taking tests, I'm like, I'm going to miss a test day. But they're like, no, here's the packet.

And then you get to do that with your studio teacher and then give it back to us. So they made it very organized and easy for me to be able to stay on track with everyone, which was really nice. So it didn't make me feel like I was excluded or anything. and I was still getting my schoolwork in and learning. So it was really nice to have that support. Did you feel like people treated you differently or looked at you differently or no? Maybe, I don't know. It was kind of weird, like being younger, because you don't really think of it.

You just want to make friends in school and stuff like that, and you want to be friendly to everyone and stuff. And maybe other nine-year-olds aren't watching the show. Yeah, maybe. They know you're doing it. But, like, kids pick up on, like, the sort of hard-bed-assence growing up? I did, I did. I hear what you?

I think probably for Faith, I'm guessing, because she's so mellow and sort of unassuming with it. Like, if Faith had showed up with, like, a big old, like, this is a swag bag on. Yeah, like, sorry, guys. I was on set last night. My mom's got to commute, so I can't make it to this thing in my jigger. Sorry, so I'll see you next time.

Yeah, I'm sure everything was very understated. You know what I'm saying? She probably just kept it like mellow or whatnot and nice and easy. She did bring her SAG Award to school, though. Oh, I brought that. I was like, hello, this is my saga word, guys. Did you? Show and tell.

Yeah. The thing that I, but what you're talking about, Mandy, is interesting because I had this feeling of feeling like the same person, but other people were now responding to me differently. Yep. Even though I felt like I'm just, you know, doing me or whatnot, but other people would sort of be like, oh my gosh. And so to that extent, do you feel like other people would sort of look at you differently, even if you felt like the same person?

Yeah, because I definitely felt like the same person. I didn't want to be treated any differently and stuff. So maybe, like, at times I felt like I didn't know people's intentions sometimes. But then I still had, like, those close friends at school that were always there and supportive for me and didn't treat me differently. And those are the people that you value probably the most because, like, oh, they know me for me. Yeah. And not for anything else that I'm doing in the world. Yeah.

Because it gets harder, like, when you get older and then you move into middle school and high school and, like, trying to navigate and find, like, who your real friends are. Yeah. So it's because it's like you don't want to assume with people because I, and that's like, it was hard for me. I'm like, I don't know. But I feel like I had a pretty good like normal experience of being treated not differently. And I was able to have that elementary middle school and high school experience and find those friends, which I'm very thankful for. And then I also had people around me who kept me grounded. I had my siblings.

I had my parents and my cousins and everyone. For me, I felt fine. Okay. Like, yes, like you go through those challenges and you have to figure it out, but, I mean, anyone goes through challenges. Amen. Amen. I mean, to a certain extent, to the same extent, like, it's funny because you're dealing with this at a much younger age. And maybe like as the show sort of comes down from the Zika, it's like we're four years away from it right now.

But I do remember thinking for a period of time, I was like, how do I know why people want to be? around me. You know what I'm saying? And I'm sure, Mandy, like, for you, for someone who's been in the public eye for an extended period of time as well, like, how do I know people are hanging with me because they just like Mandy and not sort of like the spheres that come around Mandy? You know what I mean? Like, is that something that you felt like you had to negotiate at all? I think the older you get, the more dug in to who you are. I think you're just, you become more perceptive of like, that feels off or that doesn't feel genuine. Like, I think as a younger person, it's harder to navigate that. Right. Um, um, especially like, I think I'm sort of a

recovering people pleaser. So I always just wanted to like, you might suffer from the same thing. You just like you want, you, you treat everybody well and you just expect that like the world at large is going to do the same for you. And sometimes that's not always the case. And I just feel like as I've gotten older, I've learned to sort of maybe pick up on things that don't feel entirely genuine. That's a good way to think you kind of just feel it. And I, since I have, like, all these older siblings and all my cousins, like, they go through experiences as well. And, like, I go and talk to them, you know, for advice and stuff. And also, of course, go to my parents as well. Right. So I feel like that was very helpful for me. Yeah. Like you're saying to a certain extent, I think,

I can see and learn from other people's experiences too and not just my own. Yeah. Which is she's smart. She's smart. Is there anything you're excited about right now in your life that you want to tell people about or where can people find you on socials if that's something you want them to be able to do? Oh, I have Instagram, TikTok and Twitter. Of course you do. Just under my name, Faith Herman.

Faith with an E. With an E. Yes. Thank you so much. But I'm just, I'm excited for the chapter of my life. life that I'm in right now for school. I'm very excited to see where that goes. And I'm enjoying every second right now. So I really, I really like it. I just have to say, like, there are so many of our children on the show that have prioritized school. And I feel like it is so unbelievable, you know,

that like, that even though you're an actor and you're a working actor and this is something that you want to pursue, like watching Niles, lyric, like people that are just sort of like school is And that's something that I want to experience too. I just, I applaud and commend you for that. I think it's like it's a once in a lifetime experience. It's when I didn't have. So I like whenever I see other young people who are working but still prioritize that, I just, I think it's incredible.

You won't regret it. You're a bomb young lady. You are. It's been a joy to watch you grow up. I can't wait to see what the next 10 years has to offer you. Don't forget about your boy. Give me a job. Yeah, exactly.

when you're directing one day. That's what I'm seeing. We're all looking for work. Okay, cool. Consider us all open. Yes, that is my dream. We look forward to it. Thank you for joining us.

Thank you so much for having me. I'm so thankful I got to see you guys. I missed you guys so much. We miss you too. And your parents. Ladies and gentlemen, this was Faith Herman with an E. Thank you for joining us. We appreciate you being here.

Would you do me a favor? Would you look into your camera? And would you tell them the name of this show? show. That Was Us. That Was Us is filmed at Rabbit Grin Studios and produced by Rabbit Grin Productions. Music by Taylor Goldsmith and Griffin Goldsmith. Da da da da-da-da-dum. That was us.

That was a hit gum podcast.