That Was Us - Milo Ventimiglia and Us | Jack Pearson

Episode Date: October 15, 2024

It’s the episode you’ve all been waiting for… Milo Ventimiglia, aka Jack Pearson, is in the house! And you know what? ENOUGH SAID. Follow That Was Us on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Threads, and X! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mani- No, no, no, I can't I. Mani Moore. 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. 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're going to get this particular guest. When? And he's finally arrived. What's your name, man? Milo Ventimilia. In the house. In the house. I'm here. Finally.

I'm here. What's up, dude? None of mush, man. 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, no, no, no, I'm here. I'm around.

It's like I didn't want to like. Thanks for making you. It was one of the 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, so. 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 were so busy doing the show in appreciating, fully appreciating the show. And we've gotten to sit down and start rewatching 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 were 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 of watching the episode? Like, where are you guys at? We finished season one. Okay. Yeah. Where the beginning of season two, like the next episode will be 202 that we sort of do. That we talk about, yeah.

We did our finale, our finale fight and talking about like all of the choreography of that. Yeah. Annie Moore with her finger under my chin. Wait, no. This is wonderful. This is wonderful. Good. Oh, God.

So I'll just start by saying, of course, we all know that man. Mandy Moore is like one of the kindest, hard of human beings. Absolutely. She is who she, who you all see her to be. Yeah. 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. And in the middle of a take, things were kind of going in a direction. I think I, as Jack was feeling it, and I was a little defensive. It got, it got hot. It got a little heated. But wait, but 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

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

it was incredible though because of course like you know that was a winner that was a long one we were in the heat of the moment yeah that was oh I know I know 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 at Ken Olin some sometimes you just have to go there we gotta get a director's cut of that that scene okay wait I actually do have a video of it in the editing room with Ken I was watching it that would be delighted

and you got the look me in the fucking face yeah yeah I have it I'll find it I'll only we were on Kulu Yeah, no, I think there was something else I kept slipping when we're doing that big oneer and I think I kept saying, God damn. Uh-huh. And you can't say, you can't say, you can't 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 did you talk to? Like, how did it first? Jack coming to your life. Bro, I had, it was straight up audition. Okay. 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, Jack, the dad. 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. 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. It sounds familiar. Very familiar. 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. Yeah. I definitely, like, connected with the character.

Yeah. But it was the same thing. I think we've all said this. Like, 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 yeah and then you know i went i had the audition pages in my back pocket i walked in and foggerman just sitting

there smiling and john and glen 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. Sure. 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. Yeah. And then you just kind of like talk. So like, yeah, I had my woobie blanket pages, my sides in my back pocket. But I was just, I was just ready to go. Yeah, yeah. 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 Dan. No, serious. 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. Okay. And there was one other guy. We know one is Alex because she told us the other day. That's right. Yep, yep, yep. Which is so funny because she was supposed to read first.

Yes. 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, man, do you ready? Mani's like, yep. Just like jump, dove in. So nervous. We talked to Alex and we said that was a power move gone wrong.

She was trying to pull like an audition power move. I need a minute. Just a minute. Yeah, maybe. Yeah, maybe. Yeah, maybe. Um, 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, uh, you literally like, bye, and just walked out. She just bounced. Uh-huh. I was nervous. Yeah, she just bounced, like, really quick. 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. Uh, and then I see Dan in the back and Dan. It's just, it's always good. Like, the producers try not to give, like, too much of a thing, but when they're happy. Yeah. He couldn't. He couldn't. He couldn't. He He didn't help himself. I think he knew immediately too.

Yeah. And it was just, you know, it was a, it was happening. 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. You know, 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, it feels like just a version of Pete, 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. Yeah, that's a signature like Milo Jack move. Yeah. Okay. Or like this one kind of like, you know, patty that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But so I was like kind of playing a version of my dad and like my best friend growing up.

Like he is a really good father to his kids. And of course, you know, like, you guys all have kids and all that. And I just like started to kind of see that and like really like plug that in like the essentials of who Jack is. Jack is. Yeah. And how he's handling 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 was one of those things where I was just like, let me just take with what I know 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. You know, it's like it would be a, it wouldn't be Jack if it wasn't for Mandy. It's like that's stuff of like what I knew. Yeah. 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 so unbelievable. Drunk acting was solid. We talked to Sam Trammell also too. And we're like, Sam was like, was like,

was like, Sam was like, was like, he was like, no, no, no, no. He was a little scared. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, he was a little bit. He said he didn't even talk on. He's like, he's like, I think Milo is just, he's gonna be over there.

And we'll show up. But we got 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, Right. 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 where, you know, and I remember like Mandy, like, walked in. And we kind of, I think we took the van together. Yeah. To, uh, because you had that big dress on. Yes. Okay. And then, uh, we get there and we walk into the room, uh, Crickie's sound room.

Yeah. In the house, in the Pearson house. And we walk in. and I just picked my chair up and left. And I saw Mandy just... Yeah, it was like, oh, it's like that. Oh. Okay. Got it.

Got it. All right. But it is, it's a necessary thing. Like, for people who are on the outside 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 headspace that I need to maintain in order to make this scene work. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? Yeah. 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 congratulate. Oh, thanks, man. Yeah. Appreciate that. Yeah, yeah.

Yeah, I got married last year. Welcome to 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 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 my co-stars.

I feel like I truly only show up for them, not for myself, like show up for them first. Yeah. 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 going to 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, approached 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's 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, like, fuck, I loved all those kids, too. You know, like, really, truly still just, like, look at them and, like, they're growing up. I started crying, you know? I think there's, we've talked about it several times

at the theme on the podcast about who populates this world. And 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. Or that's, 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. Yeah. Like our demographic, the people who are watching our show had grown up watching you 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. Yeah. I love this guy. Well, also, too, I mean, you know, for a majority of any of our careers and them being in television, we are in people's homes. Right, right. We're there, we're eating meals with them.

We're in bed with them. Yes. Yeah. More importantly, yes. More importantly, yes. That's what I like to be. 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. How did it affect you?

But also, did you feel like a certain sense of responsibility? because Jack was a superhero. I mean, still is. It's like when people comment on the show, it's like 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 Fogam, and I was like going through something in my personal life and I was sitting with Fulgman, 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, because everybody expects that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I'm like, look, 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. Sure. Like vocal tone, dress, hair, make, I mean, shit, I got my beard and I'm wearing something. I feel like jacking out. Yeah, you're jacking out right now. Yeah, no, no, I know, a little bit. Jacking out, jacking out.

Checking out. No, no, no, no, jacking out. It's a new thing. There's going to be T-shirts, the NBC store now. Are you jacking out? That's right. That's right. It'll be a planal T-shirt.

A plan-l t-shirt. Yeah, only on this was us podcast. Jacking out. Merchantbacks coming out. 2025. More that was us after this short break. It's Rona Week. Now until Wednesday.

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I want to have my own space. and I want my space to be in the middle of the action. I don't want it to be where all of the hotels are located. Sure, you don't want to be removed from the action. No, I want to be in the city. I want to be amongst the people. Yes. Feel local.

I want to feel like a local. Yeah. And the best way to do that is to stay in someone's home. I love that. I love that. While you're away from home and traveling, your home could be an Airbnb. What better way to earn a little extra money or offset some of your other travel expenses? This year, I'm going away for work.

I might be gone for six to eight months at a time. And so not only do I need to find the perfect place to stay where I am going, but while I'm gone, I could list my home or our brand new guest house on Airbnb for whoever may be looking for that perfect place to stay. Well said, sir. Listen, when you're on the go a lot or are road tripping with your estranged family members exploring the complicated secrets of your past, Airbnb is a smart choice to make to ensure those trips,

no matter how simple or complicated they may be, are as smooth as possible. And your home might be worth more than you think. Find out how much at Airbnb.com slash host. Yeah, no, it was a, 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 is a handbook for living. through good, bad, or otherwise. And Jack is such an aspirational example.

Like at every turn, whether things are going poorly or things are going well. Yeah. Or, you know, he, he, 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. Mm-hmm. Like, you do, you look up to them in a way that is in this bad moment I'm having, what would they do? Yeah.

And this great moment I'm having, what would they do? Yeah, yeah. And that's just kind of like, kind of sets the tone of, and I think that was the inspirational side of the show. Yeah. 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, find

myself in a certain situation and remember a scene that I was literally in and how that argument went? Really? Wow. Wow. How it should have gone. We've all talked about how spooky it was. It felt like the writers were following us around at times. And life continues to unfold for some of the three babies, a couple of babies. You know what I mean?

And so it's, it's, it would seem spooky if you didn't type, if you didn't realize, I guess, how universal all of this is. Yeah, even in its specificity. Yeah. We say that a lot. Like, there's so much universal. And so much to learn, like, even I think, watching the, rewatching the show, like, with this new lens of being a parent now, too. I mentioned this a couple weeks ago, months ago, episodes ago, like, 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

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 phogam. That was like, no, that was like... Is this you looking at Parker?

This is, well, I don't know. You may have experienced 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 were just doing the scene. He was so honest and good.

And I think it was because he had no lot. 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 at Parker 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 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, I'm very good. You're not.

But you are not nice. You have a big heart, though. I appreciate that. But I think Randall's a big heart. I actually think Randall's. I actually think Randall. 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 lean into 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. Yeah. And that's what I would get from a lot of men was, you know, I just, I feel like I can relate to my kids.

Or I'm maybe more patient with my wife where, you know, I would have a little bit of, you know, a brick wall in front of my head and be a little headstrong as a man in situations. So, like, 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 you watch the show with you, oh, he doesn't want to cry. Maybe you should try to be a little more like Rebecca. Which is a wonderful. No, no, no, no, but that's true. That's true. That would be what a random shot. You know what Milo Ventimilia just said to me

when I tried to give him a compliment? Oh my God. Yeah, it's pretty wonderful with the impact, though. And also, too, like, you guys getting to watch it. Like, 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. You're like, now can you watch something that I've got? There's a few things I'm like, you know, this one is actually funny. Yes, this dog one will make. make you cry. Yeah, I've been in a lot of things. You know? Yeah, this one, you like baby Milo.

Yeah. 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 yeah, so I'll all like pop into the room and I'm like, oh, oh, shit. Oh. How far is she? How far is she?

She's past you guys. She just got past the Super Bowl episode. Oh, wow. Okay. Got it, got it. Yeah. So how is it hitting her? She can separate, which is nice.

She can separate Jack for me. Yes, but she just, she's like, yeah, just a fucking cry. You know? Yeah. That's one of those things. She's just crying and like taking it in and like we haven't real. I'm not asking her. I'm not badgering her.

Like, hey, so tell me about this character. Come up this scene. Yeah, yeah, of course. 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 real. Like I walk in, I'll be like, mm-hmm, okay, I got to go. Yeah.

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 act as 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. and things. You were 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 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. But still, it was like just that dynamic. And I'm like, man, I talked to my wife about everything. Yeah. 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. 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.

huge. I remember in season 6, 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 lived it for six years. Anything. Yeah, or, like, or specific episodes that stick

with you that, like, were particularly challenging or meaningful. I know it's so hard to distill down. Like, I don't know if I could answer that question. Well, it's also, I mean, in six years, you know, 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 spend or I personally spent with the kids. The teens and the little's 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 gonna be around the show's over i know we're experiencing all stuff but like i'm gonna be around the show's over so call me anytime tell the parents hey call me anytime i'm around yeah um you know it's like we all didn't get a chance to like really dance as much as actors and now that personally was like the biggest hit for me yeah because i think in a way that also was like well that's 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 right so

many moments, like the good, the bad, the whatever, it's like, we're just there in it. And like, 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. I want more interaction. This is all we get. This is all we get. Come on, please. So everybody knows, like, my was like. I was in a different tie line, 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 had a camera, he'd rolls, film, or whatnot, hey guys, he'd just be dicking around the corner. Yeah. And just, I was like, sorry, guys. You know, and he's like, is it okay?

It's okay? I was like, oh, yes, 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? Mm-hmm. And I think for the viewers, oftentimes, they were like, oh, they weren't together all the time.

And they're like, no. Cross pass and hair 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 it was, 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. Yeah. We didn't see your funeral. We've talked about it. We talked about it. We were talking about it with Logan yesterday. The first one. Oh, Logan was on.

Yeah. We had it. We zoomed with him and we were talking about that. He was like, it was really eerie. Like, Milo was there taking pictures and we're like. The ghost of Jack Pearson. And the funeral like, like, you know, I shouldn't have been there. I'm embarrassed.

No, no. 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 you're 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 i got to go no no i was you know 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. I'm like, oh, wait a minute, I can't just tuck around a corner. I actually need to remove myself from this. And maybe 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? And we know what I mean?

Like, dad, dad actually there. Oh, it was. We've talked about it before, too, but to just sort of jump in time. time to the Super Bowl episode in Jack's death. Let's talk about it. I want to get there. And Milo actually being there and not knowing that you were going to be there. Oh, in the bed?

Yeah. Oh, yeah, you didn't know. No. Oh, I knew. Of course. You guys talk about that because I don't know if they know what you did. So Super Bowl episode, of course, you know, Jack and Rebecca have a wonderful evening.

Jack has a fight with the kids. Things aren't great, but like 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 you know fire starts

everybody gets out everybody's safe we're in the hospital and I remember the day we were filming filmed all of that kind of progressively we did yeah like sequentially

which is never hardly ever the case yeah but it's like you know we had a bunch of work to do maybe had something to do by herself at the vending machines and then it just kind of dovetailed straight into you know her seeing me

And you guys are just want to say this is maybe my favorite moment of the show. What? Wow. Yeah. I'm not even, I think 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, uh, uh, I can direct that one, didn't he? No, it was John and Glenn.

Sorry, John and Glenn. Sorry, because Ken did the one before. Yes. That's right. Um, 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 to save you um and uh we we kind of want to see you in the background we're not telling mandi you're going to be there she just 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 uh melar med tech she like hooked up all the wires and everything and then i was just kind of laying there and then i hear the whole scene by the vending machine and you know i'm slowing my breathing down and and then um like mine's like doing like uh with deep siula oh yeah it's like it's like the deepest breath yeah yeah we're doing the wimhoff weapons just over your breath yeah we have a whole episode about wimha yeah yeah but so yeah so yeah so i'm like breathing deep in the fight i just kind of like let it all let it all go and i'm just 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. And it, 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're 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 present and grounded and but yeah seeing you there was just like all anybody would need to to completely just lose it yeah i think i even do like the eyes open thing yes oh yeah like i did the eyes open yeah yeah i think you can actually see that because you

Because you're reflected in the... And you can actually see that in the reflection that your eyes are open and not close. 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 is seen. It's the candy bar.

You do, bro. Yeah. Mandy, and it like, don't... It's fucking stupid what you do. It's to hold two things at the same time, that 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 to fuck she's doing this shit. Yeah. Yeah. Well, there's like, there's like a weird kind of like technical aspect of it. We're like, do I really want to be chewing on a candy bar when I walk in? I'm a dead husband.

Yeah, yeah. And yeah. And like, you handled that. Not your dick. It's just like a big, like, whopping bite of it. And then, you know, it's like swallows. Yeah. Gone.

And then has the moment wait. No. Jack? Jack. Jack. And it's, it is the moment. It is the moment. 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 there's 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. 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 on three musket tears or whatever it was.

Sure. They had like a little trash can. They were like, yeah. Stand by. Yeah. Can't eat any more candy bar. Yeah. That was a lot.

We'll be right back with more. That was us. I'm Chris Hadfield. I'm an astronaut, an author, a citizen of planet Earth. Join me for a six-part journey into the systems that power the world. Real conversations with real people. real people who are shaping the future of energy. No politics, no empty talk, just solutions focused conversations on the challenges we must overcome and the possibilities that lie ahead.

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That's Nutrafall.com, promo code T-W-U. I want to talk a little bit about the facial hair of Jack Pearson, 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 mustache or something? I did because, of course, from the pilot to the second episode originally 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 not going to look a lot younger. So I think the way we accomplished this, a man of the 80s, would give him a mustache. And he was like, I don't know. and his baby, and so then he kind of, it was a, I mean,

there 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 Fogman. Apparently he, like, was walking around, like, the production office is like, would you yes or would you know if he had a mustache? Yeah, right.

Yeah. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you. Yeah, I was trying, yeah. I understand. I got you. Yeah.

And it was polarizing. This was about six months before he could no longer do anything like that ever again. 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, um. I mean, who were the people that said no is what I was. They couldn't see it is what happened. They had to see it in what I understand.

I'm like, Milo, you could like have four heads. Like, come on. I mean, you could have the charlie chaplain. Exactly. People still. Totally. I picked carefully. I picked carefully.

You picked very well. I was like maybe the artist. Yeah. That's right. There we go. Yes. Drought waters. But I remember the first time actually I did, so I had the beard and like the beard

was like really like coming in and growing. And he said he wanted to do this when we read the second episode. And then I remember he's like, okay, yeah, go ahead and do it. And then Zoe was like, here, make, was like, hey, we got to take a mold of your face because we're going to have to build all these appliances. Like, you know, 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 and back on wait wait wait wait wait wait what this poor kid was like uh okay uh we'll call you back and he goes they don't want you to shave yet and i was like too late keep going too yeah yeah you're already halfway but then i was like oh maybe i'll fuck with them so i i did a handlebar mustache okay and i said to fuck them in i'm like what do you think like there's some big crazy eyes or something this here's the wildest ride in the wilderness yeah yeah absolute 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 going to 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 makeup. You're like, you're 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 about the rest of it. Hair pieces, get appliances, this and that. I, I didn't know, but did any of us really 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 I, and it was the same person who did all of our wig fittings. 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. 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 to full beard a full beard or a full wig is so hard to pull off yeah on film and television and i just don't think people realize like the level of your goatee, your must-et, like Williams, Williams' beard and God-Ham, like you all obviously your age makeup. Like it was just, it was astounding. Every time you guys would come on. 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. Maybe many more was part of that. I don't even know. Maybe, like, you know. Tell them a little bit, my, about the, this as us was a deep ops. About, about eating and laughing and talking, et cetera, and having it all on. Like, what was that product? You got it.

We just watched the episode with you and William sitting there laughing. And you are laughing so hard. and you're trying so hard not to... 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 goodies. I do remember every time 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 my... And my... Yeah, and I don't... So here's it. I would touch my mustache, because my mom... mustache was mine. Yeah.

So you didn't pull anything else off. So I'm not pulling anything else off. Yeah, yeah, good. And then there's Griffin, Griffin Dunn, who just shoveling stuff in his face, like, moments after. Does not care. So he put his beard and mustache on. Yeah.

Griffin does uncle Nicky who joins us later on the show. Yeah. 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 beautiful, creative artistic team around us working with us hand in hand that we're creating these characters as much as the words were yeah 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 makeup and like all of it coming together collectively was what was going to 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. Yeah.

But I also take that with me. Yeah. I took the crew with me. Yeah, you literally did. Literally. Literally took the crew with me on the last show I did. And then hand it back to Fogelman. I think I'm now angling to get everybody back.

Okay. But then what we all experienced on that set is just one for the decades. Yeah. 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 start. Okay. Did you guys have a job ahead of This Is Us that you, that you would measure every other job against.

No. No. You didn't. I was young. I was new, so I didn't have that many jobs. You my baby. I mean, because O.J. 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?

Yeah. I had an experience, well, I guess I had a couple different shows that were significant. Yeah, yeah. But there was one show that just felt different than making of it. It was a show called American Dreams. Yeah. 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, you 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? 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 things. seasons, but this was just a whole different thing. Yeah.

So I think I always still try to not replicate it, because you can't. Right. I mean, like, the whole, I had the whole crew with me on this last ABC show, I had a different experience. Yeah. 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 backed this up, I would get to say it as early as I could because 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. There was never a day that you, like, I remember showing up to work, like, oh. You have some early calls too, Mandy Moore. Oh, really is. Yeah. But 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. That had positivity built into it. And I just, I think we all were so acutely aware from the beginning like this is different. 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, not every job is like this. I hate to break it to you. I hate to break it to you. Like, this is your first gig

and like, sorry about that. Like, we've been doing this for 20, 25 years and like. Yeah, it's hard for you guys to understand, but still, I mean, even like now, like, I'll talk to Niles or something or Logan or any of them, like after a job and they're like, man, my, just, 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 yeah so will everybody else yeah you know just by being there man for shizzle like what a rare thing we get to do for shizzle yeah yeah what else how many episodes did you direct three just three yeah just three yeah you're so that's more than

i think anybody else yeah it's such a pleasure to be directed by you you you love it you clearly Love it. I do. It's a different thing. And again, I feel in that capacity a guest. Right. 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 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 Fulgman. He kind of chop up. You kind of chop. it up, reassembles it, and it's even cuter. That's true. But doesn't normally happen with babies. No, no, no, no, no, no. Which, Mandy and I've 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 in 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, the way his rhythm, 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, like, Folgerman was doing, like, classical and I was playing jazz. Yeah, okay. And I would, like, when I handed it over, I'm like, hmm. 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 how to call with Ken. I asked him like, 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 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. how do you like how did you do like manage that for not deal how did you manage that within yourself as an

artist and i just you know i just i would just i would i would i would um i would direct and then i just started like handing it off and he literally he told me he would just he wouldn't cut them yeah so he didn't have that personal sure man i would have taken it in the same way yeah yeah and you know and fogerman 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. Too much, I couldn't, I couldn't, I couldn't prep. I didn't have time to prep. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. What I, what we were going to do was I was going to direct the first episode, first, maybe two episodes back of the second season. Okay. Just because then, okay, cool,

I can prep, I could get my acting stuff in line. Because I was also on that show, I was doing story docs. I was doing, um, uh, outline, story docs outlines, uh, studio drafts. Um, um, um, um, 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. Right.

Yeah. Made the soup delivered the soup. Yeah. People love soup. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. 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, not everybody's mile. 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 because, like, there was emotion there or whatever. But you truly have, like, ruined me for working with anybody else because I'm like, no one's going to be my. Like, just, 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 experience here and you just try and put a little bit a little bit of that in infuse it in absolutely you know like maybe it inspires somebody that you're so on top of your shit that someone's going to be like wow man mandy more really brought it so like i got i got i got to i got to make sure that

i'm prepared for her you know absolutely oh don't all shucks me now too yeah yeah yeah They are shucks on this couch. You guys are a beast. Ah, shuck. Yeah. We're running low, but this was a joy. A joy. You are a joy.

Likewise, man. Wow of Intramalia. And I know that our audience is going to 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 weird time. It's weird.

It's, I feel like the sleeping giants, like, just slowly yawning awake and things are popping up. Development, as we all know, was a slog. A long, bro, like, we got to sit and talk about something. But, like, nothing, like, yet, 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 very unful. fortunate thing and you know they're 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 like i was like wow

yeah being with family and people that you love yep exactly so yeah i've soaked it up best i can spent time with my family my friends surf my brains out and now i'm like all right cool guys ready to work yeah it's time to go so yeah 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 pretty big. It's pretty big and also everyone's like... 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. There's 30 hot shots. All at one time, it's like, 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 goodness. 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 because I'm, like, focused on life and 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 100 photos. And it took a while to prep. Yeah. Because I, like, you don't want to, like, drop them, like, one and then, like, take time.

I'm like, no, here's, like, blah. All of them. All of them. Yeah. And so I put up 100 photos. was all in the course of like it took me three minutes to upload everything um after i had like prepped it yeah yeah i'm just like push the button push the button push the button push the button but the next day buzz viz he had written an article it said milo vintamilla 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 does and i was like okay first of all whoever established rules wasn't around the beginning of it i was there in the beginning of this shit it's a bunch of artists share collective moments and all of that. And so, yeah, so articles about... That's hysterical. Yeah. If anybody knows anything about etiquette, it's BuzzFeed.

With all their, yeah, all their articles about this or that. 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 love. I'm very happy to be here. Yeah.

I'm very happy to see you guys. I love you guys. 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. 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. Yeah. And it's right, you three, because I feel like you guys represent so many sides of the show. At the same time, like, you are able to speak about every little moment of it because you were so embedded. You guys were all so embedded there. So I just, like, I'm proud.

Like, I get emotionally proud in moments, you know. 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, you know, we get to, like you said, you know, 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 shows 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 discover Gilmore girls. Yeah. And I'm like, man, you realize, like, that was, 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, Milo. Oh, you had no idea? I missed the show the first time around. It was, 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. It's a fun show. 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. Like, I don't, Teen Jess. No, I know, no, no. You're saying, I was speaking as you, like, who? Was it you and Jared Padalecki? Yeah, dude, your boy. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. That's great.

Dude, Jared's incredible, man. He's the best, he's the best dude. He's a good dude. He's like a big old puppy dog. He truly is. Anyway, guys, this is Milo Ventimilia. Yeah. Yes, Kim, one more around.

Yay, my. Thank you for coming. Thank you. If and when we get to 214 and other sort of tent cold things. Big. I'm around. I'm around. I'm around.

I just had to make sure I'm like, I can be here for you guys. Oh, you're so sweet. 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 some of our favorite moments.

Today, I'll be giving you a quick recap of the episode, Milo Ventimilia and Us. Retrad is brought to you by Peloton. Find your push. Find your power with Peloton. All right. 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 pion. 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 going to 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 retrain. That Was Us is filmed at The Crow and produced by Rabbit Grinn Productions and Sarah Warehan. Music by Taylor Goldsmith and Griffin Goldsmith.