That Was Us - The Email From Hai | "A Long Road Home" with Vien Hong (505)

Episode Date: March 3, 2026

On today’s episode of That Was Us, we’re diving into Season 5, Episode 5: A Long Road Home. The Pearsons confront long-held truths as Kate reckons with a painful chapter from her past, Kevin and Madison face growing uncertainty about their future, and Randall is shaken by new information about his birth mother that challenges everything he thought he knew. Plus, Mandy, Chris, and Sterling chat with Vien Hong who played the character of Hai! Vien talks all about his 20 year hiatus from acting, his family's brave journey to the States, what returning to acting through This Is Us means to him, and so much more! That Was Us is produced by Rabbit Grin Productions. Music by Taylor Goldsmith and Griffin Goldsmith. ------------------------- Support Our Sponsors: - Try Zip Recruiter for free at https://ZipRecruiter.com/TWU. ZipRecruiter. The smartest way to hire. - This episode is sponsored by/brought to you by BetterHelp. Your emotional wellbeing matters. Find support and feel lighter in therapy. Sign up and get 10% off at https://BetterHelp.com/TWU. - Head to Walmart today to try a bar or stock up on 4 cartons of your favorite flavors, like Blueberry Pie and Salted Peanut Butter, sold exclusively at Walmart. Check out https://Walmart.com to find a store near you! ------------------------- 🍋 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. ------------------------- 00:00:00 Intro 00:00:32 Discussion 01:07:01 Interview 01:34:27 Outro Executive Producers: Natalie Holysz and Rob Holysz Creative Producer: Sam Skelton Production Coordinator: Andrew Rowley Video Editor: Todd Hughlett Mix & Master: Jason Richards Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today's episode of That Was Us, we're diving into season five, episode five, a long road home. The Pearson's confront long-held truths as Kate reckons with a painful chapter from her past. Kevin and Madison faced growing uncertainty about their future, and Randall is shaken by new information about his birth mother that challenges everything he thought he knew. It's juicy. It's a good one. It's juicy. How are you guys doing, the room? This is our first meeting post holidays. Yeah.

It is. Yeah. It is. Was there a Canadian tux, like, memo that I missed? We were hoping that you were in on the devil denim. This is quince, y'all. Of course, you're quince prince. This is quince, y'all.

Also, Sally and I did a little docee dough. You did. We switched chairs right now. We switched chairs just to shake it up a little bit. New year, new chairs. Keeping people on their toes. New year new chairs. I'm not mad at it.

Just for today. You guys look good. Thanks. You always look good. I appreciate that. I was like, everybody feels rested. I'm into the hair. What's the hair?

It just like, I like the haircut. The hawk is sort of like the go-to non-working cut. That's your like look. This is become like the sort of like status quo and then as the job comes, you can grow it out. Because there's already a little bit of length. So if there needs to be longer, I already got some length to start with. When do you start? the next season.

I'm not supposed to start season three of paradise until well I don't know if we've been officially picked up but I mean

between us you know end of March end of March into mid-August. There's not many people sitting at the Golden Globe Awards wondering if they're

going to get picked up next year. Okay so check this on. Let me tell you something because this is the first time we've seen each other since the globes or whatnot. Guys

this was my first time at the Globes on the ground floor. Oh, wait. Explain to people, right? You do it because you reaction was perfect. There's this a hierarchy. Movies, movie stars get to sit on the ground and all the TV people get put in the back.

We're in the peripheral. In the back. Yeah, the little surrounding zone. So I'm wondering why, right? Yeah. That's the question. Because your Academy Award nominee, Sterling K. Brown. Correct?

Sure. But like, so it was just me, the tough thing is it was just me from the show. Because the past few awards, whether it was Critics' Choice or the Emmys, the Emmys, it was me, Julianne, and James and the show. Right. Right. And then at the Critics' Choice, it was me and the show. Yeah. And then at the Golden Globes, it was brown.

Yeah. So it's always an honor to be there. But when you get to be there with your people, it's even more fun. Makes it. Makes it different. Of course. That being said, sitting on the ground, is cool. Who is at your table?

Guys. Who is at your table? Yeah. Miley Cyrus and her twin, also known as her mom. Got it. I looked at her mom and she's like, I'm Molly's mom. I'm like, of course you are. You know what I'm saying? It's like these eyes are like, bing-wing, wing.

That's pretty rad. That's pretty rad. Stephen Marty. Steve Martin and Martin Short. There you go. Yeah. We're at your table. I also at the Emmys, stepped right next to Steve and Marty.

Did you speak with them? speak with them. We speak. So, so Marty speaks. Yes. Steve is quiet. Steve is very quiet. Steve's very quiet. Marty is the opposite of very quiet. Yes. Like he is the most effusive, bullion, like crazily wonderful. Yeah. And then Steve is just like, built for show business. Built for show business. Maybe one of the funniest people. Period. Which one are you saying? Marty. Marty short. Yeah. I believe so.

Inherently, not not stand-up comedy, not like inherently. Like inherently. funny. Yeah, just like his essence, his being. Hysterical. So we're there, me and the bird. And so here's the other part. It was cool. Table behind me is Friggin Hartley and Sophia. Yes. Yay. Because he was presenting there. So we got a chance to see each other on the ground floor. But like waiting in line to go in, there's a football game on. And I was trying to watch the football. So I'm literally on the carpet, Mandy. Watching football. Priorities. I get it.

Got to get my priorities. But then the sandman comes up behind me. He's like, hey, man, what you're doing? Where are you watching? Let's just go in the game. Right? He's checking on her shoulder. Kevin Bacon's like, grabs my head and has me turn the phone to him. He's like, all right, cool. So I had six degrees.

No, six degrees. No, six degrees. No, no, direct contact. Yeah, yeah. Zero degrees. You know what I'm saying? I got Rose Burns coming up to me with her brother. Her brother knows a friend of mine from Army wives and we're talking anything.

He's like, you're really just watching the football game. I'm like, yeah, I'm watching a football game. What game? It was San Francisco against Philadelphia. Okay, got it. Philadelphia is the defending Super Bowl champions that wound up losing in an upset. to the San Francisco 49s. It was like one of these cool moments

and they did these stairs. You guys hear about the stairs they did this year? No. They tried to echo something from the Met. Okay. Where they have like

those pictures from the stairs sort of thing. So you had the photographers on both sides so you take pictures on one side and then you turn and take pictures on the other side. And me and the bird,

I don't know if you got a chance to see the bird. Did you see the bird? Yeah. The bird wasn't effing around. She, by the way, she never does. The bird never ever.

But like this one? This was like next level. This one? Oh, Byrd, you killing this shit, man. She looked so good. I was so just proud of her, and we had so much fun. It was a good night, right? So that was what's going on there.

Foot is healed. I don't have to wear, like, a boot or anything like that. Just in PT. Just in PT. Like, I can't run or anything like that, but I can walk, I can swim, I can bike. But it's getting better. Have we made any resolutions about our physical activity as we enter our fifth decade? Oh, boy.

Let me tell you something. Yeah, April. April, you're about to. In my 40s, I have agreed, made to agree with myself that I will no longer leave the ground. Meaning, no plan metrics. No jumping. No leaping. But wait.

That's very good for you, though. Listen, I get it. But the risk reward for me, it's just my knees and are just so shot. Yeah. I can't risk it. So what's the form of cardio? I mean, a lot of body weight. Yeah.

It's just dancing. A lot of dancing. A lot of twerking. Yeah, yeah, yeah. A lot of, yeah. Got it. Got it, got it, got it. Mostly, it's mostly TikTok-based.

It's TikTok-based cardio. I feel that. Do you walk? I've been, so all I can do is walk, really. Yeah. For like good cardio and try to do it at an incline. And I tell you, I feel the posterior chain. Oh, yeah.

Is supported. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? There's lifting that's happening. Yeah. With just walking. And it's hard, too, because I can't walk as fast as I normally do. So, you know, it's all good.

I did two days at Disneyland, so I got my cardio for the month. Oh, wow. That's a ton. You got all your steps in. Are you doing a mountain this year? I would like to. We'll have to sort of see. You have one in your mind's eye.

I mean, I've tried to do Rainier a couple times and weather has always, you know, prevented me from doing so. So that's like, I have my fingers crossed that that's maybe more of a possibility this year. Tell me how shooting your show is going right now. It's going very well. I was just telling Sully that I know. I haven't shot in the last week or so, but I'm back next week. It's great. I'm going to come visit you on set next week.

Come visits. Come. Come visit next week. I'm very excited for it. You should come too, Sully. You guys are it? It's such a nice vibe. We should all come through.

The vibe has improved. The vibe has improved. Okay, that's it. That's good. But shall we talk about the show? The collective has, yes. So five. Oh, five.

Episode 505 is a heavy one. A lot of things that, I didn't remember. Like, I remembered Kate's storyline pretty vividly. But there was a couple of things that happened with the brothers that touched me in a very sort of sweet way that I had forgot. Like, you know, as we transitioned from 505 to 506, right? But I feel like we should start with Kate because that's the...

It's right where we ended in the last episode. Yeah. Is Kate and Toby sitting in their dining room. Right. And she's essentially letting Toby know that when she was... 18 years old. She had an abortion. Yeah. And the conversation is essentially, I'm sorry that that happened to you. That's awful. Why did it take you so long to talk to me about this? That's the big one. Yeah. You know, she's saying, there wasn't really any context for it. And he's saying,

except for the, I was trying to get pregnant for years. We were doing nothing but talking about pregnancy. Right. And so yeah, so he was trying to, Toby's trying to navigate his response. to it or at least meter it so that it is compassionate and present, but also concerned about how big a role this plays in her mental inner world. A delicate balance, but one that I thought was very thoughtfully achieved, because it was like, listen, this is a hard thing that someone has to go through.

I am your partner in life and have been one for the past four years. It is a little strange that I'm hearing about this. that I'm hearing about this for the first time now. Right. Right. Without me. And you did, I felt like it was watching. I was like, because as an actor, I'm like,

can't make it about me, right? Yeah. But I gotta also say like, it does feel strange that I haven't found out. Yeah, that's such a monumental life experience. Yeah. And I remember this was one of those scenes where it was like, being a new father. Yeah.

Like very recently around the scene made it so much easier. Okay. To where, like, I remember, I can literally remember the shift of like not being a father and acting and then being a father and acting. And like, just everything was easier. Yeah. Really? After.

Yeah. And like, because I understood what it meant for something to be important for maybe the first time in my life. Truly important. Yeah. And I was like, oh, oh, okay. And so this scene, as tricky as it was emotionally, like just made more sense because of that. I got you.

So this happened for both of you during the show. Did you feel any sort of shift, Mandy? Oh, yeah. Articulate. Everything. Everything is different. It's like you have a whole new set of tools that you just didn't know were accessible and available to you.

And colors, like all the things, all the cliches. just like you're right everything feels open it feels more accessible things like have a weight to it it's it's why i yeah sorry no no it's like why i joke like oh when i had gus i'm like can we go back to the beginning of the show now because like now i know what it means for real i'm not just faking it it's not theoretical yeah it's like everything became right sized yeah stuff that needed to be more important became more important stuff that needed to be less important like got shrunk down it was just like Everything got evened out. Yeah.

Oh, I love that. Yeah. I think I agree with you. Yeah. I think I totally agree with you. It's just, it's been a little bit longer. Of course, a little longer. So it's nice to hear from you guys.

That's good. Okay. She winds up after this conversation and whatnot, and you sort of like, poking lovingly. So I'm gonna be like, I'm still trying to figure out why this has happened. Laying down in bed and she goes to the computer and she types in Mark with a C.

McEwen, McEwan. Whatever is. I don't even. Once I get past M-A-R-C, I'm like, I don't know who you're like. I understand, but the M-M, I was slightly offended by it. I'm like, I don't want to share initials with this dude. It's bad news. It's officially an ALM.

You are ALM. I am officially, yes, A-L-L-M. On my birth certificate. On the certificate, but like in life, I got two-ims up in this month. Yeah, I don't want to share initials with him. She finds him and turns out conveniently, he's just 100 miles away down in San Diego. Right? She says, like, you're right.

Like, I feel like there's something that I need to do. I don't know what it is I want to say, but I feel like I need to see him. And I'd really appreciate if you drove me down there. And again, as a husband, like, because earlier you're like, okay, I would like his name and I would like to go and kill him. And murder him, yeah. Right, murder her.

And she's like, I don't need you to do that. And you're like, well, I know it's a joke, but if you do want me to, that's not a problem. It can be a right. You know what I'm saying? And you decide, you just say like, okay, I don't know, I'd be happy to go down there with you, you know. I feel like we should go to the past

before coming back to the present because it feels in so much context. Because what the juxtaposition that the writers, I think, really wonderfully achieved is the solitude of an 18-year-old girl having to do something profound by herself. Yeah. Alone.

Alone. And then having her partner by her side as she confronts him. in the present day. Yeah. Right? Because there's these juxtapositions of, she first goes to the abortion clinic and she's having the conversation with the doctor.

And then in the midst of it, she's like, is it going to happen in this room? And like, she's so alone. The way she's shot, it's like, oh man, like nobody, everybody's in New York to see Kev's performance and whatnot. You know, the teacher, she tries to hook you up with the teacher. She's by herself. And, like, each shot is her by herself until as in the present she's thinking about going down to San Diego, she decides to pay mark a visit. Don't let me miss anything.

In the past. In the past. In the past. And she pops up at his door and he opens and he's like, oh, if it isn't Kate Pearson. And just as charming as he can be. Yeah. He makes her breakfast. He makes her breakfast for lunch, like all her favorite.

Yeah. And he remembered. He remembers. I knew you couldn't stay away. He says, ugh. Yeah, I know. Oh, did you? Did you know?

Oh, did you know? Oh, did you know? Oh, what are you a mind reader? Good, Mark. Yeah, like a true narcissist. Yeah. Just like trying to reel her back in. Totally.

And like, what does he say? Like, you know, like, he said, I figured you wanted to come and what do he say? He said something. I was so excited to see you. Yeah. He apologizes for the cabin. He does apologize for the cabin.

And kind of figured that she was going to do the same, I believe. That they were both kind of coming to make amends a little bit, right? And when she kind of like, you see the switch flip, like physically watch it sort of register to him because she's like, I wanted, I actually know I just wanted to come and talk to you about something. And you're like, oh my gosh, is she going to tell him this news? and like, how is this going to play out? Yeah. Because in my mind, immediately I'm like, oh, this is a guy who's going to tell her she shouldn't. They should keep it.

They should get in a relationship. Like, my mind just started to wander. I was like, wow, I forget how this ended. Yeah. And as he sort of, he then sort of starts to, like, spiral out. Yeah. Like, he's like, oh, this sounds heavy. Right, right.

And she's like it is. And, like, he's immediately annoyed. Yeah. And you just. Shark eyes. Yeah, totally, totally. They just, like, change. Yeah.

This guy's good. And he's great. And he makes it about him. Oh, he totally makes it about him. I was excited when I saw you. Yeah. And now we're having some heavy conversation. Like, what do you want to talk about?

He decides that he's like, you know what? Why don't we just watch a movie? Just be here. Let's just be here together, like be in the moment or whatever like we used to. And they're flipping through the channels. Yeah. And he stops on airplane. That's right.

And she is like, I love this movie. movie, let's watch it and he relents and kind of like keeps it. And moaps and they're watching it and you can just tell he's just so annoyed. He doesn't think it's funny. Yeah. And he's like, ugh, I need a drink. Gets up to grab some beers, what have you. She's cracking up, having a good time.

And then she looks over and's like, oh, he's, this was supposed to be a possible, a possible shared experience. Yeah. At least, exactly. It's like, I'm sure she, in my mind, I'm like, I wonder. what she's expecting from this encounter. Is she expecting... Do you think she was going to ask him to come with her?

I don't know. Was she also just like, before I do this, should I just, should I tell him? Should, is, are we supposed to be together? Like, I'm sure maybe there was just a multitude of different emotions, right? Because it's such an incredibly heavy decision. And, but she got her answer.

Yeah. Because as she's sitting there on the couch and recognizing, that like she came here to be alone again. She's like, I don't eat this shit. Yeah. And she, by the time he comes back, offering to watch some Michelle Gondry videos. Yeah.

Because I'm so fucking cool. Yeah. You can eat a fucking dick, bro. You know what I'm saying? I likes Eternal Sunshine, but like, are I so high for Luton that I only watch Michelle Gondry music videos? Yeah.

Eat my bum. Oh, my gosh. Sterling hates him. Oh, he irks. I was so. that she was not there. Yeah, the door was left open. She just was out.

Gone. Real quick. Airplane? Thumbs up. Yeah. Two thumbs. Yes. Yes, I have seen airplanes. Two thumbs up. I mean, kind of unimpeachio. I haven't seen it in a long time. Yeah. But still holds up. Yeah. It does. Really good. Yeah, I haven't seen it in a while. It's great back. I used to rent it all the time as a kid.

I'm looking at our VHS collection on the shelf and I'm like, like, yeah, Princess Bride, all of the police academy movies. Yeah. Airplane would fit. Airplane. Yeah. And none of them, Princess Pride, fine, none of those police academy movies should I have been watching. None of those, the airplane, airplane, first, first naked breast, probably I ever saw. That's right, that's right.

But it's a comedy. So parents are like, yeah, I don't know. Whatever. Go ahead. Sure. And it's like gratuitous. That's hilarious. And those police academy movies are problematic.

The 80s. From beginning to end. Yeah, but. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. More that was us after these words from our sponsors. It feels like the way people think about work has really shifted. More and more, it's not just about where someone went to school or what their last job title was.

It's about what they can actually do. And yes, skills matter, whether it's problem solving, communication or knowing how to adapt. Those are the things that really show up once someone is in the role. And if you're hiring, figuring that out up. front can save you a lot of time. Well, if you're an employer who's adopted skills-based hiring, the best way to ensure that your applicants have the right skills is ZipRecruiter. ZipRecruiter recommends smart screening questions to help you hone in on that perfect match for your role. And right now, you can try it for free at ZipRecruiter.com slash TWU.

Yeah, what's helpful is, you know, ZipRecruiter, they bring those skills to the surface early. You know, you're not just scanning resumes. You know, you're learning. how someone thinks, how they work, you know. It's not just stats. It's real information that you can use so you can maximize the hiring potential that your company is looking for, people. Come on! Let ZipRecruiter help you find amazing candidates with the skills you seek. Four out of five employees who post on ZipRecruiter get a quality candidate within the first day.

And now you can try it for free at ZipRecruiter.com slash TWU. That's ZipRecruiter.com slash TWU. Meet your match on ZipRecruiter. Gang, I was looking at my calendar the other day and realized how many trips sneak up on us. Not big vacations, just work, travel, family weekends, quick getaways that add up faster than you expect. What kind of trips sneaking up on anybody?

Anything? I got a lot of publicity to do for season two. What I wouldn't give for a trip to sneak up on me. You know what I mean? Yeah. She'd just be like, oh, finally. Totally forgot about that one. We were talking about this in our episode.

Me and Ray just need to get away for a couple of things. couple nights. There you go. Go do it. Remember that we're people with needs. Listen, you know, human beings. Listen, Airbnb can be very helpful for that. Tell them, Mandy. Every time you take one of those trips, your home just sits there empty while you're gone. That's where hosting your home on Airbnb can really make sense, especially now with Airbnb's co-host network. You can partner with a vetted local co-host, someone with real hosting experience to help take care of your home and guests while you're away. A co-host can help manage reservations. handle guest communication,

and even provide on-site support so the stay runs smoothly. If you have a trip coming up and your home will be sitting empty, hosting it on Airbnb is a practical way to make use of your space and can earn you a little extra for wherever you're headed next.

If you've ever considered hosting but need a little help, find a co-host at Airbnb.com slash host. There's a, there was a moment, but was this before she? She went to go over to Mark's house where she was at the house listening to the voicemail that you were leaving? Yes. And then just as she was about to answer it, you wound up hanging up, you know, just sort of re-emphasizing the loneliness of it all.

Yeah. And then she winds up going to the abortion, laying down on the table. It's just a shot on her face. And you hear the doctor talking about talking her through the procedure. And then riding home in a cab. I almost said Uber. There's no such thing. Yeah.

riding home in the cab. And her mom comes home from New York. That's you, Mandy Moore. You're her mom. Yeah. Rebecca. And say, hey, Buck, what's going on? I thought I was going to hear from me.

Yeah, I left you a couple of times. She's in tears a little bit. What was on the TV? Because it was a good cover. I can't remember what it was. Was it the Sadr House Rules? It might have been. Yeah, it was Toby McGuire.

It was Toby McGuire. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So it had to be. So Sidehouse sounds right. Cider House rules. That sounds like something to cry out more than the ice storm. Yeah. Sure.

But isn't the Cider House rules thematically about the same thing? Is it? I can't remember what Cider House rules is about. I never watched it. Isn't it about? Oh, it might be. Of course. Is it?

She was, so Mom comes home and sees that she's teary. Yeah. And it's like, oh, bug, what's, like, what is going on? Are you okay? And she's like, no, Mom, I'm just watching like a sappy movie. I'm fine. Yeah. It's just Toby. It's Toby. It's Toby. Toby always makes me cry.

And I forget what happens from there. I think the most interesting small little nuance is like, can I get you something to eat? And she's like, I'll take some ice cream. Yeah. And you say, I'll give some ice cream. Yeah. Right? Because I think that's sort of... Her comfort.

That's her comfort. Yeah. And it feeds into when she finally goes and sees dude, right? You see Kate... Mark in the present day. And the present day walking across the street. and she uses his mark. He's smoking a cigarette outside of a weird kind of music store.

Yeah. It all tracks. Like he just, he sucked then and he sucks now. Yeah. He's made nothing of himself at all whatsoever. Yeah. You're in the scene.

You said, I feel like I come with too much vitro and I'm trying to lead with love in 2026. No, please. You can have as much as you want for this character. I think that's the point. Yeah. That's it. Yeah, I watched the whole thing from that minivan in the back.

I'm sitting in the minivan of the back. They shot a couple things on me, and I realized, oh, I never made the cut in the scene. There's some footage on the cutting room floor. There's a lot of footage for me and Anne Fletcher, her coaching me through it. And I was like, I do wish Toby could have gotten a word in. I was like, or I wish Toby had been, had been standing outside the car. Sure. Just in the back.

Sure. Just like standing next to there, just like ready to whatever. Yeah. At the ready. At the ready. But Kate handles it, handles him as needed, I think. You know, she walks up to him. And at first, you're not sure if she's going to be able to to address the situation the way she wants to or the way she needs to.

And she essentially, she essentially, you know, lets him know. exactly how she feels the damage he did and that she refuses to hold to carry any of that yeah let it define her and so she gives it back to him there's there's there's like she's what do you remember about our relationship and he's like what are you talking about man it was like you know the six months we had like some 20 odd years ago blah blah blah and he says he says uh you were broken in all the right places. We were kids. We were in love.

Yeah. And then she says like, no, bro, I was a kid. I was a kid. You were a 24-year-old man. Yeah. Which is a good thing. Listen, six years. Six years between 24 and 30 is different than six years between 24 and 18.

Yeah. You know what I'm saying? Oh, yeah. That's a gulf. When the weird guy whose 25 is hanging around with us senior year high school, I'm like, what are you doing here, bro? Yeah. Go away.

Correct. And she says, I'm not broken. the one who's broken. And what I found interesting about it is like there was no discussion about the abortion. It's like you don't even deserve that much knowledge about me. No, no, no. You don't like like in the past or in the present when I thought like maybe you should have been a part of this. No, you serve the purpose of allowing me to like, your springboard for me becoming a better person. Yeah. I now know what I want in life because I got a chance to experience something that I definitely don't ever want to have a gang.

Isn't amazing how much of life is the process of elimination? Yeah. Yeah. Just figuring out what you don't want. Totally. Totally. And then the beautiful thing is on the ride home. She's talking to her husband.

And she's like, look, man, like you could have done all sorts of things. I know you wanted to beat his ass, but you didn't. And you let me go over, you let me put my big girl panties on and walk across the street and deal with this shit and let me be my own. own white night. I love that. And I was, and she's like, thank you. And you're like, okay.

Sure. Like, it's cool. You know, it's like, if you needed something else, though, we could turn this car around right now, you know? Yeah. There was such wish fulfillment watching that for me, too. Like, did you feel that a little bit? Just I'm like, wow, this is the way to confront someone

who has done you wrong. Yeah. Because it's confident. It's capable. She didn't, like you said, reveal too much. Yeah. She really stood her ground. it wasn't emotional.

It was like, yeah, I just, I really was in awe of her strength in that moment. You know, because Kate is Chrissy, like they just, they are such deeply emotional creatures. And this was like a moment of Kate really like standing her ground in a way that I found admirable. Agreed. There's a few things more satisfying than a well-set and well-kept boundary. Yeah. Oh, I love it. Completely.

So hard to do. And when you do it, you just like that. like nailed it. Yeah. And then I'm going to hold it. Like stuck the landing. Hold. Hold.

There it is. Then the echo is, which I thought was lovely, is we get a chance to see young, young Kate in the past, watching her parents, Jack and Rebecca, enjoying airplane. Yes. And a laugh. We get a chance to see present day Kate and her husband sitting on the couch and enjoying airplane. Yeah, she's with her person. That's pretty cool. Yeah.

She's the airplane test, I guess. Yeah. If you want to know. That's what it's all about. That's the takeaway. Yeah. Okay. So that's that, right? Let's talk about Kevin and Madison. Kevin and Madison. I started calling them Kettison that never caught. Kettison. Probably wouldn't. No, mevin. No, that's not going to work. No, that's not. They just don't have a good couple name.

Maven is not bad. Maven's not bad. Maven? Yeah. Madiven? Is that stretching it too much? A little bit. Kevin Madison. They're preparing to meet a nanny. Yeah.

Very excited. Nanny used to nanny for Timberlake. Right? Yep. They made Timberlake cry when she left them, right? I love having somebody in my house. It was really, how far away were we from the show on ABC? Which one?

The British woman. Was it called the nanny? The British. You know what I'm talking about. Oh, like the tough nanny. Who would show up with like and put troubled kids in their place? Yes, yes, yes.

I feel like we were sort of like, Mary Poppins-esque, but like... I feel like we were preparing for something like that. It's the something nanny, right? The something nanny. Yeah, she was good. Not thought about that show since it was on television.

I think we were far removed from that. We were pretty far removed from now. Supernanny! Yeah, like Supernanny. That's what I felt like we were preparing for our own version of Super Nanny. Yeah. But this, what I found interesting about this one,

and you guys talked me through the specifics. I'm gonna go global for a second. is these ideas that we have in our head that have not been expressed to each other about what we think life is going to look like. Yeah. And then they have this moment where it comes to a head

and it's like, oh, we were thinking two very different things, right? So when they bring in the nanny, she seems very cool, very sweet. And Kev is talking about, look, I need somebody who can get on the road with us. You know, I don't know where production's going to be. She's like, I've got, I'm perfectly happy. I got my passport ready to go.

I'm ready to travel. Madison looks always like, well, you know, that may happen every once in a while, but for the most part, we're going to be in our home, you know, raising our children. And you see this sort of like, all right, here's where the two things collide. When you're individuals without children, it's kind of easy to press pause on certain things, then once the kids come into it, it's like, oh, no, we have to make a decision. Collectively. You know what I'm saying?

That's a big conversation Rachel and I had before we got married. Give it to me. I was just like, we need to really discuss the mindset of what it looks like to marry an actor. Yeah. Like, my life is gonna be a roller coaster career-wise. Yeah. And it could be all over the place and it,

that's not what I said. You said, I'm gonna be successful. Well, I'm gonna be. I said, don't worry about it. Although, yeah, clearly. I got this shit, come. But it has also proven like, you know, four months before we got married, I was like, oh, and five days after we get married, we got to move to New York.

Five days. Yeah, five days after we got in a car and drove to New York to do a play about football. So maybe that'll work, maybe it won't. Who knows? It did well. It worked out. It worked out. And then six years after that, it's like, now we got to move to California.

How on board and how? 100%. Always. Because we had that conversation early on. It was like, we could. a drop of a hat, you know, like last year. Okay, I'll be in Toronto. Right.

See you on and off for the next six months. Yeah. You know, or Vancouver or whatever the thing. Do you guys have a rule in terms of how much time apart? I mean, we try not to go more than two or three weeks. Gotcha. But again, like, who knows what the possibility, especially now with kids. It's like, you know, in LAUSD, you can't miss that much school anymore.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. You're rooted here. Yeah. Do you guys have any rules? Like, you're both musicians. Similar. Yeah. Similar.

Like two weeks is pretty max at this point. This season of life with these small children four and under. I'm like, have you guys had cause to uproot and move? Everybody went to New York for Dr. Death, yeah? Yes, everybody did. But they were only two. They were young. Yeah.

And they were tiny. Yeah. Like so we did that with Andrew when I was on Army Wives and Ryan actually had a recurring on Army Wives. So we were all able to be together. which was really, really cool. But like, what was interesting before kids and before, think about like before COVID and when people used to be able to go into a room and audition, the bird was like, listen,

I can't really do my career from Charleston. And I was like, I get that. Got it. We do the same thing. So we had a six week rule. It's a lot of weeks. It's a lot of weeks. And I will say this to married people.

I think six weeks is too long. I think it's too long too long too. week is too long. Like, you know, four weeks is pushing it, but I like two to three. Yeah. Like it's, you don't want to become too comfortable being single in a marriage. Yeah. Being apart like that. You understand what I'm saying. Two weeks is long enough to miss someone. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's what it feels like to me. And if you guys have any thoughts on that, you can weigh in. I'm curious to hear what people think because in six weeks, I'd be like, hey, I miss you. And she's like, I miss you too. But she's like, I got to do this audition. And so it's like career,

relationship, which one is taking priority at which particular time. When the kids came, it became easier for both of us to say, like, this is too long. Yeah. And even this year, I went to Australia for Voltron. And my youngest son said to me, so, Dad, I think you were gone for too long. He said it. And I said, you know what, but I think you're right. I was like, we'll fix it. Yeah. Yeah. You know, and it's, you figure it out as you go along. Sure, sure. You know what I'm It's trial and error. The photo negative of that, Rachel and I are starting to realize is that it is important for us to go away once in a while.

Yeah. Like, Rachel, why don't you go for? Wait. It's like your best? No, no. You have a yoga retreat you want to do in Costa Rica or whatever for a week. You should do it. Yeah.

We'll figure it out. We'll figure it out here at home. I want to go to the mountains for three or four days. and just be alone and quiet. And like, that is also an important thing to have. That sounds lovely. Yeah, though. Look at your.

I might need a little of that soon. Mandy's already halfway up right here. I had a 4 a.m. wake up this morning with a very happy and sweet little girl, but. God bless you. Yeah, we're tired. Taylor and we're both like, blah. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah.

All right. So back to the show. they, after the nanny leaves, they wind up having this conversation and basically saying what you said, like, you know, what did you think life was going to look like, you know? Like, I would like to be the kind of person that can demand that things be shot in Los Angeles, but like, that's not where I am in my career. And you go to where the work is. This is basically what you're saying to your wife. You go to where the work is. They're getting into the logistical realities of what this partnership could look like.

And it's juxtapisos. That sounds right. The juxtaposization of the theme, it's juxtaposed with the scene with, right, that's this episode, with young Kevin. Yeah. Right back in New York. Yeah.

Realizing right after this trip for his showcase where he meets an agent and the agent is sending him to L.A. That was correct. For those who don't know, that used to be a thing. And there used to be, they're used to be, There used to be a two-month period. Like, end of January. After Sundance to sometime in April.

Beginning of April. Two to three months where all of the pilot auditioning was happening, and it was only happening in Los Angeles. And so there was this migration of actors who would come and stay at the Oakwood apartments. Golden carrot. Yes. At the idea of booking a... This could change my life, man.

A television show that could go on. And so you got to go do it. And Randall is immediately like, hmm, that doesn't, I don't know. He's a little saucy with it. He's like, oh, good. So this is one of those things because you look good? Like, is that what this is about, right? Yeah.

But also just sort of like, you get your wife? He's sniffing something out here. Yeah. Yeah, he's like, you're married. You guys just got married. Like, you should be together. Yeah. Right.

Because I think it was mentioned at like a dinner. at Kevin's apartment, Kevin and Sophie's apartment with mom during this same trip. That, yeah, he had met an agent and the agent wants him to come to. And that's when Randall was sort of like, what, you guys just got married. Sophie, are you going to go with him? And Sophie's like, no, I have school. Like, I'm going to be here in New York. So they would be spending time apart.

And, yeah, Randall immediately clocked that and was like, this doesn't feel like the best choice. Sure. Have I told this story about us moving to New York after getting married? No. I found out four months before we got married that I was cast by Tommy Kale in this play. Yeah, yeah, yeah. In a Broadway play. Right.

Living in Chicago, somehow got myself a Broadway play. Yeah. Because you're that bad, bro. You're that guy. Sterling, I'm a bad man. Yeah, yeah, I'm a bad man. Come on, Lomba. But two people looking at each other being like,

Well, Rachel has a job that pays a salary here in Chicago. And I, as an actor, someone gives you a Broadway play. You don't go, oh, no, thanks. I'll wait for the next one. Right. You do it. Yeah. This is your big break.

You do it. So there is no not doing it. And there is no Rachel quitting her job. Right. So we're going to get married and I'm going to move to New York for six months to a year. Like this isn't any three, four, five, six weeks thing. Let's make it clear for them too also. When you are doing a Broadway play, your rehearsal schedule and performance schedule is six days a week.

Yes. Right? It is Tuesday through Sunday. You can't just pop on a plane to go visit. Yeah. You're there. You're there. You're not leaving.

You're there. And we were losing our minds about what to do. And then Rachel's boss out of nowhere calls her and says, hey, you know, your position. here in Chicago, we need someone to do that same job in New York. Can you run... Come on, bro. Can you run the interviews for people to find a person for New York? I got your candidate right here.

And she accepted the job on the phone and said, I will hire my replacement here in Chicago. And she got herself essentially the exact same job in New York. You can't tell me, you can't tell me God ain't real yet. Yeah. That is so faded. I'm telling you, we were doing the artist's way while this was happening. Are you serious? We were prophesying it all in our morning pages, including the Broadway play.

I think I told you this on the podcast. Yes. And it all worked out. Her boss was a die guy, that guy. That guy sent her on a three-day business trip between our wedding and the day we moved to New York. Five days. We had five days between the wedding and moving to New York. And he sent her on a three-day business trip between the two.

Anyways, moving on. We love that guy. Yeah. So, yes, you're so right, the sort of juxtaposition of Kevin as a young man versus Kevin present day. And you're like, don't make those same mistakes. She even says, she's like, look, man, I told you I was going to do this by myself. But then I sort of fell in love with the idea of our family, right? And you being here and being a part of that.

And he says, you know what? I have to. I fall in love with the idea of my family, too. And the way it ultimately, he says he's not going, oh, he gets a phone call about how the movie moved to Vancouver. That's what this all sort of came from, right? And she really pushes him to go do it. She's like, you've been working so hard. This is, now, so this is an interesting thing because I think logistically, if we think about this, oh, let me break this down.

So the baby's supposed to be doing, I don't know, eight weeks, six weeks or something like that. He's only going to be gone for a certain amount of time. He's got to go to quarantine and then shoot for a couple of weeks and then it'll be back. it should be back in time, right? But my thing is, twins never go, like... We acting like it's going to be 40 weeks. No. Twins are always early.

Twins are like 36 is full time, you know what I'm saying? So I was like, I need y'all to do that math. Yeah. And he also said it was two weeks of shooting. So how big a deal could this be? Yeah, I was like... Two weeks is, for those not in the... Like, two weeks is like...

Nothing. Bada bing, but... Number five on the guest. On the call sheet. I was like, it must be some tiny indie movie movie that they're like shooting in 20 days or something. I can see that. Yeah, I can see that.

And so at the end of it, like she, she convinces him to go do the movie. You'll be back. You know what I'm saying? And while you're there, just think about what exactly it is that you want. Yeah. And Kev's like, I want this. I want you. And she's like, uh, think about it.

Think about it. She's like, would you just think about it? Yeah. I also want to take note of every time. Kevin and Madison kiss each other. Does anybody else feel like a little bit of like, just like perfunctory? Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. I think that's intentional. Yeah, there's no, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's like a, and now we kiss. We got to clock it.

It's not like Jack and Rebecca. No, no, no. You know what I'm saying? It's just like. It's not even Kevin and Sophie. It's not, you know what I mean? It's like there is a choice that these two have made. Yes.

To embark on this. journey together. They want to have these babies. They're going to be a family, but it's like they, they weren't in love. I've fallen in love with the idea of this family. Of our family. There's a big difference. And it doesn't feel, it's very intentional, but it doesn't feel like a slight against either one of them. It's like there is something really beautiful about, you know, families look a multitude of different ways, right? And this is just one of those ways. It's not, It doesn't always have to be like man and woman coming together in love. And it's like these two people wanted the same thing.

And they're in this particular situation. And they have sort of made the choice together as two adults, very clear-eyed of what this is. And it's like, I think if anything sort of germinates along the way, right? If they do start to have feelings for one another, that's just a cherry on the Sunday. But no one's really like, I think like especially it feels like, Madison is very, like, there's so much clarity there, very pragmatic of like, which I'm sure sort of happens to with motherhood. And she says as much, like you said, she's like, I was going to do this on my own. Like, and like in a way, I almost felt like the addendum to that is,

and I still could. Like, do you know what I mean? Like, if you don't want to do this, if like, I want to be, I'm going to have these babies, I'm going to have this family, and I'm going to be home. Like, I don't want to be jet-setting like an international roadie. following you around. And that's totally understandable. So it's like, I don't know, I just, I like this sort of representation of what a family could also be in this particular situation.

And let's be honest, we love to see romance. Yeah. We love to see the music swell and people passionately come together. But let's be honest. That's nice. 90% of relationship is, pragmatic decision making. Yeah.

Yeah. And that's fine. Yeah. Let it be. Yeah, it's nice to see that slice of it. Let it be. Yeah. It doesn't have to be passionate people, you know, naked bodies slamming into

each other all the time. Sometimes it's just two people trying to like make, do what's right. Yeah, and figure out logistics. That's right. Logistics. That is true. It's like logistics. That is 10% of 15% of any.

We are FedEx, baby. We are just trying to deliver this package. This is funny. I'm laughing because you're absolutely right. But I also feel like what you're saying is because of representation in like romance novels and the notebook and things of that nature. We mislead people sometimes into thinking that romance can only manifest itself with the. these bells and whistles. And it needs to manifest itself first. Right.

Yeah. It needs to be present at moment of go in order for anything to be viable. Yeah. And it's so much pressure on everything. It is. And everyone. I'm also, listen, you guys, that is a wonderful explanation. I think it is thematically absolutely true.

I also like to think behind the scenes like Dan watching on his little thing as, as Justin is supposed to make out with his wife. And like, Dan, tell her the director, it's like, it's too much, it's too fucking, don't know. Tell them, pull it back, pull it back. Tell him more perfunctory. Yeah. More perfunctory.

They don't actually love each other. They don't have to be. Yeah. Remind them this is not gonna work out. Yeah. They're not excited to be in bed with one another. Action. There it is, there it is. Okay, that part too. More that was us after this short break.

This episode is sponsored by better help. March includes international women's day, and it feels like a good moment to pause and really acknowledge just how much women carry at work, in relationships, in families, and in all the roles they show up for every single day. Amen, sister. I've been thinking about the women in my life who've had the biggest impact on me. You've heard me talk about some of them on the pod before. They carry a kind of strength that isn't always loud, but it's constant. The people who who hold everything together without ever really being asked how they're doing. Yes, a lot of work goes unseen.

Mm-hmm. The emotional labor, the caretaking, the expectations. It adds up. And it's easy for their own well-being to end up at the bottom of the list. And that is why conversations around mental health matter so much. Therapy can be a space to step back, reflect on all the roles you're playing, and take care of yourself in a way that's intentional and supportive.

There's this sort of pressure in society. Like, first of all, women in the workforce way more than they were a generation ago, et cetera. But like even in the workforce, you still have to be the nurturer, the pressure to make sure that the kids come up a certain way or whatnot. And even though if you're in a household where people split things differently, the pressure is usually on the woman for like, how does the house look? How are these kids going out into the world, et cetera? And it's really you're asked to juggle multiple balls all the time. Yeah. Yeah.

One thing that stands out about BetterHelp is the quality of their therapists. They work according to a strict code of conduct and are fully licensed in the U.S. BetterHelp also does the initial matching work for you. You start with a short questionnaire that helps identify your needs and preferences, and with more than 12 years of experience and an industry-leading match fulfillment rate, they typically get it right the first time. But if that match doesn't feel right, you can switch to a different therapist at any time from their tailored recommendations.

BetterHelp is the world's largest online therapy platform with over 30,000 therapists having served more than 6 million people globally. It also has an average rating of 4.9 out of 5 for live sessions based on over 1.7 million client reviews. To all the women listening, we see you, we appreciate you, we honor you, and we thank you. Your emotional well-being matters. Find support and feel lighter in therapy. Sign up and get 10% off at betterhelp.com slash TWU. That's B-E-T-E-R-H-E-L-P-E-L-P-T-L-P-C-L-P-T-U. Listen, I've tried a lot of protein bars over the years, all right, mostly out of convenience.

But what I kept running into was the same issue. Either they were high-in calories in sugar or they didn't actually keep me full. That's why David really stood out to me. You guys, it's like, where has David been my whole life? Yeah. I've gone through all of them, and then David saunter's in here. Yeah, pull one out. Yeah, I got a bit.

Crinkle, give it, give it some ASMR. Oh, yeah, that's a, you like that sound? I like that. I like that. I like that. I like that David feels intentional. It's not trying to be everything. It's focused on delivering a lot of protein without the unnecessary extras.

Their gold bars are their hero line. Each one has 28 grams of protein, 150 calories, and zero grams of sugar, which is a balance. I honestly haven't really found. That's a ridiculous. Yeah. The texture makes a big difference. They're doughy with real chunks and airy so it actually feels like a treat and not something you're forcing down.

What I got right here? What do you have this? I got a little s'mores, chocolate crunch flavored bar in my hand right now. It goes down smooth, baby. That's right. That's what surprised me most. Most protein bars feel like a compromise, but with David, the taste and texture are genuinely satisfying,

which makes it easier to stick with. It's become one. one of the most reliable options for me. Something that helps me stay full, hit my protein goals without feeling heavy or overdoing it. And now it's even easier to try because David is available at Walmart stores nationwide and on Walmart.com where you can grab a single bar for just $2.97. What are your protein goals? I mean, I'm trying to hit like 30 grams a meal.

Yeah, get it. You know? Trying to get around 100? I feel you. Yeah, that's good. Hey, listen, don't just take our word for it. Go grab one for yourself. Head to Walmart today to try a bar or stock up on four carts of your favorite flavors like blueberry pie and salted peanut butter sold exclusively at Walmart.

Check out Walmart.com to find a store near you. So that's the end of that, and then we'll dovetail the end of Kev's thing into this Randall. Randall thing, which is pretty cool, right? Randall winds up going back to work after his whole viral video. Viral videos come out. Naky, nancy. time. Everybody in the office is in like playful shirtless. Muscle shirts. Muscle shirts. And boxer shorts. Yeah, like the incredible Hulk but not green.

It was very funny. It was also very good. I did rewind it twice just to watch everyone's choices in the office. If they had the right color. No, no, just the dancing. Oh. Because everybody, they had shown them your, yeah, everybody was clearly trying to do a move or two from your video. And it was really good to watch everybody and be like, okay, good. Nope, didn't nail it. I love watching a background. Yeah. Like, when I'm on set, if there's background, when I'm in the scene, I'm checking it out.

Because there's some stuff going on that I love so much. Yeah, some real choices. Okay, so this is what he's saying. I want to interpret this for the audience. There are times in which people are looking for their moment. And when they get that opportunity, right? And just sort of like, the scene doesn't really require like a largesse, but they're like, no, no, no, no.

It's my moment. This is my time. Even more than this is my time to watch someone who is fully aware that it is not there at moment. And they're still committed. And they are so into, and this is terrible podcasting, but if you're watching, this is why you should watch, is they'll pair up couples and they will tell them to not make any sound, but to have a conversation.

Oh, God. And so to watch two really talented background performers, have a conversation without making any noise is an art. It is. It is. It really is. It's quite good. It's astounding.

Yeah. Because when I'm asked to do it, I'm like, I'm making too much noise. Yeah. My lips are moving too hard. I'm trying to say real hard. You're totally right. Yep. And this is to give full credit to those background actors who are committed, who are

professional who like, you're right. They're like, you can't make any sounds. Like we don't want to pick anything up on, you know. But everyone at this party needs to be falling in love. Yeah. And you guys know each other very well. They can cocked a whole story without even saying anything. And yeah, you're right.

Just like watching it like out of the corner of your eye is mesmerizing. We are members of the Screen Actors Guild, right? Sag Aftera. Yes. But 70 to 80% of the members in our guild are background actors. Yeah. 70 to 80. It is a really high percentage of people who make up our union.

And they are talented people, which is why I'm always just like, I'm into it. But for those who don't know, they are also a part of a pool that if all of a sudden, we have someone, we need someone to say a line. That a second or a first AD will go. To a day player and ask them to. And find, hey, can you? And they will audition them on the spot. Hey, say, say, I'll take two of those.

you know or whatever the thing is yeah i'll have what she's having um whatever the line is so it's it's a fascinating part of our industry but yes indeed anyways the office was all nailing the office was in it having fun etc j one comes in and uh he continues to mess with me and then i was like you shouldn't do that but like he said he said something i was like you shouldn't do that with like a naked man shirt on he's like oh yeah yeah and he tries to get it off he can't get it love it It was a cute moment. Help him take it off. And he says, you know, we get these comments to your weekly sort of reviews of what's going on in City Hall, et cetera.

And we got this one. And you see Randall sort of take a look at it. He's like, you need a moment. He's like, I'm going to give you a moment. And you see Randall taking it in. Next thing you know, he goes home to his beloved and said, I got this note from this guy named High Ling who says he knows my mom. And she's like, what? Scooby snacks.

You're both. And he starts to read the whole thing. And I can't remember the exact words of it, but like, there's something that sort of... Beth asks, oh, there's a picture. There's a picture. And Beth's like, there's a picture. Is that your mom? Is that your mom?

And then Randall says, I don't know, man. How should I know? I never seen the woman, right? Takes the thing back upstairs. And he starts to get a little bit. He starts to get ready to go for a run because that's what Randall does to sort of deal with his own anxiety. Quick hot take. I was surprised that William didn't ever have a photo of her.

Like that that wasn't part of our storyline. Like that he didn't have a single photo. To share that picture. Because that photo, that photo of the two of them. Yeah. I mean, yeah. Anyways. Yeah.

Because of his old William, right? It wasn't, yeah, it could have been a photo. Yeah, it was a good thing. Yeah. I guess there wouldn't have been the mystery then. That's right. He's upstairs, and you see he's sort of going through it, and he's like, I don't feel like, I spent 36 years trying to find folks.

I found them. I think I got what I needed. I don't really need to go down. Yeah, I'm not searching for any answers. Right. And he tries to give a quick peck and before he goes out. He's like, you ain't just going to peck and run, bro. This is not a peck.

We don't do perfunctory. Yeah. Yeah. That's right. We are a couple actually in love. You know what I'm saying? Say that for Cattison. Mavon. But in the note, because the reason why there's this conflict, right?

Because in the message he says that I was close to Laurel. Right. And when she passed in 2015. That's right. Right. Which is why there's not just immediate joy or interest. There's a big schism between the story that. But William told him and the story that he's now hearing from this dude high.

Yeah. Right. Well, because it would mean that William lied to him. It would mean, she's like, why don't you know? Because it would mean that William lied to me. Yeah. And then we have a flashback to Randall and William. Yeah.

And him telling the story about his mom meeting on the bus and everything and that she used, but like she pulled herself together and for nine months kept herself so clean, right? But the pain of delivering you was so much that she sort of went back to it. And this overdose happened, whatnot, and she wound up passing away, which is the story that that's, you know, loomed in his head this whole time. And the idea that the man that he took 36 years for him to find would then lie to him. Would then lie to him. Right. I think it was just too much, right?

So he says, I'm going to go for this front. And she says, you're going to talk to your therapist? And he's like, I don't need to need a therapist. And she's like, you need to talk to his therapist. He needs to talk to his therapist. The only, just like Susan Coletchi Watson can deliver. It turns out that he winds up talking to his therapist. He's out on the run.

He pulls his mask down. He's talking to him. And his therapist points out to him. We'd seen 16-year-old Randall put the ad in the paper to try to find his mom when the white lady shows up. That's really still one of my favorite moments where this is like, hey, man. I know you ain't my mom. Look, your daddy was real dark. And I know that if you could.

just helped Mama out. I was like, come on, man. Niles' face was like, God. What? Me watching, I was like, you just go and go, man. There's going to get out of here, right? So we've seen that happening.

You curl your tongue at the grocery store. You saw him curls, tongues, the people in the grocery store, et cetera. And as therapists, just pointing all these things out, at every point, you've had this instinct to connect, to find out where you came from. Your origin story, yeah. When you found William, did that not help? He said, yeah. So you're already in it, bro.

Like, why not be in it in it? Yeah. Yeah. So it winds up coming home, whatnot. And this was when the two brothers dovetailed with one another. In a way that I forgot it. I completely forgot it. Yeah, me too.

And Kevin's on his way to the airport. He's on his way to the airport. Calls his brother. Calls his brother. His brother's sitting there looking at the picture of his mom and dad, what have you. And he goes, hey, man, what's going on? And he's like, too much, man. What's like?

Oh, no. This is a classic move because this actually even happens for me now with my brother sometimes. No, no, I'm going to be honest with you guys. All right. This is interesting. I'm in this place with Arlene Brown who just turned 84 years young. Happy birthday, Mom. Thank you very much.

And it's weird. Every time I get a call for my brother, I'm wondering if it's the call. Sure, sure, sure. Right? And so he calls and he goes, is everything okay with Mom? everything okay with the twins. Like it's sort of like just making sure because it's like we're not talking to each other that much.

Everything's still frosty. Right? Things are still frosty. So it's like if he's calling it must be something. Important. Let me know what's going on. Everything cool? Like yeah, everything's cool. Twins are healthy, mom's doing well, et cetera.

See, I got, trying to figure out how to deal with the situation with Madison. Because he's in the same situation he was when he was a kid. We go to the flashback. Yeah. This is a good point for the flashback, right? And Randall winds up, calling Kev after getting back to school. It's like, man, I'm thinking about this thing that you're about to do going to L.A.

and everything, I'm like, when I think about being away from Beth, like, I can barely breathe. You know, like, maybe you should stick it out. I'm a little concerned. He's like, look, man, I appreciate you saying that. It's sweet. But me and Sophie are solid. We're going to be okay. He's like, all right, bro.

Which everyone watching is like, oh, here we go. Here we go. He's like, all right, bro, if you say so, you know. You know what I mean? Whatever you say. And so Kev kind of makes the phone call off of that. And he said, look, I'm trying to figure out what to do with Madison and whatnot. And I wound up saying to myself, what would Randall do?

What would Randall do? And he said, I say that to myself a lot. I say that to myself a lot. And I'll be damned. Guys, it hits. So weird thing. When you're in the show, I did the scene, I did it, and I'm watching the scene, and I'm doing the same thing. that I'm doing on the screen.

I was like, oh, man, that's a sweet thing to say. That's a nice thing to say. You know? That's a nice thing to know. That's a nice thing to know, right? And there's this sort of thawing. Like, there's this space that's created for something else. And I don't know how it progresses.

I know how the conversation ends. Is there anything else? Yeah, there's not really an apology for the fight, but there's an acknowledgement of it. Yes. And he says, You know, Kate told me about your conversation, and did you really feel that way during our childhood? And he's like, I can't imagine. You can't imagine feeling like that.

And us not knowing, and mom and dad not knowing. And, you know, I think, I mean, you can speak to this. But, like, there's something that registers to Randall that makes him go, like, I need to go make this important phone call. So he gets off the phone with Kevin, essentially is like, let me just start. stop you right there basically. Like, I actually have to go. We'll talk later, but I have to make an important call. Yeah, that's right. And he calls hi. We wind up calling hi. Hi, hi, hi. Really good. That was great. Really good writing. Yeah, it's fun. Excellent delivery. Hi, hi. Hi, hi. Hi. I mean, what I mean to say, hello.

Is this high? Because I didn't even get the joke the first time. I thought you were just like stuttering over. Hi. Hi. Like I didn't. And then when you survived, I'm like, that's good writing. It's good. It's fun. Very well handled. And so in the conversation with hi, I think what it is is like the conversation with Kev and the sort of like healing of that which is broken sort of said like, you know what? I should, I have an opportunity to heal something. Something else. Another part of me. Let me take advantage of this. I'm going to get back to you, Big Dog, but I'm going to do this. Because if I wait too long, I may not do it. That's the sense that I got. You know what I mean?

Again, it felt like another boundary well set, the boundary well held. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, there wasn't a friction thing. It was just like, I'll be back. I appreciate you doing this, but also we don't need to do this over the phone. Sure, sure. Right now. And he winds up, he said, after high and he's always really nice to hear from you and anything,

he's saying, man, catch you a question. Like, William led me to believe that my mom died of an open. overdose, whatnot, and you have a very different sort of story. Do you think that he lied to me? And he said, like, I think William told you the truth based upon what he knew. Yeah, based on the story that he, basically his truth. Yeah, and I think that... Huge relief.

Huge relief. Oh, I immediately started crying. I was just like... Yeah. Couldn't have took it. Couldn't have taken it, right? But then why didn't... Laurel come looking for me.

Yeah. Yeah, it unlocks a whole other series of questions. He's like, man, I wish I could show you, you know, where she lived and the places that she went and the people that she knew and everything. Yeah. And an R&B look at each other and we're like, why not? You know, I was like, would you be okay if we came down there? And he's like, I'd love it. So that's where the whole thing ends.

What a generous spirit high is. Wonderful. It's just like from the jump, the fact that it's like, you can just tell it's like, I don't know the nature of their relationship. Clearly, there must have been some degree of love there. I don't know if it was romantic love or, but for him to honor her in this way of just like, of coming across this clip, recognizing like William Hill, like making those connections and finding a way to reach Randall. Yeah. Like it just, yeah, I've really, I was, it's so.

struck by his like just his generous spirit that is it's it's such a what a thing to do for someone that you love we couldn't agree more if only there was a way to talk to being home yeah i think we're gonna talk i think we are let's talk to him vienhong is played highly heiling and uh we're going to talk to him on this episode so stick around after this we'll be back with more that was us Today we are joined by the actor who brought Hi to life on This Is Us. Vien Hong is joining us on Zoom to talk about stepping in the high story, his experience on episode 505 and 506, and what it meant to help reveal this important chapter of Randall's past.

And just a quick heads up, you guys. There might be some spoilers ahead as we discuss his role. So just be forewarned. But let's jump in and welcome Vienne. How long? What are you? Hi. Hi.

Good to see you. Hi, I'm here. Hi, Chris. How are you? Doing good. Doing good. Wow, what a great surprise. Thanks for having me on.

Thank you for being here. It's so nice to get to your episodes. Your spirit through this whole, the beginning of season five has been such a beautiful thing to behold, like watching you and your granddaughter, like getting to be in scenes with you, like listening to you sort of just telling us the story. And I just remember being on set with you, bro. Like, you talk about the embodiment of appreciation and gratitude and joy. Like, you're just so full of light. I couldn't see anybody else do the role. Like, you killed the shit, man.

So I had to say that. You killed it. Wow. Well, I have to say, it starts from the top to the bottom, you know, Fogelman all the way down to the PAs. Yeah. What an amazing set to be on. And it's just I was blown away.

I was on hiatus for 20 years to raise a family. Wow. So I took myself off on camera acting to raise a family and 15th years into it. And speaking to children, I was at the beach with my kids. And a friend of mine called me and said, hey, you know, there's a show called This Is Us. I said, yeah, I heard of it. Have you seen it? Like, no.

You know, 15 years on hiatus, I didn't want to know anything about the show. the business because every day, more than once a day, I would think about the business and it would hurt so much. I was chucking away doing a regular job. I was an insurance adjuster on the field and just I'm there on my computer almost every hour. I think about acting for 15 years. So this phone call came in. I normally don't answer phone calls because on the weekends, I'm spending it with my kids at the beach and we're up at Leo Carrillo. They're out in the waves playing and they're laughing, smiling, and I'm, you know, phone rings and it's a good friend. So I always answered when certain people call.

Sure. She said, you know, you should audition yada, yada, yada. I said, look, a grandpa. Are you kidding me? I've never even played a dad before I left for hiatus, let alone a grandpa. Yeah. So she said, you really should because they're looking everywhere. And she said, you know, they're bringing in old men from Orange County, from Little Saigon.

And, you know, they're not actors. They just, you know, they, you know, God bless them, their hearts. They have their faces in the script and these monologues. And they got to break them down to beats. And so I thought, oh, I don't know. I just, they really should. I said, okay, I'll give it a shot. After I looked at in the waves, my kids are laughing at each other.

And, you know, their teeth needing braces and they're crooked. So I'm looking out there. I'm thinking, well, they do need braces. So, you know, this is a long shot. If I get it, I get braces. What do I have to lose? I just, you know, I just got to get back on the horse or the donkey and just, you know, do this thing. And so I said, okay, fine, I'll do it if it makes you happy.

In prepping for four days, I slept seven hours. So I would just scoot around and I would do what my grandpa used to stand in front of the toilet and just take like a two-minute pee or something. And my wife, she's a nurse, and she's like, oh, I got to get to work. Come on, come on, come on, come on. You can't rush the old man. I got prostate problems. You're getting into character. I love this.

Yeah. So she said, I could check it for you. I say, no, no, no, no. You're late for work. So I did all that. I would go to the store. I would just, you know, slow things down. And so seven hours of sleep in four days.

And then I auditioned. I, you know, it was, what, during COVID. So I, yeah. I was taking shower. My hair was too long, so I took a pair of scissors into the bathroom. And, yeah, I've done this for like a month thinking, should I, should I not? Should I should I not? And this time, I said, you know, I really should.

So I went right across. And I was trying to look for silver spray paint to do my hair. And my kids said, it's Halloween. Maybe mom can go to Walgreens and get you some, you know, hair stuff. So I lighten up my hair, just put coloring on air. Man, the things we do for our dishes, it's amazing. Exactly. And I dehydrated myself.

So that way I could get bags and I think those bags are permanent. So for four days, I just drank very little. And yeah, I slept like. You know, I didn't know how to get back onto it. It's 15 years. Yeah. And I didn't want to disappoint. And you did not.

And you delivered. So I auditioned and just like our upstairs are loftier, it's hot. So I'm sweating, as you can see with this sweatshirt on. Go on sweat, man. So I sweat it like an old man. And I darkened my sunspots and I said, I'm ready. So my kids thought it was funny because they've never seen me audition before. And they helped me out.

And we didn't have any lights. So we took their reptile lights. So we borrowed some from the anaconda. Tell them a little bit about the reptiles real quick. How many did you have at the time that we shot and how many do you have now? Because I remember this vividly. Yes. We had about 150 roughly at the time, give or take maybe.

20. We had, you know, a green anaconda, yellow anaconda. It sounds like a song. Yeah. We have Red Tail Boas. We have Burmese pythons. They were all in the, you were in an apartment, correct? Yes, yes, one bedroom and a loft. Brow! Yeah. So my wife, you know, she had all this beautiful furniture that she bought, and, you know, she would drive home and all tired from nursing and looking over to, by the big old dumpster. And there's like, beautiful. chairs and beautiful stuff out there because I was making room for reptile cages. So yeah, she would say, hey, by the trash, that looks like are the thing that I spent X amount of dollars. Yeah, yeah, I figured someone can have better use for it.

We need more space for this here. Do you still have all of them? Well, we have about 50 now. We kind of. Pared down. Yeah. Yeah. I love that 50 is the reasonable number.

Yeah. Yeah. I'm a little disappointed that there's not one here with us. Yeah, I know. I mean, I would love to bring it in. I have a death-stalker scorpion. My son turned me on to death-stalkers scorpions. Yeah. I think it's, I'm not an expert, but I think they're one of five most venomous scorpions in the world. And you've got one. Wait, I want to get back to the show of me real quick, but hold on. Exactly. What is what is the obsession? What is the pull, the draw, and how is it that you've convinced your whole family to go along with this. It started when I was very young. Back in Vietnam, you know, during the war, the Vietnam War, bombings were going on further

north, and my dad would take me on his motorcycle and go into the farmhouse. And I was alone. And, you know, I went to explore. And I was one of those kids that, when we're in the city, if the, the maid, you know, we were, we had a business. So my parents said, I have nine brothers and a sister. So lots of people look after, lots of kids to look after. So we had a maid.

And so when a maid wasn't, when I was not attended, I would venture off to look for reptiles and fish and I would bring back all sorts of things. And then I would get in trouble. But when I'm in the country house, my dad would be busy talking to the workers about our rice patty. So I would venture off to look for snakes and other stuff. Wow. So it started from there, yeah. So, you know, and then we left the country.

And then, of course, you know, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, I would still, that was my obsession with reptiles and bugs and learning about them. And you've passed that on to your family. Yeah. Yeah. You know, we had a dog. We had a minpin for 18 and a half years. And I didn't know that I developed an allergy to dogs and cats.

And my children, same thing. And so when our dog, Ike passed away, our sign is cleared up. And so I thought, hey, I have a good regular job. Let's get them tested. So they were allergic to cats and dogs. And so I said, let me introduce you. So the world of reptiles. So we would go to.

Death Reaper Scorpion. We would go to reptile shows and whatnot. And I said, I will apologize to mom. We'll take this home. I will apologize. Don't you do that? I will apologize. And so therefore, we, yeah.

Better to ask for forgiveness than permission. Then permission. I've heard that before. And she's very forgiving. Let me ask you. I'm going to ask you one more question myself before I hand it off to my two podcast mates. I don't think I've ever used that term. But the question I have for you, given the hiatus that you had and being away, like, what

did it feel like for you to be back on set? And not just on set, but to be able to represent. your country, you know what I'm saying? Because we don't get a lot of Vietnamese representation outside of a war context specifically. So I'm just very curious for you what it meant, what it felt like. Oh my gosh, I'm about to cry. My first introduction to This Is Us was when I was brought in to do voiceovers for the episode when Jack went to Vietnam.

Yeah. So I went, oh, my God. Wow. Wow. This is so authentic. And I was blown away. And Olenka, who led the voiceover group, oh, wow. Everything was so meticulously you'd done that I thought, I really miss this.

I really, really miss this. So when the chance came up to audition for it, I went, oh, yeah, oh, yeah. I remember that. I remember that show. And so that, for me, the show was that high for me. That's why I said, but I said no to everything else. And this was the thing that I said, yes, I will audition for it. Thank God you did.

Yeah, thank God you did. Oh, no, thank you. When I auditioned for it, gosh, I was blown away by the script, and I went, oh, my God, who wrote this? You know what I'm saying? You can actually sink your teeth into it. And, you know, there's A to Z versus the stuff that I auditioned for before I went on hiatus. It's like, you know, oh, this is just. Chinatown, you know, you can't deal with it.

Yeah. And I had casting would say, casting director would say, where's your accent? I said, well, the script didn't call for an accent. He said, we want an accent and in a reprimanding way. And I said, oh, okay. Do you want a New York accent or do you want a Southern accent? What accent? Yeah, I say, how you doing?

I said, what the hell is that? I said, I lived in New York for Christ. sometimes. You know, it's a New York accent. Yeah. No, we want the other accent. I said, oh, the Ching Chong Chinaman sitting on the fence accent. Yeah, bro.

I feel you. Well, that's what you call it. Yeah, yeah. Okay, I could do that. And that was the last time that I auditioned. But the script here, I think Kay Oigum wrote it. Yeah. And I went, oh my God.

And the black female character, the Asian male character, falling in love. Yeah. Two most, I don't want to use the word undesired. But I understand what you're saying. Yeah. Yes, sir. And two of these people falling in love, wow.

Goosebumps thinking about now. Yeah. And I went, wow, this is amazing. And the material made it so much easier to work with because there's human connection there. And I think a lot of people couldn't identify with it. So I identify with it. And it was easy because I just, you know, I just pretty much give in to the material. It was so easy.

It's just, I'm a lossful word for it. Hold on. I have to go to a parent-teacher conference. I'm saying this because this is the only circumstance under which I would leave this interview. I love you, brother. I love your spirit. And it was such a joy to sit across from the table. Because as I was watching 506,

there was very little acting that I had to do in terms of just listening to you, retell the story, and being so present that like the picture came to life. I don't know what you remember about it, but I just remember being sort of transfixed with everything that you had to say. And I would get into that more,

but I'm gonna excuse myself, for this parent teaching. And you're going to talk to my fellow podcast hosts. And I love you. And I'll talk to you. I love you, sir. Keep talking. I'll talk to you guys later.

Thank you. All right. Thank you. God bless him. Vienne, it is, it was a parent. You imbued not just your character, but this sense of history and love in the relationship that I had with Laurel. Yeah.

From the first, from the first word. It was such I mean it was so embodied from the get-go Yeah we were saying that Like there's such a spirit of generosity Because we were just recapping episode 505 Where you've you know

You've sent this note Randall's chief of staff J-Wan finds it and kind of like You know and Randall ends up reaching out to you He's hesitant but he reaches out to you And you kind of like give him the grace of telling him that his father hadn't in fact lied to him that you think that he was telling you the version of the truth that

he was aware of, right? And there's this, such relief over, and you guys kind of make tentative plans for him to come and visit New Orleans. But I was like, I just so struck by Hise, that spirit of generosity of like every, you know, he obviously runs across this like viral clip, here's the name William Hill and makes the connection and jumps through all of those hoops to seek out this man to kind of honor his late mother's wishes. And like there's something so profoundly beautiful about that that I just like fits in with everything about our show, but just like, wow, it's, I'm so blown away. And then obviously in episode 506, just like, the like, the gesture of like this is all yours.

Like as soon as he meets Randall, it's like, like he's been waiting for him. I've been waiting to do Laurel's bidding to just like she would want you to have all of this and giving him the keys. And yeah, as Chris said, just like the recounting of this story of like the gift you're giving this man

who never knew his mother, who never would know this history about her family, about high and Laurel's love for each other, about, you know, and I love that you're so steadfast in your commitment to like getting the story right for her, for him, you know, when he sort of knocks you and says like, this, like, this is wonderful, but like this isn't the notebook. I don't want to hear about this. And you're like, oh, no, no, no, just be patient because there's a lot more to this story than what meets the

eye or what you're sort of thinking how it unfolds. So I'm, I'm curious. I'm curious. I'm curious all of that to say. I'm curious when you audition for something like this. Are you aware of the breadth of what is in store for this character? Of how he fits into the fabric of this family and Randall's story in particular, like, you know, because obviously we see you in episode 501. Do you know what a role like this will sort of entail when you audition for it? Nothing at all whatsoever. Wow.

Wow. You know, I've never seen the show before except maybe. Just the little moments that I did for that episode when Jack was in Vietnam. Yeah. Other than that, a friend of mine said, oh, yeah, every season has a mystery character. I said, a mystery character. Kind of like Scooby-Doo? You know.

Sure. You're off. Yeah. Like how they fit into the story, the patchwork of the story, sure. We didn't even have Netflix at the time to, because I think it was on Netflix, all the seasons. So I had to get Netflix. When I got the part, I got Netflix to watch the first couple episodes. Now, when I sent in an email with casting, I said, I said, you know, I need more information on the character.

Could you please give me more information on the character? And they came back and basically said, no, no, we can't tell you that. But tell us a little bit about yourself. And I thought, oh, okay. And so I just had little hints here and there. because I came to the United States with my parents in 1980. So that would make my parents first generation. That would make me 1.5 of an immigrant.

And so I could sort of identify with him a little bit. And so when casting said, well, tell us about yourself. And so I thought, oh, wow, this is great. Of course, as actors, you know that when someone says, tell me about yourself, well, what can I pull from myself? So I told them my life story, but very short, I said, I was born during the Vietnam War, lots of bombings. Saigon fell in 1975.

The North came in, the Communists came in, and we lived under communism for four and a half years. Finally, there was a civil unrest between the folks in southern Vietnam, and so the government said, you know, those that want to leave the country can go. And so we left on a boat. We were those boat people from the late 70s. out of Vietnam. We went to Malaysia. It took us seven days and six nights to get to Malaysia, but on the way there, we were pirated by pirates from Thailand twice. So they raped pillage women. Well, they raped the women. They pillaged everything. And oh my gosh, they searched everywhere for gold. So that happened twice. So we got to Malaysia. We're beaten down. We lived

into refugee camps for two months. And then the government there didn't want us. So they put us back on the boat. And the Navy, the Malaysian government, towed us out to the ocean and say, go to Indonesia. Maybe they'll take you there. So we put it along.

And then in an hour or two, our engine died. So we were floating out there on this fishing boat, turn into a taxi boat with roughly 250 to 300 people. So we're packed like sardines and pretty much if you squat on the ground, squat, and that's your space the whole time. So for two weeks, we were floating out there 14 and a half days without food and water. So as a child, I drank my urine.

I recycle my urine to stay alive. Oh, my goodness. And so finally, on the 15th day, we got rescued by a Hong Kong oil tanker. And it circled several times and then towed us through a. stormed that night onto a small island in Indonesia and it left. And so we kind of floated into the island because it's an oil tanker. It can't bring us too close. So in the morning, the natives came out.

They helped us onto the land. And we lived there for, I think it was a month or so until a U.S. missionary came by and spotted us. So he went until the higher commission for refugees. and then the U.S. and the French came with two shifts and took us out of there, took us to a bigger island, and we lived there for about eight months. And so we live on ration. And I was, as a child, I started for about a year.

I had to go fishing with my brother, fishing, and to bring food back for the family. And that's how I learned how to fish a little bit. And so when we, and my dad was in the military, so we got top priority to come to the United States. So to whichever country we wanted to go to. But my dad had always wanted to come to the United States to give the children, 10 boys and one girl, a, you know, the American dream, pretty much. So we came here to pursue the American dream like everybody did. And so I told this, I sent that on an email.

Oh, my God. To casting. Yeah. And it was a Friday afternoon in casting, but, well, we just need to hear more, for more producers. But hang tight. So the following Monday, I think, it was announced that I got the part. So they couldn't tell me what the character is about. So they say, tell us about yourself.

And so that's basically the story I told through an email. I can't even wrap my head around everything you just said, Vien. That is a remarkable story, a remarkable life. The resilience. I just, I mean, it's not. No small feat. Like what Sterling was saying, like your essence, your spirit, like all of that translates into this character. Like I feel like you brought your collective history with you into this character.

I mean, do you feel like that, like the opportunity to portray someone like this? Were you able to really draw upon so much of everything you just told us? Yes, you know, as actors, you know, we bridge our character between ourselves and what's written. And then, you know, Kay and other writers of the show wrote such beautiful scripts that it's hard not to just give yourself into it and go, wow, you know, this is me, that's that. And it's like, oh, it's like melt the both into it. And then of course, you know, Angela Gibb, what a great scene partner to work with. Wow. Seriously.

You know, Kay did an amazing job as Young High. And then Sterling, you know, I was hoping that I would get scenes with Chris with you and Andy and everybody. Yeah. And rewatching and rewatching these episodes, may I just say it again. Like as soon as you come on screen, it's just a blessing to this show. It instantly feels like family. Yeah. Thank you.

The thing is, it's the writing. It's the, you know, it comes all the way from the creator all the way down to, as I I mentioned the PA. It was just how can you not feel so comfortable in that environment? It was like a dream. I'm almost five and a half years later. I can still feel it. And basically, what an amazing show to come back to.

And after I did This Is Us, I went on to do work on Animal Kingdom. I had a recurring role in that. And then after that, I told my wife, I said, I think this is my calling to come back to the business. Because I have 20 and the business is not going to wait for you. So I think this is, this is, wow. I think this is my time to come back. Well, I think I could speak for anybody, all of us and anyone who sees you perform, that we are incredibly thankful that you are back.

Yeah. Thank you. Where you are meant to be. Thank you. And, you know, and the thing is, after working on the show, I didn't know that it's going to be, you know, Kay had told me that, oh, after this, you're going to have fans. I thought, fans. Are you kidding me?

Fans? And then I, the next day after a birth mother, starting from episode three, I had people adding me on Facebook, sending friend requests. I wake up and I went, what the? It's like, who is this? I'm like, yeah, I'll add everybody. I didn't know who they were. But a friend of mine said, if you want some privacy, I said, well, I don't know how to,

I'm not a social media person. But after birth mother, I had even more ads. What an amazing character to play. And during COVID, a person, really. reach out to me from Syria. She had a friend and her themselves. They both watched this as us. They were like avid fans.

And one of them had an aunt that passed and a mother that had COVID that might be passing soon. And so she was down. And so her friend reached out to me on social and say, could you please record something to uplift their spirit? And so I did about five minutes worth of it. And I sent it over and, you know, she said it made a difference in the, in how her friend was dealing with death and everything. Someone contacted me from Canada saying they had a death in the family. And after watching a birth mother, they lift their spirits lifted.

Someone from UK, a couple of people from the UK reached out to me. and then of course Japan, Turkey. Wow. And then, of course, somebody, a high school friend that I went to school with would put episode six on repeat so she could fall asleep to the scenes of Sterling, Susie, and myself. I mean, isn't it remarkable just this crazy job we're so lucky to get to do, like the impact that it can have is just it's never not mind-border. glowing to us. And a show like this with the subject matter, it's like it really, yeah, it's

really great. It's a wild world we live in. Yeah, and all I want is was just racist. And look what you got. Yeah. Thank you for, for everything. Thank you. Thank you for your contribution. I hope our pads cross again soon. I know. I really appreciate you having this conversation with us and taking the time and being a part of a very important, you know, chapter of our. show's history. Ladies and gentlemen, Vienn-Hont. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you very much. That was such a wonderful conversation. The sweetest, the kindest, so genuine, so just like present. Like I remember just being on set with him and being like, oh, yeah, this was your job. This wasn't anybody else's job. Yeah. It was meant for him. Yeah. Yeah, that's pretty cool. It's nice when that

person shows up on set. It always. It's always such a joy. And we had it happen many, many times. Oh, thank you for watching another episode of listening to watching. I hope you're watching. Yeah. Because we look good. Doing all the things. That was us. Please like, subscribe. Support our sponsors, all of the things that help us take this to the finish line, which we're coming up on very quickly. We'll tell you guys something else too. We haven't made a decision what happens. I have to 618, 618 or 616? 616. 616.

No, no. It was 516, 618. 618, thank you. We did 18. We haven't made a decision what's going to happen after 618. Yeah, we haven't. So I'm curious to you guys.

If you have thoughts, should it just be done? Yeah. Should it continue? You want more? Things you want to hear? I want more of you guys. Always.

I don't want to give up you guys. I know I don't have to any way in real life. Come on, life is going to be life. We're not going to see each other. and this is like such a joy. I feel you. Maybe we switch to true crime. We'll go true crime?

We'll just start doing the only murders in the building? Ryan's already going to do Paradise, right? She is going to do Paradise. Yeah. We'll figure out. Who wants to look in the camera? Who wants to say the name of the show? That was us.

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-dum That was us