But how did actors from all walks of Hollywood life credits range fromHeroestoThe People v. O.J SimpsontoMr.
RobottoRevenge come together to form this unconventional, unpredictable family at the wide-open heart ofThis Is Us?
Start scrolling, because you love flashbacks, remember?
Joe Pugliese/NBC (2); Maarten de Boer/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal/Getty;
“We all knew her fromLouie.
I wrote a monologue for her.
That was one of the first reactions people would have.
Gregg DeGuire/WireImage; Maarten de Boer/Getty Images
She’s just so lovely.
Her and Sterling you think they’re married in real life.
They’re just so beautiful together as a couple.”
Some audition days are good days.
And every once in a while, it can be both.
“I was doing a flurry of auditions at that time, and this was one of them.
I went in for this again with [executive producers/directors] John Requa and Glenn Ficarra.
And I grew up watching reruns ofWhat’s Happening!
!and even when I was rehearsing that scene, I was laughing through that part.
Greg Doherty/Getty Images; Gregg DeGuire/WireImage
“I knew that Sterling had the part,” she says.
I felt really at peace with whatever way it went.”
“It was an instant hit,” says Fogelman.
I just know it.'…
I knew of him.Mr.
Robothad come out around then.
He’s such a beloved theater actor in New York.
He’s the best of all time!'….
He read all his scenes on tape in New York.
Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images; Maarten de Boer/Getty Images
And that was it.
It was so obviously him.
It was so real and it was so beautiful, and you could just see the path."
Ron Batzdorff/NBC
“I did some real good homework on it.
And the next day my agent called and said, ‘They’re interested in you.’
I said, ‘For a callback?’
Ron Batzdorff/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images
She was like, ‘No they’re interested in you to hire you.’
One of the first things you want as an actor is for people to identify with your work.
That’s what I base my reputation on, so when he said, ‘Great work.
Gregg DeGuire/WireImage; Maarten de Boer/Getty Images
I hired you based on your work for the tape,’ I was very, very happy.
It was my first lead role in a television series for a major television web connection.
I couldn’t have asked for a better role.”
And it was the idea that the writers would take me and the audience through that exploration.
Two guest Emmys is “some impact,” indeed.
“I wanted to meet all the actors and really read scenes with them,” he says.
Ron Batzdorff/Getty Images
Mandy did a scene, and did a little test with Milo [Ventimiglia].
It was so powerful when we played it for the web link and studio that it was over.
It was, like, ‘Done!'"
Gregg DeGuire/WireImage; Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images
Moore had been chewed up by disappointment through several pilot seasons, switching agents and losing faith.
“I don’t know how actors do it.
Like, how many times in my life am I going to play a pregnant-with-triplets mother?”
Ron Batzdorff/Getty Images
“I was one of the first people that came in,” she recalls of the audition process.
And there are going to be some other girls there.’
I read with Milo; I didn’t read with any other guys.
Ron Batzdorff/Getty Images
It was pretty instantaneous.
I heard that they were really high on Milo.
I felt like, ‘This is maybe my only shot.
Maarten de Boer/Getty Images (2)
I gotta really do my best!’
And it was just so easy with him.
We had an instant rapport and it was super comfortable.
Paul Drinkwater/NBC
It’s not as uncomfortable as it could be with some other people.'
I felt like, ‘Oh, God.
I really hope it’s us.'"
Ron Batzdorff/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal/Getty
“Everybody knew the character was going to break out a little bit if we got it right,.
I have an affinity for that character because it reminds me of my sister.
It was just such a cool moment.
Earl Gibson III/WireImage. Inset: Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic
Metz swears that there was something fortuitous in the air when she went to her meeting.
“I’m like, ‘What is this?’
It just felt different.
Ron Batzdorff/NBC
Maybe I felt different.
I think intuitively we know things.
It’s not very often that you get complimented in the room.
Mandy Moore and Jon Huertas on ‘This Is Us’.NBC
You’re talented!’?
I nearly lost my mind.
And these are people that I revere and I love.
Christopher Polk/Getty Images; Maarten de Boer/Getty Images
I just want it to be real and authentic, so it was kind of overwhelming.
But also he’s like, ‘Hey, can you grab your purse?’
and I was like, ‘Sure.’
Ron Batzdorff/Getty Images
This is a good sign, right?
Or maybe they’re not sure if I take direction well.'”
He’s my brother?
NBC
Am I attracted to my brother right now?'”
“Because I watched him onRevengeand I loved him.
I’m like, ‘How am I going to do this?’
JB Lacroix/ WireImage; Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic
But it was all very fun a little stressful, because when you want something so bad…. You always get back what you give.
So it was a magical experience, all in all and it continues to be.”
And then Justin came in.
Our heat had broken in our casting office, so we were doing it in this conference room.
It was the worst place to read a script.
He was so annoyed by that."
Similar to Moore, Hartley recalls feeling chewed up and beaten down after a few disappointing pilot seasons.
I don’t have the energy.
The idea of going out on a pilot right now is exhausting.'
Or, rather, his buddy’s.
and I was like, ‘Yeah,'" says Hartley.
“And he was like, ‘Well, how long have you known each other?’
And I said, ‘Well, I knowofhim, we don’t hang out.’
And he goes, ‘I read this script and I was pretty sure that he wrote you.’
And I was like, ‘You’ve got to send that over to me.’
Lo and behold, my agent was sending it to me at the same time.
I understand what he’s going through.
Once Hartley got into the room, the process was all ease and breeze.
He remains grateful that Fogelman & Co. were able to see past the pretty-boy actor stereotype.
“Everyone gets put in a box, right?”
“And you have to show people that you’re more than just whatever their preconceived notion is.
And it’s really difficult to get that opportunity.
So I’m forever indebted to these guys for giving me that opportunity.
Sterling K. Brown (Randall)
Previous Credits:The People v. O.J.
“We never really read anybody else we just wanted him,” shares Fogelman.
We can move on from casting that part.
That’s it.’
It was the easiest.
As it turned out, the same studio hadO.J.in the can, so they were like, ‘Great!’
And I was like, ‘Really?
It’s that easy?
“What is it like when you are physically something but not necessarily raised in that culture?
At what points in time do you find those things to weave in and integrate into yourself?
It was intriguing to play somebody who is frequently a fish out of water.
Even just after 10 years, you remember it.
The love is remembered.
Most of the time, if you’re lucky, you’re going in to read for the producers.
If you’re unlucky, sometimes you have a pre-read.
Then after the pre-read, there’s the producers.
And then, after the producers, God willing, there’s a test.
And then this test goes from studio to online grid and then you find something out.
It didn’t have the same sort of angst that a lot of tests can have.”
After Fogelman met Huertas in the audition, the blanks began to fill in.
“And I was like, ‘Oh, this is just interesting.’
I remember that gut instinct because there wasn’t that much to read at the time.
Just feeling good about him.”
Then I was working on having Randall call him ‘Miguel.’
While he was feeling the chemistry, he wasn’t quite feeling the role.
“I just wanted to do something different with the character,” he recalls.
Can you get to Paramount today by 3 o’clock?’
They want to know if you’re good enough to be in this show.'”
Needless to say, he didn’t have much time to prepare for his big shot.
“I was like, ‘Well, I didn’t have a chance.
I read as much as I could.
That’s all we knew about the character.
It was a very, very easy casting.
I was the only person of color up for the role.
“He was not at all what I had in my brain,” admits Fogelman.
“I was picturing a much more normal, schlubbier guy like me.
Milo came in with long hair, beard, and a motorcycle, and a leather jacket.
He met with us and did a scene.
I was like, ‘That’s him.
Let’s base the family off of that.’
It was the scene where he talks to the doctor about how everything’s going to go right today.
And it was his scene at the top with Rebecca about the Terrible Towel.
But it was so clear that that’s the guy.'”
“This came what I’ll call ‘off-cycle,'” he says.
This was in October.
This was an island.
It really was on its own.
The nice part about it was it still stood out.
There was no hope, there was no smiling.
And they were great.
I enjoyed my time, but they weren’t lighthearted.
They felt like I’d have to wear a heavy heart for several months of filming.
This one felt hopeful.
There’s no far cry of disbelief: ‘Oh, my God.
The world is ending and aliens are coming down!’
It’s not really play pretend; it’s kind of play real.”
Things got very real for Ventimiglia once Moore walked into the room to be his scene partner.
“Mandy came in, and just, I mean, she’s magic,” he raves.
“She’s incredibly talented and genuine with her choices, but also she’s a kind person…. We didn’t have the luxury to work out anything before we went on camera.
It was literally just like: Dive right into hot water.
It was that pilot scene where Rebecca’s water breaks.
She stood up and said, ‘Okay, thanks, guys.’
We locked eyes, and then she turned and walked out.
I was like, “Wow, man.
I think that’s Rebecca.”
“Chris had been in everything lately,” says Fogelman.
“It was that kind of obvious.’
He’s great for Chrissy.
They play off each other so nicely.
Sullivan also recalls coming into focus in theKnickof time.
Sullivan remembers submitting an audition tape three weeks prior to being summoned to meet with the producers.
“And I’m like, “I’m in L.A.!’
I was in L.A. shootingLive By Night, with Ben Affleck.
And they’re like, ‘Okay, great.
Well, can you go over right now?’
And I was like, ‘Uhhh…
I was on my way to the airport, and they sent me the scenes.
While a bit stressful, the accelerated audition ultimately benefitted Sullivan.
“It’s kind of the way I prefer it,” he says.
“I read the pilot episode and I was like, ‘Oh, man!
I really hope I get this!’
It was kind of backward, just because things got rushed.”
