This Is Us Cast Watched Sunday’s Devastating Episode Together 'As a Family'
This Is Us fans have long known that patriarch Jack Pearson (Milo Ventimiglia) would meet his maker, as he did in Sunday night’s episode, dying of smoke inhalation after escaping a Crock-Pot-caused blaze. And in a new interview with Esquire.com, the actor reveals when he discovered his character would only exist in flashbacks and the memories of the family he left behind.
“I found out pretty early on, maybe in the middle of the first season. Mandy and I were on set and Fogelman came over to talk to us and explained that it was a house fire, but we didn’t know how or when or why,” says Ventimiglia, 40. “We slowly learned about these other little things — Randall’s girlfriend, Kevin’s broken leg, Kate’s dog — that were going to tip off the audience, and once we got into the second season, it was kind of a harrowing thing to just keep everything under wraps. It became Fort Knox secrecy: photocopy-proof scripts, code words, secret locations. And we really couldn’t talk about it outside the company.”
In true Pearson style, the cast screened the pivotal post-Super Bowl episode at Fogelman’s house, “as a family.”
“Watching it for me was less about what happens to Jack and more about how the kids responded to the loss. I was personally just so blown away by what the rest of the cast had done, and the stories Fogelman gave to all of them in regards to Jack’s death,” he said. “It was almost a proud father moment, just watching my TV family experience this loss.”
And like literally everyone on Twitter, he found the episode to heartbreakingly beautiful.
“I get emotional over Rebecca, and the kids,” he said. “Crying for Jack would seem a bit ridiculous, because I exist as him and I wouldn’t cry for myself. But understanding the impact that Jack had on his family, that’s where I personally get the most emotional. Everyone loved the question of why Jack died, but I think the most interesting part of the episode is how it impacted these four individuals.”
This Is Us airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET on NBC.