Where else can you watch the cast of This Is Us?
By Reed Gaudens
We love them as the Pearson family on NBC’s This Is Us, but where else can we awe at the cast’s talents on TV and film?
It didn’t take very long for us to fall completely head over heels for the cast of This Is Us. From the moment our first tear fell during the pilot episode last fall, we were all in with eight of the most talented actors on television. Ever since, they have reduced us to blubbering messes with each passing episode, and we simply can’t get enough of the Pearson family on and off screen.
Of course, some This Is Us viewers have had long histories with Milo Ventimiglia, who made us swoon on Gilmore Girls and Heroes, and Mandy Moore, who supplied a steady stream of pop classics and box screen favorites in the early aughts. But a few of the other cast members are relative newcomers and could be fresh faces to the audience. Even Milo and Mandy could be unknowns to some sectors of the fandom.
However, it’s time to get to know our Pearson family via their other work. Each of the cast members have built incredible careers apart from This Is Us and continue to turn in brilliant performances in productions other than the family drama sensation. If you’re looking to spend more time with the cast of This Is Us outside of our weekly sob-fest appointment, look no further. Here’s where else you can watch the talented bunch on TV and in film!
Milo Ventimiglia
Before Milo Ventimiglia melted hearts and raised the parental stakes as Jack Pearson on This Is Us, he was another actor trying to make a name for himself in the ’90s. If you turn on reruns of shows such as The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Saved by the Bell: The New Class, and One World, you just might be lucky enough to catch a glimpse of a young Papa Pearson. But there’s one role that still sticks with his fans.
In the second season of The WB’s Gilmore Girls, Ventimiglia made his debut as Jess Mariano, the troublemaker that would woo the ambitious Rory Gilmore. From there, Ventimiglia starred in The WB’s short-lived sexuality drama The Bedford Diaries (an underrated gem if you can find it), guested on American Dreams, and produced Crackle’s Chosen. He also starred in the sci-fi series Heroes and returned for last year’s Gilmore Girls: A Year In the Life on Netflix.
Ventimiglia can also be seen 2006’s Rocky Balboa as the titular character’s son, which, as serendipity would have it, landed Sylvester Stallone for a guest role on This Is Us. He has popped in a small roles in a number of Adam Sandler movies, including That’s My Boy, Grown Ups 2, and Sandy Wexler. If you need a breather from Jack Pearson’s motivational monologues, check out Milo Ventimiglia in these awesome roles!
Mandy Moore
Of all the This Is Us cast members, Mandy Moore boasts the most high-profile résumé of film credits. As a teen pop star with a handful of classic hits, Moore transitioned into a big screen presence, a feat few of her bubblegum contemporaries could attain with the same durability. Beginning with a small role in 2001’s The Princess Diaries, Moore headlined A Walk To Remember, How To Deal, Saved!, Chasing Liberty, Because I Said So, and License To Wed.
She also lent her voice to Disney’s Tangled and co-starred in 2017’s summer shark movie 47 Meters Down. Moore can next be seen on the big screen in 20th Century Fox’s 2018 adaptation of the young adult science fiction thriller The Darkest Minds. Aside from starring in This Is Us, Moore also keeps a packed television schedule with voice roles in Disney Junior’s Sheriff Callie’s Wild West and Tangled: The Series.
Before bringing Rebecca Pearson to life, Mandy Moore turned in guest roles on Entourage, Scrubs, How I Met Your Mother, Grey’s Anatomy, and the short-lived medical drama Red Band Society. Thankfully, we’ll be watching her work as Mama Pearson for many seasons, and with any lucky, she’ll be releasing new music next year. In the meantime, you can catch Moore’s movies and TV work in syndication and on streaming!
Sterling K. Brown
It’s hard to remember a time when Sterling K. Brown wasn’t a major television star and one of the most sought after actors in Hollywood. After his breakout year on This Is Us, everyone wants a piece of the talented actor, and let’s all give that a resounding “the more Sterling, the merrier.” Brown kicked off his career with small roles on television and the big screen, popping up in movies such as Brown Sugar, Righteous Kill, Our Idiot Brother, and Whiskey Tango Foxtrot.
For Sterling K. Brown, the road to becoming an Emmy winner was paved with a ton of hard work in guest roles. He guested on Third Watch and Supernatural (among many others) before landing a regular role on Lifetime’s Army Wives from 2007 to 2013. Of course, he won his Emmy for The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story and is poised to grab another one for This Is Us. Keep your eyes open for Brown at the box office in The Predator, Black Panther, and Hotel Artemis.
Chrissy Metz
When you first watched This Is Us, you might have asked “Oh, where do I know them from?” for a number of the main cast members if you weren’t already a fan of their work. However, you probably hadn’t seen the breakout talent Chrissy Metz. The first-time Emmy nominee has spoken openly about having 81 cents in her account at the time of her audition for Kate Pearson. Translation: Metz has been hustling for her big break in Hollywood for a hot minute.
While landing the role that would honor her incredible talent was always in the cards, we’re beyond lucky to be able to witness her skill in action. Before snagging her place in This Is Us, Metz only had small roles in a pair of low, low budget movies and a handful of television credits: Entourage, My Name Is Earl, Huge, and American Horror Story: Freak Show. As a frontrunner for an Emmy win, Metz is just getting started. There have been rumblings of a romantic comedy with Oscar Isaac, and that rumor just needs to come to life right now.
Justin Hartley
If you’re a fan of The CW and soap operas, then you were well-versed in the handsome and supremely gifted Justin Hartley. He first starred in Passions from 2002 to 2006 before jumping ship to The Young and the Restless from 2014 to 2016. The latter landed him a Daytime Emmy Award nomination. (Let’s turn that Daytime into Primetime, huh?) You can also spot Hartley in recurring roles on Revenge and Mistresses and one-off episodes in shows like Chuck, Castle, and Hart of Dixie.
Justin Hartley might be best known for his roles on The CW. He later starred in the short-lived Emily Owens, M.D., a charming dramedy available to stream on Netflix, but he made a name for himself on the long-running superhero drama Smallville as the Green Arrow. Hartley flexed his creative muscles on Smallville as a writer and director, but he’ll be flexing his actual muscles on the big screen in a big way this year in A Bad Moms Christmas. Now that’s a movie you will not want to miss!
Susan Kelechi Watson
With the first season of This Is Us under our belts, it’s increasingly difficult to imagine life before Susan Kelechi Watson came into our lives. As Beth Pearson, she’s hilarious, honest, and empowered, and it’s a shame it took as long as it did for Watson to find her breakthrough role. Prior to embodying Randall’s better half, Watson maintained steady guest work on television, from The Good Wife to Royal Pains and everything in between.
Susan Kelechi Watson gained more recognition for her work on 12 episodes of Louie in 2012 through 2014 and her four-episode arc on NBC’s The Blacklist. Don’t be surprised if you see Watson appear in your binges of shows such as The Following, Veep, Billions, and Divorce as she turned in memorable guest turns in a variety of popular series. At any rate, Susan Kelechi Watson’s layered performances on This Is Us have proven one fact: She needs to be in everything.
Chris Sullivan
Leave it to the comic relief of This Is Us to have an extensive background in dramatic projects. In 2016, Chris Sullivan co-starred in sci-fi horror film Morgan, Daniel Radcliffe’s thriller Imperium, and Ben Affleck’s crime drama Live By Night. Sullivan also appeared in 2013’s HBO original film The Normal Heart, 2014’s The Drop, and this year’s Marvel blockbuster Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 as Taserface. Now we definitely need Toby to make a meta Guardians joke.
Sullivan, who’s responsible for much of the laughter to be found between the ugly crying in This Is Us, also had a series regular role on Cinemax’s The Knick prior to becoming Toby. You might catch him in episodes of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, The Americans, and Stranger Things. But you might not have known that Chris Sullivan is a musician who has appeared in a number of theatre titles. He even performed in NBC’s Peter Pan Live! in 2014. We know him, we love him, and we can’t wait to see what he does next!
Ron Cephas Jones
One of the most unbelievable facts about This Is Us, other than Mandy Moore being snubbed at the Emmys, is that Ron Cephas Jones isn’t a household name. Considering his caliber of performance and the confidence with which he acts, he seems as though he would have been a legacy actor with Oscars crowding his mantle. But alas, his largest film credits include He Got Game, Half Nelson, and Across the Universe.
The brilliant actor, who tore our hearts into a million pieces in “Memphis,” has also turned in guest starring roles in television series such as Low Winter Sun, Banshee, Mr. Robot, The Get Down, and Luke Cage. Clearly, Ron Cephas Jones is a major component of the Peak TV movement. Having scored his first ever Emmy nomination for his role as William on This Is Us, we can prepare to start seeing Ron Cephas Jones appear on screens big and small for many years to come!
Next: Here's the best places to watch This Is Us online
Had you seen the cast in these titles before This Is Us? Will you be watching any of the cast’s previous work? Let us know in the comments, and keep the conversation going on Twitter!
This Is Us returns for Season 2 on Tuesday, September 26 at 9/8c on NBC.