Milo Ventimiglia reveals that it was heartbreaking not to get to film with Justin Hartley, Chrissy Metz, and Sterling K. Brown on This Is Us.

This Is Us star reveals how difficult it was that he didn't have the opportunity to film with most of the main cast of the NBC drama series. Back when This Is Us premiered in 2016, fans were treated to a plot twist right off the bat: the episode, which followed four different people on their 30th birthday, took place in two different timelines. Jack Pearson (Milo Ventimiglia) and his wife Rebecca (Mandy Moore) were revealed to be the parents of the other three characters, who later became known as the Big Three: Randall (Sterling K. Brown), Kate (Chrissy Metz), and Kevin (Justin Hartley).

Early on, This Is Us established one of its biggest tragic plot developments: Ventimiglia's character was not present in the current timeline because his character died when the Big Three were young. Although the exact nature of his death was not revealed for some time, it was clear he did not live to see his children grow to adulthood. This meant that, while Ventimiglia was in the main cast and indeed appeared on every episode of the series up through last week's finale, he almost never appeared onscreen with Hartley, Brown, and Metz, although he did spend ample time with co-star Mandy Moore, who is in both This Is Us timelines.

During a round table interview with EW, the Big Three adult actors discussed how little they had the chance to shoot with Ventimiglia. Although they appeared together in certain moments like dream sequences, the only time he gets to interact with the rest of the adult cast is in interviews and other publicity settings. He revealed that, for him, that's been the most "heartbreaking" thing about the entire process of filming the entire show. Check out his full quote below:

I’ve been consistently saying, that’s the one heartbreaking thing for me is that I don’t get to share time with all of you on set.

The peculiar timeline setup of the series is unusual, to the point that it was probably difficult to predict what it might have been like to shoot. It's certainly possible Ventimiglia didn't even consider the social ramifications of taking this role. Although he is considered by viewers to be on equal footing with all of his other co-stars, there is an inherent imbalance to the time they spent together that may have felt alienating.

Hopefully, the This Is Us star will have a less troubling time on his next series, the ABC K-drama adaptation The Company You Keep. Obviously being on such a successful series was ultimately rewarding. However, being a part of a disjointed ensemble added to the emotional weight of what was already a devastatingly emotional show. Ventimiglia may not have spent much time with the actors behind the Big Three, but it still seems as if they had a major impact on his time creating the show.

Next: This Is Us Season 6 Plot Hole Betrays The Show’s Core Appeal

Source: EW