Warning! The following contains spoilers for This Is Us' episode "After The Fire." Read at your own risk!
This Is Us got a little speculative this week when Randall's therapist challenged him to imagine a scenario in which his father Jack survived his heart attack. The moment resulted in viewers seeing two distinctly different realities in which Randall's life was impacted both positively and negatively by his father's survival. It meant a lot of screen time for Milo Ventimiglia in the episode, and as a result, the actor got to do some things he doesn't do that often.
As one might imagine, getting killed off before the main characters reach adulthood means the amazing Milo Ventimiglia doesn't get to go through the makeup aging process that Mandy Moore does regularly. Ventimiglia shared with People:
Actually, the best part of it was looking over and seeing Mandy. And I’m like, ‘Oh, Mandy’s going through the same thing and I’m right here with her and she does this all the time.’ I applaud her for that. The process and the artistry behind it is really incredible. The effects team and Zoey Hay, our head of department, had two guys that were working on me and one’s an Academy award-winning makeup artist and the other one’s an Emmy-winning makeup artist. So it’s fun to sit in a chair and really watch and feel the way their process when makeup is happening, the process of their job is happening. I don’t mind it, I don’t mind it at all.
Milo Ventimiglia has done the aged-up makeup process once before in This Is Us' history, when Kate imagined Jack at her wedding day. "After The Fire" was a bit more intense than that, as viewers got to see Jack Pearson slowly age throughout the episode much like they do Mandy Moore in Rebecca's various flashbacks. It sounds like a tedious and tiring experience to be in makeup that long, but Ventimiglia explained he didn't mind it a bit.
Getting scenes where he looked older wasn't the only thing Milo Ventimiglia got to experience that he doesn't do often. Another downside about Jack Pearson dying in the past means he doesn't get scenes with a majority of the other stars, but this episode changed that.
I’m the most isolated on the show, usually it’s just Mandy and I. So when all of a sudden, I’m in a scene with Justin, Sterling and Chrissy, even Susan [Kelechi Watson] and Sulli [Chris Sullivan], it’s kind of exciting to me. I never get that chance.
Milo Ventimiglia got to have some fun for an episode, but of course, This Is Us didn't change its history. Jack is still dead in the present, but who knows? Maybe This Is Us will do another "what if" episode in the future. Perhaps next time it will be a bit more uplifting?
This Is Us airs on NBC Tuesdays at 9:00 p.m. ET. Continue to stick with CinemaBlend for more on what's happening in the world of television and movies.
