Unless you've been living under a rock, you've probably heard about all the drama, all the love, and all the tears the American hit TV series This Is Us has been causing its audiences every Tuesday night. Created by Dan Fogelman, the Golden Glob Nominated drama is one that tells the story of The Pearson Family, who, through the trials of love, growing up, and raising their own families a little bit down the road, come to realize that the things that the people who you surround yourself in life are what make it worth.
Starring renowned actress Mandy Moore, who plays the loving, fearless, and inspiringly commited wife and mother, Rebecca Person, the show has brought families together all over the world. However; no matter how dedicated of a fan you think you are, we bet you didn't know these 10 surprising facts about our favorite TV mom, Rebecca Pearson.
Moore Was a Singer Before She was an Actress
Born in New Hampshire, many people now Mandy Moore for her some of her earlier major acting roles in big Hollywood films like A Walk To Remember or voicing Rapunzel in Tangled. However, Moore first stepped foot into the land of entertainment by singing.
Rebecca and her future husband, Jack, on the show spend their first night getting to know each other after Jack sees her performing at a bar. Many times you'll see Rebecca singing on the show, proving her love for music and how that is passed down to her daughter, Kate. It's easy to see how Moore is able to portray that part so effortlessly.
There's a hidden Tangled reference in the show
Speaking of Tangled, the animated Disney movie has more ties to the show than you think. Before getting the part of Rebecca, Moore actually already knew the show's creator Dan Fogelman, as they had both worked on the movie together (Fogelman writing the screenplay).
In the show's first season, audiences learn the backstory behind Jack and Rebecca's struggles and joys that come with raising twins and an adopted child. In one of the episodes, Randall tells his mom, "I love you," to which Rebecca responds, "I love you more." Randall replies back again with the words, "I love you most," and unless you're also a Disney fanatic, you might be pleasantly surprised to find out this heartfelt exchange comes from the Disney song "Mother Knows Best," which Moore sang on for Tangled.
Moore is actually the youngest member of the cast!
Despite playing TV mom and even - as the show flash-forwards - TV grandmother, Moore is actually the youngest of her co-stars on set. At just 35, Moore takes on the role of Rebecca at not only one time, but spanning several decades of her life. From the moment she meets Jack to when they start dating to when her kids have grandchildren, Moore plays Rebecca at many different ages.
Drawing upon their age and experience, Moore has often shared that she frequently looks up to her co-stars, Sterling K. Brown, Milo Ventimiglia, Justin Hartley, and Chrissy Mets for guidance and support when they're working through a hard take. No wonder they make such a great onscreen family!
Moore is a HUGE softie!
Don't worry, This Is Us fans. You're definitely NOT the only one crying on Tuesday nights. In fact, the cast cries too despite the fact they already know what's going to happen in the end! Just as moved by the writing and the acting as we all are, Moore never shies away from posting a photo of herself with swollen red eyes as she clutches a box of tissues on Instagram.
When the first season of This Is Us first aired, it was widely received and hugely praised by American audiences. However, the cast has often said they never anticipated such a welcoming reaction. Moore would sit on a couch with her co-stars as they watched it on Tuesday nights as everyone else did.
Moore's make up routine talks 3 and a half hours
The oldest age we've seen Rebecca Pearson so far is 67 years old. She's a grandmother who's watched her kids grow into inspiring adults and is now playing the role of a helping hand in raising her children's children, but what most people don't realize is that Moore doesn't actually have wrinkles or gray hair in real life -- It actually takes her makeup team THREE AND A HALF HOURS to make her look 67.
It only makes sense that the stunning and always camera-ready 35-year old actress would take time to disguise as an elderly woman. But Moore doesn't mind the process too much, as she says she's "so grateful" to play a character from 27 to 66. She revels in the fact that not many television actors get to have that big of a character arc.
Moore ate a lot of candy bars on set
[ SPOILER ALERT ] Alright, if you're not already caught up on this, why are you reading this again? This is the part where we have to take about that episode - you know - the one where Jack Pearson dies.
Moore and Ventimiglia have both opened up about what it was like to film this scene between the two of them. She describes it using the words "gut-wrenching," and "challenging." When Rebecca is told by Jack's doctor that he's passed, she takes time to process the news by taking a bit of the candy bar in her hand. It's a beautiful moment of television, one that showed true shock and grief in a single second. Moore said, however, she just kept eating the candy bars until she got the take absolutely right.
She and Milo Ventimiglia are real-life mom and dads on set
According to stories from Sterling K. Brown, Chrissy Mets, and Justin Hartley - the actors who play the Pearson children - Moore and her partner in crime, Milo Ventimiglia apparently act like real parents on set, in all the best ways possible!
From making sure snacks are always available to checking up on each other to pranking each other, Moore and Ventigmilia have taken it upon themselves to make their place of work really feel like a home. Many of the cast have said their co-stars have grown on them as family themselves. Mission accomplished.
Moore would vote for Sterling K. Brown if he ran for President
As one of the people she often looks up to, Moore has said of the actor how plays her on-screen son that he is "larger than life in every way and in the best way." She has stated they often have deep talks about life together and he's always around to lend an ear for anyone who needs. For anyone who watches the show, you might not be shocked to learn that Brown seems to just be like his character, Randall, in that same caring way.
"If he ran for president, I would vote for him without even thinking about it," says Moore of her co-star.
The show has taught her a lot about motherhood
Now in its third season, fans of This Is Us might notice a shift in the way Moore portrays Rebecca in that her role as a mother is constantly changing and shifting throughout the different stops in time. Though not a mother herself, she revealed that being on the show has inspired her to become one and even made her eager to start a family.
"I feel like even though I'm not a mother myself, playing the role of a mother now gives me incredible insight and a lot of newfound appreciation of my mom," she stated.
This Is Us got Moore her first Screen Actors Guild Award
No stranger to the entertainment world, Moore started performing as early as the 90s, singing her songs for audiences. She broke into the Billboard Hot 100. Her work as an actress spans monumental roles from Jamie in A Walk to Remember to Sadie Jones in License to Wed to tons of work in between, and yet she never received awards for any of it - until This Is Us.
After being nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress and nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, Moore went on to win the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series - an award she got to share with her equally gratefull and ecstatic co-stars and the show's creative team.