‘This Is Us’ Season 4, Episode 17, Recap: If Jack Had Never Died
What was it like for Justin Hartley to play some of those scenes where Randall was more like Kevin and Kevin was more like Randall?
EB: It was cool, and I think they always enjoy playing against type. So to have these unexpected shifts, I think, is exciting for an actor. Sterling was totally game to push Randall into uncomfortable territory at the end of this episode. He’s not necessarily used to, as a character, making moves that are going to get audience members really upset and give them a lot of opinions about what he’s doing. But every actor here sort of faced these new twists and turns within their character head on, and we’re really excited to do it.
Talk about how the dynamic was different on set since Milo was able to be in a fair amount of present-day scenes with Sterling, Justin, and Chrissy. That had to be really neat for the cast.
EB: Everyone looks forward so much to working with actors they don’t usually get to work with in our cast. Milo, as you said, [rarely] gets to work with these incredible people. So I think it’s a joy whenever we can throw people together we never get to see together. It’s fun for them on set. And then when we get in the edit bay, we’re just like, “Ah, I wish we could see more of this all the time.” Everyone was thrilled by the opportunity to finally see these people on screen together.
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I know you don’t want to exploit this concept, but is there any chance we would see a “what if” scenario or episode for Kate and Kevin down the line?
EB: It is totally possible. As I said, it’s finding the right entry point and reason to do it, but it’s something we really loved doing. It’s something we think is sort of inherent to the fabric of the show, to explore these other realities, because so much of their lives pivoted based on their father’s death. It’s definitely something we’re interested in exploring down the line.
