Mandy Moore would like to stop this train. The actress — who has lined up two TV roles since saying goodbye to Rebecca Pearson — is still processing the end of This Is Us.
“It’s still so weird that I don’t get to play Rebecca ever again. It’s very strange. I haven’t completely digested it,” Moore, 38, exclusively told Us Weekly. “There’s part of me that’s still holding out hope that someone’s gonna [say], ‘Just kidding!’ [And I’ll] start working next week.”
The NBC drama aired its final episode after six seasons in May. Moore played matriarch Rebecca Pearson opposite Milo Ventimiglia (Jack), Chrissy Metz (Kate), Chris Sullivan (Toby), Sterling K. Brown (Randall), Susan Kelechi Watson (Beth), Justin Hartley (Kevin), Jon Huertas (Miguel) and Ron Cephas Jones (William). Five months after the finale, Moore and her husband, Taylor Goldsmith, would welcome their second son together, Oscar “Ozzie,” in October. (Older brother August “Gus” was born in February 2021.)
Sterling K. Brown as Randall, Susan Kelechi Watson as Beth, Milo Ventimiglia as Jack, Mandy Moore as Rebecca, Justin Hartley as Kevin, Chrissy Metz as Kate, and Chris Sullivan as Toby in ‘This Is Us.’ Joe Pugliese/NBC
“I am grateful to have this time to really spend time with my family because I went back to work when Gus was a month old,” Moore recalled of returning to the This Is Us set in its fifth year. “Which was fantastic because I loved my job, but it’s nice on the other hand now to just feel like I get this time to really be present. And I know that that’s not the norm for most people. So I’m very appreciative and grateful. But I am excited about work too. … I’m excited to figure out what’s next. I think there’s some stuff that’s coming down the pipeline that will have me kind of back at work maybe early spring of next year.”
‘This Is Us’ Cast’s Dating Histories
Indeed, she has a lot to look forward to. Last month, it was confirmed that the Walk to Remember actress will headline and executive produce Twin Flames, a new series from Hulu. The series “tells the true story of two women who find themselves seduced by the online teachings of a couple who preach that every person has a soul mate called a ‘Twin Flame’ and must do whatever it takes to be with that person. Desperate to find true love, these two are swept into the increasingly dangerous waters of the Twin Flame Universe,” the press release stated.
Additionally, the musician will star in season 2 of Peacock’s anthology series Dr. Death opposite Edgar Ramirez and will get behind more projects with her pod deal with 20th Century Fox TV, which she signed in 2018.
“I miss being on set and it’ll just have to be something that is entirely different from This Is Us,” Moore told Us of what she sought for next. “That job obviously checked every box possible creatively. How connected I felt to the material and the story that we were telling, and obviously how connected people felt to these characters as well. It’ll be interesting to just figure out something that’s challenging in a completely different way.”
For Moore, working in either TV or film “depends on the material and the timing and the story that you’re telling the people you get to work with.”
Chrissy Metz as Kate, Justin Hartley as Kevin, Mandy Moore as Rebecca, and Sterling K. Brown as Randall in ‘This Is Us.’ Ron Batzdorff/NBC
“I loved doing TV. I’d never done it before, This Is Us,” she continued. “I hadn’t done a TV series before, so I loved the schedule. I loved building a character and knowing that the story you were telling had 18 episodes to do it for a season. And being able to really live in those character shoes,” she told Us. “But I’ve loved making movies as well. … There’s so many different bits of criteria that, especially having had an experience like This Is Us, where again, like I said, it kind of checked every box. It makes you spoiled. It makes you really want to be picky as possible in terms of future projects because of how good it can be.”