If you watch This Is Us, you know that the runaway hit NBC show has no shortage of emotional scenes. This Is Us season 2 episode 11, or the midseason premiere which aired earlier this week on Tuesday, January 9, was certainly no exception, as the whole grown Pearson clan sat through a roller coaster of a therapy session in the wake of Kevin’s DUI. But you might be surprised to learn it wasn’t the hardest scene to film for Chrissy Metz, who plays Kevin’s sister Kate.
The entire This Is Us cast as an incredible acting range when it comes to emotions, no exception. But audiences have fallen in love with Chrissy Metz for portraying a person rarely seen on mainstream TV — or in real life for that matter — an overweight woman who’s not putting her life on hold until after she loses weight, despite working toward bettering herself.
In an earlier interview, Metz pointed to this quality as what she thought earned Kate such a cult following. “I love that it’s not like, ‘Oh, here’s a plus-size girl just sitting in the corner, wishing her life would start.’ She’s actually living her life, and all of these really exciting things are happening, and it’s really nice,” she told Entertainment Weekly. “I don’t think it’s been portrayed — well, really anywhere. Especially network television.”
That’s probably why the hardest scene for Chrissy Metz is not only a different one than you might expect but also significant for Metz in a way that some people might not have understood the first time the episode aired.
Chrissy Metz dishes on the toughest scene in This Is Us
“[O]ne of the hardest was when Kate and Toby broke up in the first season,” Chrissy Metz told Elite Daily. But it wasn’t the heartbreak of a relationship coming to an end that got to the actress. It was such a tough scene for her to film “because it was really about her drawing her boundaries and it wasn’t because she didn’t love him. It was that she needed to love herself more.”
Despite it being a tough one to bring to life on the small screen, Metz’s comments to Elite Daily make it clear that she has nothing but deep appreciation for the turning point in her character’s life. “that’s really such a beautiful message that the writers bring to the audience in a very subtle way,” she explained.
The subtly didn’t throw everyone off, though. In fact, Metz still gets feedback about this scene specifically — which might explain why she appreciates it so much. “I’ve had so many people come out and say, ‘My gosh you helped me stand up for myself.’ And it wasn’t because she [Kate] had to, but because she needed to for herself so that was probably the hardest one,” Metz shared.
Watch the emotional This Is Us Kate and Toby breakup
