This is Us star Milo Ventimiglia says it is hard living up to his alter ego, Jack Pearson. The actor loves playing the character but the perfect persona of Papa Pearson is challenging.
Jack is one of the most beloved characters and dads on television. Jack is not only a great father, but he is a really good man too. He does have his faults, though, as fans learned during Season 4 of the NBC hit drama.
Now, Milo is talking about the difficulty of living up to Jack and why he knows he is up for the challenge.
Jack’s perfection
The actor recently appeared on the L.A. Times podcast, Can’t Stop Watching, which was hosted by Kyle Chandler. Friday Night Lights fans know Kyle played Coach Taylor, who was a pretty perfect man as well.
Milo and Kyle discussed what it was like to play a character who is viewed as perfect by fans. Kyle joked that it was a pain in the a**. Milo then shared that as an actor who plays a character that is held in such high regard, he is held to those standards as well.
Despite the difficulty, Milo looks at playing the character as a reminder and is up for the challenge.
“I don’t mind it because that is a good reminder to me of the upbringing that my mom and dad gave me, which is lead with love,” Milo shared.
He continued, “Be a good person. Do your best. You’re going to make mistakes. But you have to, have to, have to try let that golden heart come through in the end. You gotta do it. You gotta do it.”
Milo shares why fans love Jack so much
From the moment fans met Jack, they immediately loved him and Rebecca (Mandy Moore). However, since Jack died, fans are more drawn to him than his wife.
Milo has a theory on what it is that makes Jack such a beloved character.
“There is this mystical, reverent love for Jack. And I think a lot of it is because we only had him for a short period of time.” Milo said.
Milo then added “Knowing who he was and how he really was and the love he had for his family, for his wife, for his kids, the dedication he had to them creates this hero, this superhero. You just want to admire him.”
It is hard to argue with the logic of the man who plays such a perfect character.
Like fans, Milo is looking forward to Season 5 of This Is Us and what is next for Jack.
This Is Us is on hiatus at NBC.