This is Us is the most buzzed-about show of the 2016-2017 TV season, and as a result, Chrissy Metz is one of the breakout stars of the year, earning a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television.
Metz, who plays Justin Hartley‘s twin sister Kate Pearson, was down to 81 cents in the bank when she landed the role, and she says, the reaction to the show has been a life-changing experience for her — and in more ways than just having a steady paycheck.
“It’s very strange. I can’t go anywhere without somebody stopping me, which is so cool that I get to connect to people that I never might’ve ever spoken to, or they have an impetus to speak to me. It’s created a career that I wasn’t sure if I’d ever really have. I was moving back home to Florida.”
Kate, who began the series as her actor brother Kevin’s (Hartley) assistant, has moved way beyond that. She has tried a few new jobs, but more importantly, she found love and is now an engaged woman, so her storylines are not just about her pursuit to lose weight.
In fact, the former American Horror Story: Freak Show star recently clarified that her This Is Us contract does not say she has to lose weight. Rather, there simply have been conversations that the trajectory of Kate’s story is that she’s going to lose weight.
At the NBC Television Critics Association press tour, she told reporters, “We don’t have any specifics, there’s nothing mandated. There’s nothing set in stone. We haven’t really talked about weight, or a number, or any of that even for a second. [It is something that all actors do]. They get to go on a journey at some point to lose weight, gain weight, change hair, whatever.”
In this interview, Metz also talks about parallels between Kate’s story and her real-life, how she almost quit acting before landing the role on This Is Us, how she is staying frugal despite the Season 2 and 3 pickups for the series, and more.
So much of Kate’s story deals with weight issues. Is it weird to be saying lines about what it’s like to struggle with body-image issues?
Yeah, I think that every actor, specifically for acting, and every human being, we use what we know. People write what they know, and if I wasn’t overweight, I wouldn’t be able to portray this character in such an authentic way, like feeling the uncomfortability when you sit down in the airplane, or any of those things. That really lends itself to an authenticity that is really hard to portray unless you’ve experienced that.
Did you share any of Kate’s journey? Did you go to meetings and all of that?
Sure, I’ve been to meetings before, and even with that MomFit class I was like, “I’m into this.” There was something so cathartic about pounding something and really releasing that anger, I have never done anything like that before. I’m interested in drumming, but I had never done something like that, and I was like, “Oh, everybody should try this.”
You obviously seem like someone who’s really happy and secure in yourself.
Yeah. I think that my whole journey had been getting to the place where I can accept myself for who I am, to be the woman that I’m meant to be, but you have to get there first.
How did that happen?
Spiritual work. I did a lot of meditation, I just realized that it is really about why we’re here and that [our bodies] are vessels and they get to change. You wouldn’t be talking to me and I wouldn’t be on the show if I wasn’t an overweight woman, but while this is really difficult for me to navigate, part of the reason why I’m here is to teach, to educate, to just relate, so I think I just came to that place where I was like, “Oh, you can’t take yourself so seriously. Come on, there’s a bigger picture and it’s not just about ego and pride.”
How much does it impact you when you see the footage of little Kate in incidents like the mean note at the swimming pool?
It’s heart-wrenching. I remember being a kid and always feeling a little different than all my friends. I remember the incident where I did decide to put a t-shirt on to go swimming. We were hitting puberty, and it was like, “Oh, boys are actually looking at us now.” It’s heartbreaking because you know that we all want the same things. I don’t know why we decide to hurt each other in the process.
You almost quit acting?
Oh, yeah, after American Horror Story there was a year where I had maybe two auditions, and I was like, “Maybe this was a fluke and this isn’t really going to happen for me.” There’s so many layers and levels within Kate, as within me — my life had some parallels to the show — that it’s all very overwhelming and wonderful.
When you thought about quitting acting what were you thinking about doing?
I taught preschool previously, so I was like, “Oh, I can teach little kids to act, and I can go back home.” But my mom was like, “You could either be miserable in L.A. or miserable in Florida, but in L.A., you could be pursuing your dreams.” I was like, “Okay, I’ll stick around but I don’t know what’s going to happen,” and six months later this role comes along.
Is there something you’re lusting after now that you have a steady paycheck, especially with the series being picked up for two more seasons?
I don’t know. For me, material things are like…my grandma always said, “You can’t take that to heaven, they’re just material things,” but I do need to buy myself a laptop.
Was your childhood dream to be an actress?
No, it was to do stand-up comedy, to be a comedian, to just entertain people. To make people laugh instead of cry.
What is it like being on a show that makes people cry since you wanted to make people laugh?
Okay, the irony, right, but comedy stems from tragedy, so it’s also really closer than most people would think. We do get to play with the comedy, and I do get to joke and all that, so I feel like it’s such a beautiful balance of both, but, eventually, I want to do some sketch comedy or some kooky really broad stuff. We’ll see.
What has been some of the fan reaction to this role?
Oh geez. Women have cried. Women have told me that they feel confident enough to walk out of their home, and people have given me health advice, that’s always interesting. I’m like, “I don’t need your gastric bypass doctor’s number, but thanks.” Women of all races, all ages, all sizes, everything. Women who are fit, who have never had a weight issue, and it’s so beautiful that art, something that I wanted to do for so long [produces these results]. This is the reason why we decide to do it but it doesn’t always coincide, so it’s so beautiful.
This is Us airs Tuesday nights at 9 p.m. ET/PT on NBC.
View the original at Parade or follow us on Twitter, Facebook or Google+