This Is Us star Chrissy Metz, who plays Kate Pearson, said that playing the role has made her more “vulnerable.”
The television star, who portrays one of the lead characters on the series alongside Mandy Moore, Milo Ventimiglia, Justin Hartley, Sterling K. Brown, Susan Kelechi Watson, and Chris Sullivan, discussed this in an interview with Garden and Gun Magazine.
“I think through playing Kate on This Is Us, exposing myself in that way, I realized the more vulnerable we are, the more people will relate to us. It’s not about having to be fill-in-the-blank of whomever you aspire to be. I don’t have to compare myself to anybody else,” she said of how being a part of the Emmy-winning television series has changed her.
Chrissy realized the strength she has achieved after years of playing a supportive role to others’ dreams while working as a talent agent. She uses this to fuel both her acting and songwriting/singing careers but said there was one lesson she wished she would have learned earlier in her career.
“The only thing I wish is that I would have gotten out of my own way sooner,” she admitted.
“Then again, maybe I wouldn’t have learned the lessons and I wouldn’t have the stories to tell,” Chrissy mused.
Chrissy was a small-town girl from Florida with big dreams
Hailing from Gainesville in the Sunshine State, Chrissy revealed that she would not be who she is without life in the south.
She claimed that her town “raised” her and she is very proud of it.
“I used to feed horses when I would walk to school. We’d bring carrots and apples. Growing up, we’d swim in the quarry and the springs. I love that I had that experience,” Chrissy reflected.
She also joked that life as a southerner has made her more resilient.
“When it comes to the South, it’s kind of like: I can talk all kind of smack about my family, but don’t let nobody say nothin’ about them or I will jack you up,” she quipped.
She combined her acting and songwriting dreams
Chrissy revealed that she has been writing songs for the past two and a half years about everything she has experienced in the last 15 years while pursuing her dreams.
She moved across the country to California, upending her life and settling into a lifestyle in a new state. Chrissy said her music comes from a place of authenticity and joked that her writing can sometimes become a therapy session. “I’m like, ‘Oh, I thought I was over that,'” she claimed.
As This is Us’ Kate Pearson, Chrissy is a champion for women who have experienced the unfairness of life but still manage to find a silver lining in every experience.
This Is Us airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on NBC.