The final Big Three trilogy has arrived on ‘This Is Us.’ HL spoke EXCLUSIVELY with Logan Shroyer about the aftermath of Kevin’s talk with Miguel and his ‘full-circle’ moment with Milo Ventimiglia.
Even though we’re in the midst of the final season of This Is Us, the show continues to peel back the layers on the Pearsons in both the past and present. The series kicks off the last Big Three trilogy on March 15 with an episode revolving around Kevin Pearson. HollywoodLife got EXCLUSIVE scoop from Logan Shroyer, who plays teen Kevin, about where his character is headed in the ’90s.
“There is a breaking point of sorts. He’s really forced to reflect a lot,” Logan told HollywoodLife. “So kind of what we see is a few days before Thanksgiving, Sophie leaves and he’s kind of forced to sit and think. Then he’s got Thanksgiving and things keep unraveling. He’s spending a lot of time just sitting around thinking about his life.”
Logan Shroyer as teen Kevin on ‘This Is Us.’ (NBC)In the previous episode, Kevin didn’t mince words with Miguel regarding how he felt about the blossoming connection between Miguel and Rebecca. Kevin told Miguel that Jack would be “turning over in his grave” over what’s going on with Rebecca. Miguel later decided to take a job in Texas, leaving Rebecca devastated.
“I think Kevin definitely feels bad about that. It’s unclear the way that we shot it if Kevin’s actually even aware of that until later,” Logan continued. “From my perspective, I don’t think that was necessarily the intent. I didn’t think Miguel was going to move. I mean, the cool thing is Kevin and Miguel get along fantastically until that happens.”
The actor noted that even though it’s been 4 seasons since Jack died, in the ’90s timeline it hasn’t been that long since the house fire. He believes his tense confrontation with Miguel was Kevin’s “last line of defense because no one else is saying anything to speak up for his father and the truth that this is wrong. I mean, you’re his best friend so what does that mean for your entire relationship? What are you doing? What was going on? I actually love Miguel’s character, but I was thinking even as well like, maybe he wasn’t the best guy in that relationship. He’s the best friend of someone, and then the best friend dies and he goes after his friend’s wife. What’s going on?”
He added, “I think a lot of it has to do with just standing up for his father and protecting his mom and trying to fill in that space that’s missing. The moment where Kevin really needed to step up, he had a little bit of liquid courage. He’s kind of on this consistent buzz of alcohol that’s causing him to reflect on these things.”
The March 15 episode is directed by Milo Ventimiglia, who plays Logan’s onscreen dad and the beloved Pearson patriarch. Logan said that filming such a Kevin-heavy episode with Milo at the helm was a “full-circle” moment.
Logan Shroyer alongside Milo Ventimiglia, Mandy Moore, Hannah Zeile, and Niles Fitch. (NBC)“It was very full circle for me because my biggest scene early on was the hospital scene,” Logan said. “That was a moment where it was totally in my capabilities to do, but on a platform like This Is Us, holy crap. That was a big moment. Milo was there for me the whole way. Ken Olin directed that episode and that was really such a phenomenal moment and memory. So kind of for my last, perhaps, biggest thing, Milo is directing. Here we are again. He’s been there with me every step of the way on it, and we were going back and forth with the scene and playing with it. He was feeding me notes, helping me with the scene, and it was such an incredible, collaborative process.” This Is Us airs Tuesdays on NBC.
