For many viewers of This Is Us, Beth (Susan Kelechi Watson), the strong, steady wife of Randall, is the clan’s shining star. Google “Beth is the best Pearson” for exhaustive lists of reasons, but in short, she’s the wisecracking relative always ready with a powerful pep talk that every family needs. Unsurprisingly, Susan, who admits to infusing the role with parts of her own life experience, is just as smart and funny as Beth.P
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*Spoiler alert!* Susan on Beth and Randall’s “rocky” future: “They’re trying to work out where they want to be as individuals, and it’s creating friction. I’ve heard many women—friends included—who have said once they became mothers, they lost themselves, and how important it is for a woman to know who she is without the other titles. Those titles are beautiful things, but it’s not the definition of who Beth is, so I love her feeling uncomfortable, and on her own search.”
Susan on seasons 3 and 4 of This Is Us: “This season Beth has become undone in ways we haven’t seen before, and that will continue. We’ll have an episode about where she came from. It’s been wonderful to learn about the dreams she had, who she wanted to become—and how far from that she is.”
Sterling K. Brown on his onscreen wife (Susan): “I’ve always been a fan of her work and admired her,” raves Sterling, who was two years ahead of her at NYU graduate school. “Sue is just cool people, cool like the other side of the pillow. So finally getting to do something together has been wonderful.”
Susan on filming with all her castmates (it’s like recess!): “The craziest times are when we’re all filming. I feel for those directors! It’s hard to wrangle us, because we get along so well and it’s like, ‘Heyyyy, we get to talk!’ It can get a little chaotic. You have Chris Sullivan [who plays Toby] and Justin and Sterling all cracking jokes. And Justin has the quickest wit—you just go, ‘How did you come up with that so fast?”
Susan on pushing through circumstances to achieve your dreams: “I had to really press through to get to being the artist I am today. There was a time when I just didn’t have the opportunities, which meant going without things in my life—whether it was clothes, or food, or money—and living a really bare-bones life. What I did was try to become the person I wanted to be in the future. Even though I didn’t have everything I wanted, I wasn’t like, Oh, when I get to that place, things will be great. I’d go, I have to make where I am now be great…and then that will be great. There is no better than now. So if I wanted to feel something in my future, I’d bring it into the present: If I want to be mentored, how do I mentor somebody else? If I want to be in a good financial place, how do I start that now? How can I incorporate the principles that I want in my future into my life now? You have to practice the life you want, regardless of what the circumstances are.”
Susan on enjoying getting older and her future dreams: “I take a lot [of direction] from my great-grandmother. I would tell my future self to enjoy getting older…but not to get old. Hopefully I become a grandmother, and hopefully I’ll live into my 90s like my great-grandmother did, but not seem old. Stay active, stay involved, surround yourself with people who have a firm life and continue to laugh a lot.”