This Is Usfans had to bidan extremely emotional, terrifically tearful farewell to Williamtoward the end of last season.
I guess all of the above.
You went through last season 1 with a feeling of uncertainty, not knowing when William would die.
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You could have pestered Dan with questions, but instead, you embraced it.
Did you feel that it was more in the spirit of the character not to know?Exactly.
It helped with the anticipation of it.
I absorbed that into the character.
The other thing is that my best friend since grammar school was going through stage 4 cancer.
And I was on the phone with him quite a bit.
He came to visit me, and I would him.
We stayed up and talked a lot together.
So that was a large part of carrying me through that season also.
What was the biggest challenge in pulling off that moment?The challenge was not to overplay it.
You just kind of let it happen and feel the real feelings.
Thats why you notice he didnt break out with all these heavy tears.
If you noticed in the face, he started to have a little smile from the fear.
I thought about my friend.
It was such a special moment that Sterling and I captured together.
We have the template with Jack, so we know that deceased characters can live on.
But here its a little more challenging, because Jack was there with the family for so many years.
But it has to coincide with what has happened already in season 1.
Thats the thing about William most of the references will be about season 1.
I think thats whats going to happen.
When you see it, you go, Oh, okay, so thats whats going to happen.
When we shot it, thats the feeling I got.
Dont miss PEOPLE and EWs This Is Us LIVE viewing party!
Go toPeople.comandEW.comon Tuesday, Sept. 26 beginning at 8 p.m. Thats the feeling I got when I read it.
You didnt miss a beat.
Again, its the writing, man.
Everything feels so comfortable and so right, like sitting in an easy chair.
Those are some of the questions that still are looming that we really didnt get to in season 1.
And how that came about especially after seeing him with a woman and a child.
Theyre going to explore story lines introduced in season 1 his relationship with Jessie.
They may explore some of the artistic parts of his life…
I dont know a lot, which is kind of exciting its very similar to last year.
Many fans were as surprised as Randall to learn that William was bisexual.
Did that catch you off-guard too?Dan is so gracious.
He approached me before the idea had already been written to see how I would feel about it.
How did you feel?
So, yeah, lets do it, lets go, lets make that happen.
I know Dennis from working on the boards back in New York.
So it was an honor to be able to work with Denis OHare… And getting to this place at 60, its so much sweeter.
I dont think I wouldve appreciated it as much 20 years ago as I do now.
Its like fine wine, it tastes so much sweeter now.
What was the best reaction that youve gotten to this character from someone on the street?
Do fans ask for hugs a lot?You hit it on the head.
When it first happened, it really blew my mind.
From little girls to grandmothers, its beautiful.
You remind me of my father.
Do you have an open-door policy on hugs?Oh, Im open.
How could you not be?
Its the sharing that makes it special.
