This Is Us stars reveal what they took from set

Dan Snierson
·7 min read
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When This Is Us waves goodbye on Tuesday night, it leaves behind six seasons of family dinners, tears, smiles, more tears, twists, and inappropriate things from Uncle Nicky. And when the stars of NBC's time-tripping family drama left the set for the final time earlier this month, they didn't just take with them 106 episodes of memories. They took, like, actual things from the show. You know, so they could remember this experience forever, not to sell on eBay a few years from now. Some set their sights on smaller mementos (photo), while others dreamed bigger (piano). Let's do our part and take something, too — an inventory of what went home with whom.

Milo Ventimiglia (Jack)

Ventimiglia wasn't planning on swiping anything on his way out of the set door. But then he did some fast thinking on his feet and made one request to costume designer Hala Bahmet. This item of the sartorial sort might help him with a certain daredevil stuntman series that he's been developing. "I asked for a pair of boots that Jack wore that [I could use] if I ever shoot my Evel Knievel project," he shares. "They're basically Evel Knievel boots. I told Hala that I would return them once the job was done, because they were her personals." In addition, the actor who was tight with much of the crew wanted something tangible in their honor. "There are all these crew members that are moving the machine forward, and we actors have chairs that have our names on them, and the crew doesn't have that," he says. "They either bring their own personal chairs or they're provided a plastic-and-metal blue folding chair that says This Is Us. And I took one of the [blue] crew chairs because I wanted to remember the crew."

Mandy Moore (Rebecca)

Less wasn't exactly Moore, who wound up with a nice little haul of Pearson memorabilia. "Milo and I walked through the [Pearson] house and took some family pictures off the wall, which they were just going to throw away anyway," she says. "I got my Steelers Jersey from the Super Bowl episode, my wedding ring, my moon necklace, and a couple other costumes. I did request my Puerto Rican wedding doll that was made earlier this season. Hopefully that's in the cards coming my way. I like the sentimental things."

Susan Kelechi Watson (Beth)

Speaking of that, Watson grabbed more "sentimental stuff" than she thought she would from Beth and Randall's townhouse. "I got two photos — one was the very first photo we took, with me, Sterling, and it was just Faithe [Herman, who plays Annie] and Eris [Baker, who plays Tess] at that time," she says. "This is the very first photo shoot we had. I took that photo, and then I took the one when Deja came into the family." Her decision to extract another item from the Philadelphia home was actually years in the making. "This little statuette that looks like it's from Jamaica, I took that," she says. "It's always in the kitchen. And since season 4, I've been eyeing it. So I was like, 'I'm going to take that.' And I did."

Chris Sullivan (Toby)

The actor, whose character is known for grand gestures, went very Grand. "I am currently in the process of purchasing the Pearson Chief Grand Wagoneer," he says. "They are going to sell it to me. I'm going to attempt to make it a reliable daily driver and I want it to be our family Wagoneer. My wife and I have been talking about that car for a long time, and I have a '65 Mustang and I have a great love for vintage cars and that Jeep Wagoneer is the only kind of vintage automobile that has ever sparked my wife's interest. She is charmed by the car, so I'm excited to bring it into the family." And when we said he went big, we meant it: Sullivan is trying to buy both Wagoneers that were kept on set. "If that happens, talk to me again, and I'll tell you why." He laughs. "It's a fun story."

Jon Huertas (Miguel)

Huertas cooked up a big idea for his take-home item: It's the Big Green Egg, which was featured in season 6's "Four Fathers" — an episode he directed — and it's the cooking appliance that Jack Jr. said was the symbol of his parents' marriage imploding. "It was the beginning of the end for Katoby," as Huertas notes, but it's the beginning of many tasty meals for its new owner. "I'll cook on it this weekend, hopefully," he says. "I'll smoke some chicken and vegetables — and I think we'll be set."

Chrissy Metz (Kate)

Metz set her sights on something that hit all the right notes for her. "I've asked for Kate and Toby's piano that was in their house," she says. The musical instrument resonates on many levels with the actress, who also has a second career as a singer. "There's so many memories, not only surrounding the piano, but music generally, and I have a perfect place for it," she says. "So I'm hoping, fingers crossed."

Sterling K. Brown (Randall)

You already heard the story of the Randall and Beth family photos taken from the townhome. But you haven't heard Brown tell it. "They were starting to tear down the Philadelphia house, but it wasn't all the way down," he says. "So we all went to the Philadelphia house. We were walking through the house and just looking at it. And it's full of these pictures of them when we first got together, when I could hold Eris and Faithe in one arm each. And you have pictures of Lyric [Ross] when she decided to cut her hair, when she first joined our family. I took a picture, Su took two pictures and we said goodbyes. It was beautiful. It was a joy, watching them grow up. And I will consider them to be part of my family going forward. That's all I needed. I just needed the picture."

Justin Hartley (Kevin)

Years ago, series creator Dan Fogelman gave a copy of Kevin's painting to Hartley as a gift, and it hangs in his cigar lounge. "I actually loan it out to my friends that might need it," says Hartley. "When you look at it, if you know that speech, it can very much calm you down if you're going through something." When production wrapped, he looked to add to his art collection, requesting the "original sketch that Jack drew of the dream cabin," he says. "I could actually put that up. I'm not going to put up a This is Us poster in my home, you know what I mean? So that would be kind of a cool thing to have."

On the way, he did wind up with another memento in his possession, but it was by accident. "For the past six years, the poor wardrobe department, I come out of my trailer and they're like, 'Justin, that's not the right necklace. You're wearing your necklace,'" he says. "I'm like, 'Oh, crap.' And then I would come home and there would be a phone call: 'Justin, did you take the necklace home? It's kind of important.' I'll be like, 'Oh yes, I have it on right now. I'll bring it tomorrow!' And I know I'll bring it tomorrow because I won't take it off. And [on the last day], I just walked out like I normally do, and it was around my neck." He pauses. "But I didn't get a piano for God's sake. She got a piano? That's crazy."

Say goodbye to the Pearsons with EW's special This Is Us edition, available to purchase online or wherever magazines are sold.

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