Milo Ventimiglia knows how Jack Pearson dies on This Is Us and admits that being privy to the well-kept secret makes him feel like he “lives in a pressure cooker.”
The 40-year-old confirmed to Us at the GLSEN Respect Awards in L.A. on Friday, October 20, that he knew from the very beginning how his role on the show would play out. When asked about how he handles knowing how Jack passes, Ventimiglia told Us, “I don’t know. I feel like I live in a pressure cooker, so I’m OK with it.”
The Gilmore Girls alum also recommended that fans be prepared for some shocking plot twists on the beloved NBC series, saying, “There’s always surprises with this show. Even I flip open the script and I know some storylines that are coming, but when I see how they’re actually laid out, I’m surprised, but always in a good way.”
As This Is Us viewers know, the cause of Jack’s death has been a major plot point in the show, leading devoted fans to try to figure out how the father of three dies. The season 2 premiere led fans to speculate that Jack dies in a house fire, after a scene showed his wife, Rebecca Pearson (played by Mandy Moore), driving with Jack’s possessions in a bag before she arrives at a burnt-down house and starts hysterically screaming.
Series creator Dan Fogelman addressed Jack’s tragic death in September, telling Us, “All the answers about how Jack died and seeing how Jack died, it’s all gonna happen this season, but in the course of the season.”
Ventimiglia admitted that he was relieved that fans were getting highly sought-out hints. “This helps. This is like a pressure valve release for a little bit,” he said during a Q&A panel for the show’s second premiere. “But with this answer, there’s still a lot of questions. People are just gonna have to pay attention over the course of the season … understand what the Big Three are experiencing or where they happened to be in the moments that are getting close to Jack’s death.”
This Is Us airs on NBC Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET.
