An overdue redemption. This Is Us will finally give Miguel some much-deserved justice before the series ends in May, star Milo Ventimiglia exclusively told Us Weekly.
Although fans fell in love with Jack (Ventimiglia) and Rebecca (Mandy Moore), This Is Us quickly revealed that Miguel (Jon Huertas) married his best friend’s wife in the aftermath of the Pearson patriarch’s death. Six seasons later, many fans still haven’t warmed up to Miguel.
“I don’t know why we haven’t had justice for Miguel,” Ventimiglia, 44, told Us ahead of SCAD TVFest, where he’ll receive the Virtuoso Award on Saturday, February 19.
“First of all, Jon Huertas is such a wonderful man, and Miguel is such a wonderful character as well,” the Gilmore Girls alum explained. “He’s always looked out for the Pearsons when Jack was still around, in that tough moment for Rebecca when Jack died and then beyond.”
This Is Us has shown that even the adult Pearson siblings — Kevin (Justin Hartley), Kate (Chrissy Metz) and Randall (Sterling K. Brown) — struggle to accept Miguel as their stepfather more than two decades after Jack’s death. “I think the kids have a hard time replacing their own father with Miguel. It’s not [about] that,” Ventimiglia said, noting that the Big Three — and fans of the show — should think of Miguel as a member of the family “in addition to” their father.
The final season of This Is Us has finally delved into Rebecca dipping her toes back into the dating scene. The NBC drama showed the lighter side of moving on after Jack’s tragic death as Rebecca hilariously tried speed-dating alongside Miguel. However, audiences are still waiting to see exactly how the two characters fell in love.
“I think that he should have always been embraced, but maybe people will finally come around,” the actor, who will guest star on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel season 4, said of Miguel. “What Jon has done for the Miguel character, I think, has been wonderful. And I hope that people embrace where Miguel and Rebecca happened to be in the present day.”
Before This Is Us returns with all-new episodes on Tuesday, February 22, however, Ventimiglia will pick up his Virtuoso Award at the virtual Savannah College of Art and Design’s TVFest. “It’s a fest that they put together recognizing celebrating television. I’d driven past SCAD in Savannah a lot doing a movie back there more than a decade ago,” he told Us. “So to know that I’m now a part of what it is that that school is inspiring and its students and further it’s pretty exciting.”
The 10th annual SCAD TVfest takes place from Thursday, February 17 through Saturday, February 19 and can be watched on the festival website. Season 6 of This Is Us airs on NBC Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET.
