Mandy Moore, who plays Rebecca Pearson on This Is Us, is interested in trying out a new role: mom. The 32-year-old plays a mother of three on the hit NBC show, and we see the family in three different time periods. Both in character and on the set, Moore has had to work with child actors and babies, and she says it's totally activated her "maternal side."
"We have three extraordinary young actors on the show," she said when she appeared on Conan O'Brien's show Wednesday night. This means that, while the kids have attentive parents IRL, she kind of ends up babysitting on set.
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"I think it’s a lot of their first jobs for most of them and any time there’s a scene that requires them to eat, I have to remind them — Milo [Ventimiglia], who’s my husband on the show — we’re always like, ‘Guys slow down because you guys don’t realize you’re committing yourself to eating that same amount for the entirety of the scene which can sometimes be a couple hours.'"
This is a common problem, she says. They even start eating things from the set.
"I remember we were shooting the Christmas episode and there was some melted peppermints in a candy dish that wasn’t even from the prop department," she says. "Clearly, it was set decoration and I turn my back for one second and I turn back and all of them have jammed peppermints in their mouthes."
However, these experiences haven't turned her off the idea of kids at all. She's having a blast learning about children, including how to change diapers and hold two-week-old babies.
"I had crew members showing me how to change a diaper," she admitted. "I’m terrible, but yes it has sort of activated that maternal side of me that I’m totally ready to have kids now."
And we're totally ready to follow her on that journey.