Let the theories begin.
Milo Ventimiglia is playing coy when it comes to the upcoming This Is Us finale.
A new teaser revealed that the season two closer will revolve around Kate and Toby's nuptials and will feature Jack as an old man, reuniting with his love, Rebecca, at the wedding. But just why is Jack, who died from a heart attack after severe smoke inhalation from the house fire, at Kate's wedding?
Ventimiglia appeared on Megyn Kelly Today on Thursday morning and was asked if the visual of an aged-up Jack was, in fact, a dream sequence of some sort. Or, maybe, it could be some complex Lost-type twist?
"It's Thursday. You've got a handful of days until you know [the answer]," the 40-year-old actor replied with a smile. "I held out on telling you how Jack passed for months, you think I'm going to tell you why Jack is old?"
"But I will tell you this, again, in true Dan Fogelman [fashion], as well as the rest of our writers -- we have the most amazing writers on our crew -- they have built this beautiful idea of giving the audience an aged version of Jack," Ventimiglia teased.
Though Ventimiglia wouldn't elaborate further, he confirmed that "Jack is here" to stay: "Even though we saw Jack pass, it doesn't mean that I, Milo, will leave the show."
Because Ventimiglia and his castmates have gotten expertly good at keeping the show's twists under lock and key, he shared a funny anecdote someone pitched to him that has stuck with him.
"At one point, someone said to me that we're going to have Sterling K. Brown and Milo Ventimiglia run for office, and Dan Fogelman write our speeches," he said.
Ventimiglia also shared that he and his onscreen wife, Mandy Moore, have a weekly tradition when it comes to viewing episodes of This Is Us.
"We sit and watch the episodes together like a traditional husband and wife. You sit and watch TV together, so Mandy and I decided from the beginning, let's just sit and watch the episodes together," he said. "I think it gives us an opportunity to not only see for the first time, but also talk about it. Mandy and I, since the beginning, I said to her, 'Mandy, listen, from action to cut you're my wife, so let's just build that, communicate, be in touch with what the characters are going through. If you're not happy, I'm not happy and if I'm not happy, you're not happy, so let's always find those moments and come together.'"
"She's one of my closest friends now and I love her to death," Ventimiglia added. "I love Mandy and I love my cast and my crew, all of us."
Ventimiglia also appeared on The Rachael Ray Show, airing Tuesday, where he confirmed that Jack is indeed still dead, even though a salt-and-peppered version of him appears in the finale. "He is [dead]," he reiterated.
Ventimiglia spoke about playing himself 30 years older than he is in real life, sharing that his perspective on aging has shifted over the years. He also detailed his experience putting on the prosthetics and old-age makeup for the first time for the upcoming finale.
"I appreciate the perspective I get on life every year that I’m alive. I’m 40 years old now; things were different when I was in my 30s, so if my mind is going further and body is catching up, so be it. It was crazy …to be older than my own father. My mom and dad are just barely 70, and I still think of them as very young, very young-spirited," he said, "but putting on the makeup and the hair and the little belly pad, and the way the clothes were fitting, and how I was standing and talking to my co-stars … I couldn’t get out of being that age in the time."
"And then, going through the process. Mandy Moore does this all the time. It’s three hours to put on, and hour to take off. And she’s so patient with it," Ventimiglia recalled. "To go through the process and glimpse over and see her sitting there, it was like, “OK. She does this all the time, she’s the pro. 'Suck it up.'"
The This Is Us season two finale airs Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET/PT on NBC.
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