Justin Hartley Defends His ‘Misunderstood’ Character From This Is Us

Justin Hartley is more than happy to defend his This Is Us character, Kevin Pearson, if no one else will.

“When you take on characters, a lot of times they become your children and your friends. They become part of you,” Hartley, 47, said on the Friday, October 25, episode of Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace? on Max. “So you feel that.”

Hartley recalled Kevin’s development throughout the seasons, adding, “It was just the guy who can’t get out of his own way. But he’s not a bad guy. But everyone thinks he’s kind of an a——. But he’s really not.”

According to the actor, Kevin was “misunderstood” while still being “kind of an a——.”

“You sit there and you go, ‘Man, I wish I could help this guy.’ But you just can’t,” he continued. “Later on as we saw him grow up and mature, I had more in common with him in that sort of iteration. But I do love him. And I hold him with me every day.”

This Is Us, which ran from 2016 to 2022, focused on siblings Kevin (Hartley), Kate (Chrissy Metz) and Randall (Sterling K. Brown) in addition to their parents, Jack (Milo Ventimiglia) and Rebecca Pearson (Mandy Moore). Before This Is Us came to an end, Hartley was already making moves — with the help of producer Ken Olin — with his new CBS series Tracker.

Hartley not only stars on Tracker but is an executive producer. This has allowed him to reunite with several This Is Us costars including Jon Huertas and Jennifer Morrison.

“We knew for years and years and years that that show was ending when it was ending. A lot of times you don’t get that opportunity. Things just happen and people go, ‘You are not doing it anymore,’” Hartley explained during an episode of Tommy DiDario‘s “I’ve Never Said This Before” podcast earlier this month. “This was more like, ‘You have the opportunity to play this character for six years. It is going to be amazing. What a ride this guy is going to go on. Here is what his journey is going to be.’ I thought that project was remarkable to be a part of.”

Hartley was asked whether viewers would see additional This Is Us cameos on Tracker, to which he replied, “I think we will.”

He continued: “We’ve all talked about [bringing the show back in some way]. I don’t know if there are plans to reboot it — I haven’t been involved yet — which is a whole other conversation. But I still keep in touch with all of those guys. They are all so great, they will be lifelong friends of mine. I love them all.”