The third season of "This Is Us" is only halfway over, but its first nine episodes were packed with poignant moments for Jack Pearson, from his time in Vietnam to his early courtship with Rebecca.
Milo Ventimiglia, who stars as the Pearson patriarch, told TODAY his favorite scenes with TV wife Mandy Moore were in episode seven, when the pair embark on a spontaneous road trip to Los Angeles.
"When Jack and Rebecca are on the road and they are kind of discovering one another and getting to know one another and finding that they're also terrified to really let each other in," he said. "That's been the most fun with Mandy this season."
Ventimiglia added that the best part of playing young Jack in flashback scenes with Rebecca is "the discovery." "I think we all have that idea of magic that happens when we meet someone, we're getting to know someone. And having played the marriage, played the end of Jack's life and all of that with Mandy, it's fun for us to go back and actually identify those markers in life that kind of brought them together."
Asked what scene makes him cry, Ventimiglia cited the one in which Jack tears up while Rebecca sings to him after a disappointing meeting with a record label.
"Jack just has a moment where he can't hold it in," he said. "That was the first time I've ever cried for Jack."
Ventimiglia said he's touched when the show's viewers tell him "how much it's brought their loved ones together."
"I saw a message from someone saying that her husband was in the military," he said. "And after watching our episode where Jack was struggling telling Rebecca anything (about his experiences in the Vietnam War), and still really didn't, he finally opened up to her and was able to have a conversation. So I still love and appreciate the fact that conversations are still happening because of this show. And they continue to happen."
To see what else Ventimiglia had to say, check out the video above.