As This Is Us draws to a close, you'd think Mandy Moore and Milo Ventimiglia would be plotting their next big move.
But as it turns out, when the pair spoke to E! News they shared that right now they're just trying to live in the present.
"This is something that will never come around again," Mandy said at the 2022 Makeup and Hairstylists Awards, noting "nothing" will ever compare to the NBC drama. "I'm not ready to look towards to the future. I'm going to stay in this moment as long as possible."
The same goes for Milo, who is keenly aware that he's working with the best in the business. "I'm not worried about where Mandy's gonna go, where I'm gonna go or what any of the cast is going to do," he explained to E!. "Like Mandy said, I'm just hanging on to it as best I can, being present as best I can, because it really is a remarkable group of people."
Indeed it takes a village to create such a momentous show. And that doesn't include just the cast. Take, for instance, makeup artist Zoe Hay and hairstylist Michael Reitz.
"It's so transformative for us as actors to take what they are giving us," he raved of the duo who transform him and Mandy into Jack and Rebecca, "and their talents and their craft to create the whole of a character."
And while Milo mostly remains youthful on the show, Mandy routinely sits in the makeup chair for hours at a time to age up. "I transform into a 70 some odd year old woman and it's what ultimately helps me put those final pieces together to get into character," the actress said. "It's what helps the audience believe that 72-year-old mother of Sterling [K. Brown] and Chrissy [Metz] and Justin [Hartley]. Without them, I wouldn't be able to do my job."
But every beginning has its end. At the NBC Scripted Press Day, This Is Us creator Dan Fogelman announced the series finale will air on Tuesday, May 24.
But as Sterling said in E! News' inaugural digital cover story, "It won't be goodbye forever."
This Is Us airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on NBC.
E! and NBC are both members of the NBCUniversal family.