Five Fast Facts About This Is Us Star Susan Kelechi Watson

Susan Kelechi Watson currently stars as the lovable and supportive Beth Pearson on NBC’s hit show, This Is Us, a role she landed after putting in years of hard work. Though she’s now on one of the most popular shows on television, the road hasn’t been easy for Watson.

From the famous actress who supported her dreams to her upcoming film debut, here are five fast facts you need to know about This Is Us star, Susan Kelechi Watson.

Personal Cheerleader
Though Watson was determined to follow her acting dreams, she, unfortunately, wasn’t able to afford all of her schooling. She was accepted into a program to study Shakespeare at Oxford, but it was too expensive.

However, she was awarded a scholarship to study at Oxford thanks to actress Phylicia Rashad, who also joined with Denzel Washington, to see these kids to study. So it must have been extra special for her when Rashad was cast as her mom on This Is Us.

Oh, Canada
After years of playing recurring or guest characters on television shows, Watson was close to calling it a day and quitting acting for good. In fact, just one month before she landed her breakthrough role as Beth Pearson on This Is Us, Watson was considering moving to Montreal, Canada to work in a coffee shop. Lucky for us, she didn’t do that!

Off-Screen BFFs
Watson and the rest of her cast on This Is Us are very close, but she has a special bond with Mandy Moore, who plays Rebecca Pearson. Not only are these two very good friends, but Watson was also a part of Moore’s bachelorette party and they spend a great deal of time together outside of filming.

School Ties
Watson has great chemistry with her onscreen TV husband, Sterling K. Brown, but it turns out these two go way back. In fact, they were both studying acting at NYU at the same time. Though they weren’t close at the time, Watson remembers admiring Brown’s acting abilities.

Big Film Debut
After years of doing great work on television, Watson is about to make her feature film debut in the Fred Rogers biopic, It’s A Wonderful Day in the Neighborhood. Watson is starring as Andrea Vogel, while Tom Hanks is playing the titular character of Fred Rogers. The movie is expected to be released later this year.