Justin Hartley’s This Is Us Family Gushes Over His Directorial Debut

Actors who appear in different time periods on This Is Us don’t always get to work with Justin Hartley, who plays Kevin in modern times or in the future, but on last night’s episode the entire cast got to interact with him. That’s because Hartley also served as the episode’s director.

Justin Hartley Directs This Is Us

Hartley has stepped behind the lens before. He directed an episode of Smallville, the series on which he played Oliver Queen AKA Green Arrow. But this is the first time he directed his fellow actors on This Is Us.

“I had the honor of directing tonight’s episode,” Hartley shared on social media. “This crew is truly incredible. Can’t wait for you to see. #ThisIsUs.”

In the emotional Kate-centric episode, Hartley brought out the best in his castmates, earning their rave reviews in the process. Modern-day Kate (Chrissy Metz) learned of her mother Rebecca’s (Mandy Moore) mental decline and what may be coming. Teen Kate (Hannah Zielxo) suffered emotional abuse from her “boyfriend” Marc (Austin Abrams).

First, Sterling K. Brown (Randall) shared on Twitter: “This is a @JustinHartley appreciation post because he brilliantly directed tonight’s episode of #ThisIsUs!👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿”

Then, Moore chimed in: “I second this. @justinhartley did a fantastic job. One of my fav experiences of the entire series. #thisisus.”

Actress Hannah Zeilexo (Kate as a teen) earned raved reviews for her work in the episode, too. “@hannahzeilexo is phenomenal,” posted @sugarbunn10 on Twitter. “She doesn’t even need to speak. You can feel kate’s every emotion on her face. Every episode teen kate is in i always anticipate bawling my eyes out 😅”

Don’t miss next week’s episode titled The Cabin. In flashbacks, Kate’s family, sensing she’s in trouble, heads to the cabin to check on her welfare (Marc, we hope you get it!). And, in modern day, the Pearson siblings gather to support one another at the family getaway and dig up a time capsule. This Is Us airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on NBC.