Mandy Moore almost walked away from acting five years ago

It’s hard to imagine anyone else playing Rebecca Pearson on This Is Us (Tuesdays, 9 p.m. ET, CTV) but that’s a reality that almost happened when Mandy Moore considered walking away from the business for good back in 2015. At that point, after a bunch of failed pilots, a stalled music career, and her marriage to Ryan Adams about to come to an end, she just didn’t know how much she had left to give.“I was kind of at the point where I was like, 'Maybe this acting thing is done for me.' Like, 'Maybe I need to hang it up and go back to Florida, go to school, go try my hand at something else,” she tells CBS Sunday Morning.[video_embed id='5462961187001']Related: Mandy Moore calls 'This Is Us' the greatest job she's ever had[/video_embed]Luckily the actress decided to stick with it (maybe she remembered A Walk to Remember?) and she also got out of her toxic marriage to Adams a year later. “I just felt like I was at a point in my life where I was the most comfortable making myself the least priority, and I made myself as small as possible in order to make someone else comfortable,” she said in the interview, which airs in full on March 1. “There was so much to unpack. It really destroyed my relationship to music. It destroyed – oh, now I’m going to get emotional … it destroyed my sense of self. It destroyed my belief in who I was, as a musician and as a singer.”Considering all of that, the role on This Is Us couldn’t have come at a better time. Moore had worked with creator Dan Fogelman previously when she voiced Rapunzel in his big screen adaptation Tangled, and he had been wanting to work with her again ever since.

 

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It takes a village. Grateful to my friends who are so very good at what they do (@jennstreicher @streicherhair @kevinmichaelericson @cristinaehrlich @studiounbiased @photobyjennajones ). Grateful to be invited to the party again this year... and giving us a reason to get gussied up! Thanks for having us, @criticschoice!! #thisisus

A post shared by Mandy Moore (@mandymooremm) on Jan 12, 2020 at 7:13pm PST

“It was sort of a soul crushing thing to be a part of pilot season for year after year and for things not to move forward,” Moore said during This Is Us’s inaugural press conference at the 2016 Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour. “Not to sound cheesy, but I’m a big believer that things happen for a reason, and I could not be more thrilled. I read this script in October of last year. Immediately it was like, I would do whatever I can to be a part of this. So, yeah. I’m thrilled that this is the one, and it’s moving forward, and I get to be part of this incredible cast.”Looks like she learned to save a little for herself after all.

 

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I’ll be heading out on the road in less than a month! I’m sad to be leaving my ?? but luckily I’ll be bringing some talented friends and family along with me… The @dawestheband gang - @taylordawesgoldsmith @lee.pardini @gelberandsons Griff on drums And my dear friend @themikeviola ❤️ See you out there! ? @jenrosenstein

A post shared by Mandy Moore (@mandymooremm) on Feb 24, 2020 at 1:19pm PST

In the spirit of the time-jumping show, flash forward to today and Moore has racked up plenty of accolades (and a Golden Globe and Emmy nomination) for the role of Rebecca Pearson, in which she gets to play a woman over the span of several decades. The “Candy” singer is also working on new music with her second husband, musician Taylor Goldsmith. There are three episodes of This Is Us left to air in its fourth season (the show has been renewed through to season six), and she’s hitting the road for the first time in a decade. In other words, everything is coming up Mandy.[video_embed id='1512946']Related: Ryan Adams threw some major shade at Mandy Moore[/video_embed]