How Michael Angarano accidentally slugged Milo Ventimiglia in a 'This Is Us' fight scene
Bill Keveney
You can't say Michael Angarano isn't committed to playing Jack Pearson's younger brother, Nicky, on NBC's "This Is Us."
He got so into character during a fight scene in Tuesday's episode that he accidentally punched co-star Milo Ventimiglia in the face, instead of just making it look like he connected.
In recent weeks, viewers have seen once affable Nicky turn sullen and self-destructive as his military service in the Vietnam war weighs on him. Angarano has thrown himself into the portrayal, getting a crew cut and shedding weight to transform stateside Nicky into a haunting persona who rejects the advice and protection of Jack (Milo Ventimiglia).
"When Jack first sees Nicky in Vietnam, they described him as physically gaunt, so I decided I was going to go on a diet. I ended up losing, over time, about 15 to 20 pounds, which for me made a really big difference," he says. "It did something to me physically. It helped me focus and concentrate on this physical shell that Nicky is when we see him."
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He continued that level of commitment — unintentionally taking things a bit too far — during a fight scene between Nicky and Jack that was shown in Tuesday's mid-season finale.
"That was intense enough that I did lose control of my distance and accidentally punched Milo in the face for real. He gave me a look in the middle of the scene and, in the back of my head, I thought, 'He's really in it right now,'" Angarano says. "At the end of the scene, I was replaying it in my head and I said, 'I punched you, didn't I?' He goes, 'Oh, yeah. You punched me.' And I'm like, 'I'm so sorry.' I accidentally punched him in the face."
Asked if the show used that take, he says: "I hope so."
Angarano, 30, says the scenes of Nicky and Jack in Vietnam, directed by Ken Olin, "have been really demanding and challenging. As a guest actor, I was really taken care of by everyone, from Milo to the producers, writers and directors. It was definitely an intense experience."
Viewers will see more of Angarano's Nicky — and an older version of Nicky played by Griffin Dunne, as the episode shockingly revealed Jack's brother is alive in the present — when "This Is Us" returns for the second part of Season 3 on Jan. 15.
