Chrissy Metz Talks ‘This Is Us’ Weight Loss And How Toby’s Crisis Could Affect It

Chrissy Metz says her This is Us character, Kate Pearson, will have some big decisions to make in the next few episodes of the hit NBC drama. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Metz said there would be some “unexpected scenes” when the show picks up show picks up after a tumultuous midseason finale cliffhanger that left fans in a tizzy.

Chrissy’s character has had a lot to deal with since This is Us made its debut last fall. Not only did her best friend/employer/twin brother Kevin (Justin Hartley) leave her behind in Los Angeles while he moved across the country to try to make a career on Broadway, but Kate also made the bold decision to have gastric bypass surgery. Also, within hours after she reconciled with her estranged boyfriend, Toby (Chris Sullivan), he collapsed in front of her clan on Christmas Eve and was rushed to the hospital.

Metz says “there will be things that no one is going to be ready to see,” in the upcoming episode, “The Right Thing To Do.” However, while fans wait to find out if Toby will live to see another day on This is Us, Metz says her character’s focus on losing weight will still be a major storyline no matter what happens.

“The weight loss is definitely going to happen,” Chrissy told THR.

“The trajectory is that Kate will be losing weight just as I will in real life to reflect the character in her arc and her journey. … As she loses the weight and puts the food down a lot of other things start to come up, which happens in real life. It’s going to be really fascinating to watch that unfold on a lot of different levels.”

Chrissy Metz compared Kate and her boyfriend Toby to the characters on Mike and Molly, a show she now reveals she auditioned for back in the day.

“People are like, ‘Oh my gosh you and Toby are like Mike and Molly,'” Metz said. “And I agree with that in some regards, but also it’s so very different in that this isn’t glossy. We definitely deal with things in a comedic fashion but we get to the core of what’s going on.”

Chrissy Metz says she had instant chemistry with Sullivan, something fans of the show have noted, and that their off-camera relationship is also very close.

“It’s so easy with him, we’re just on the same wavelength,” Chrissy said.

“[You] don’t always get along with your costars. Then sometimes you just hit it off instantly and it’s like a freight train. That’s how it is with Chris and I, even in real life.”

As Toby’s fate hangs in the balance, Chrissy Metz says she is not ready to stop working with Sullivan.

“We were devastated,” Metz told Entertainment Weekly after she learned of her TV boyfriend’s heart attack.

“We were like, ‘Well, what does this mean? Short-term, long-term, what does this mean?’ … I think that we’ve made [viewers] wait long enough that we’ll have answers pretty soon within the episode. Some people will be relieved and some people… might not be.”

As for how Toby’s medical crisis ties into Kate’s weight loss journey, Metz said, either way, it will have a major impact on her character and will cause her to rethink her life.

“When you see somebody that you love dearly finally making a point to do everything he can to be in your life and then something this traumatic happens, it causes her to really second guess and really to weigh what’s important to her and the repercussions of her decisions,” Metz revealed to EW. “She has a lotta, lotta thinking to do.”

Take a look at the video below to see Chrissy Metz and the rest of the cast talking about This Is Us.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5yhI5jlhe0

[Featured Image by Loreen Sarkis/Getty Images]