‘This Is Us’ Star Chrissy Metz Says Fast Food Employees Don’t Get Enough Credit


Chrissy Metz had many jobs before landing the high-profile role of Kate Pearson on NBC’s This Is Us, but one her first jobs was working behind the counter at McDonald’s. The This Is Us star told Yahoo! Finance that, as a teen, she took the job at a McDonald’s restaurant in Gainesville, Florida, because she wanted to buy a $120 pair of tennis shoes. However, she left two years later — in possession of a lot more than a new pair of kicks.

Metz worked the McDonald’s drive-thru window and front counter for two years, for $4.25 an hour. While the pay wasn’t great, Metz said she was treated well by her manager. The This Is Us star added that because her manager treated all of his employees with respect, it made her want to work even harder for him. The actress said that she learned early on that you “do absolutely get more bees with honey,” an adage that she has apparently taken to heart.

Still, the job wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows. Metz said it was hard for her to work in the fast food environment.

“Here’s the thing: You’re surrounded by this food you should not be eating, at least for me. And you smell like French fries, and it’s not really cute when a really cute guy walks in and you’re all self-conscious. It’s not easy. I don’t think fast food employees get enough credit.”

Despite the occasional awkward encounter, Chrissy Metz told Yahoo! Finance that she still recommends taking a job at a fast food eatery. The NBC star considers her McDonald’s stint to be a valuable learning experience — one that helped her to achieve a strong work ethic.

More than 20 years later, Chrissy Metz is making a lot more than $4.25 an hour, but she admits that actually having money is still a “very new process” for her. Metz has been vocal about the fact that she grew up with little money, and that by the time she landed the life-changing role on This Is Us, she was at rock bottom financially. At that time, per Metz, she had only 81 cents in her bank account.

Chrissy Metz previously told People that after scoring a lead role on what would become television’s biggest drama in 2016, she took pause before spending any of her money. The actress revealed that she sat in her car and cried for an hour when she bought a laptop with one of her first big This Is Us paychecks.

In addition to her laptop, Chrissy Metz shelled out big bucks for a pricey pair of Alexander McQueen shoes — a splurge that gave her buyer’s remorse two decades after she saved up those McDonald’s paychecks for a pair of $120 tennis shoes.

This Is Us returns to NBC this fall.

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