Though Chrissy Metz was pretty much born to play the role of Kate Pearson on This Is Us, NBC president Jennifer Salke almost cast a very different actress for the part. During a September 2017 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Salke revealed that the role of Kate had come down to Metz and a similarly unknown but significantly thinner actress. "The other actress was a sort of 'Hollywood overweight person,' struggling with losing, maybe, 20 pounds," Salke said, and it was Metz's authenticity and honesty that landed her the part.