This Is Us cast before they were famous

By Jillian Schenfeld 12:21am PST, Mar 1, 2017

The runaway hit show of the year, "This Is Us," has critics and fans alike completely hooked! Thanks to the NBC series' clever dramatic twists and stacked ensemble, we're on the edge of our seats waiting to see how this first season wraps up on March 14, 2017. The show tells the story of a young couple that builds a unique family throughout various chapters of their life. Join Wonderwall.com as we take a look at where the cast of "This Is Us" was before they were famous.

You might recognize Milo Ventimiglia as his first big television character — Jess Mariano on "Gilmore Girls" — which is a role he reprised on Netflix's "Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life" reboot in late 2016. The actor has paved a long-lasting career for himself with other notable credits on shows such as "Heroes," "American Dreams" and "Boston Public." He also produces the digital series "The Paranormal and Extraterrestrial Squad." Milo is also actively involved with the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America Organization, which supports vets returning home from war.

Before she landed her first lead television role on "This Is Us," Mandy Moore was a pop darling back in the late '90s and early aughts. Who can forget her confectionery hit singles like "Candy," "I Wanna Be With You" and "Walk Me Home"?! The Florida-raised singer-actress transitioned from the pop world to acting with a memorable role as Lana in "The Princess Diaries" alongside Anne Hathaway in 2001. Since then, she's more or less left music to concentrate on film and TV and has racked up credits in teen classics "A Walk to Remember" (seen here), "Chasing Liberty" and "How to Deal" and voiced Disney princess Rapunzel in "Tangled." Mandy divorced singer-songwriter Ryan Adams in 2016.

Sterling K. Brown is an Emmy Award-winning actor with a ton of high-profile credits to his name, so this role is icing on the cake for him! In 2016, Sterling portrayed prosecutor Christopher Darden on FX's "The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story." The same year, he co-starred alongside Tina Fey in "Whiskey Tango Foxtrot." After doing theater — "Macbeth" with Liev Schreiber in 2006 (pictured here — don't they look so young?!) — he starred on "Army Wives" from 2007 to 2013. Sterling graduated from Stanford University with a degree in drama before receiving his master's degree from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. And, wait for it… he's still married to his college sweetheart, Ryan Michelle Bathe. Aw…

Chrissy Metz is relatively new to the acting world. Her biggest role to date before working on "This Is Us" was on FX's "American Horror Story: Freak Show." She's also had small roles on "Entourage," "My Name is Earl" (seen here) and "All of Us." The actress was discovered at a local talent event in Gainesville, Florida, and is dating a "This Is Us" cameraman.

Before playing Kevin Pearson, Justin landed his first role on the daytime NBC soap opera "Passions" as Fox Crane (he's seen here at a soap awards show in 2006). The Illinois-raised actor is also known for his work on "Smallville," "Revenge" and "Mistresses." Justin is currently engaged to actress Chrishell Stause.

Chris Sullivan is a theater arts graduate of Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. Before he began working regularly in TV and film, he did a lot of theater work — including performing in "Chicago" on Broadway in 2011. His biggest role to date before joining the cast of "This Is Us" was on the Cinemax period drama "The Knick." The actor revealed to Us Weekly that he wears a fat suit while filming his scenes as Toby on "This Is Us."