Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Lifestyle
Katie Rosseinsky

Mandy Moore says This is Us co-star Ron Cephas Jones ‘was suffering’ before death

Getty Images

Support truly
independent journalism

Our mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.

Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.

Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.

Louise Thomas

Louise Thomas

Editor

Mandy Moore has opened up about working with her This Is Us co-star Ron Cephas Jones before his death.

Cephas Jones starred as William Hill, the biological father of Sterling K. Brown’s Randall Pearson, in the hit NBC family drama from 2016 to 2022. He died the following year at the age of 66 due to “a long-standing pulmonary issue”, his representatives said at the time.

Speaking on the That Was Us podcast, Moore, who played family matriarch and Randall’s adopted mother Rebecca Pearson,  revealed that Cephas Jones “was suffering” during filming and had struggled during a hiking scene.

“It was really hard for him to breathe and I remember him sitting was scripted,” she said. “But also because he genuinely needed to do that, it really brought home knowing what was actually happening in real time in those moments while we were shooting this show and this season.”

She noted that Cephas Jones “just had this intrinsic connection to what his character was going through and it makes it all the more poignant”.

Brown also said that his co-star “had a profound understanding of what he was saying” during an episode in which William reflected on death.

Cephas Jones, left, with the cast of ‘This Is Us'
Cephas Jones, left, with the cast of ‘This Is Us' (Getty Images)

“And because he’s not with us anymore, beautiful human being that he is, it’s just like, wow,” Brown added.

In a previous podcast episode, Brown shared happy memories of how Cephas Jones had “joy in every fibre of his being”, maintaining a “big smile” and “big laugh” in spite of his health problems.

Cephas Jones, a Tony-nominated stage actor who also appeared in shows such as Mr Robot and Luke Cage and films including Dolemite Is My Name, had a double lung transplant in 2020 due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.