Milo Ventimiglia Teases Jack’s ‘This Is Us’ Season 3 War & Romance Storylines

Milo Ventimiglia as Jack, Mandy Moore as Rebecca in This Is Us - 'The Most Disappointed Man in the World'
Ron Batzdorff/NBC

Just when fans thought there may be no more tears to shed over This Is Us‘ Jack Pearson (Milo Ventimiglia), fans learned that Season 3 would focus on both Jack’s time in Vietnam with his brother Nicky (Michael Angarano) and his early relationship with Rebecca (Mandy Moore).

Ventimiglia hasn’t been shy about teasing Season 3 details, in an interview with Vulture during the show’s FYC event this past week, the actor said, “[Season 3]’s going to be about his time in Vietnam, it’s going to be about what happened to his brother.” The newest addition to the Season 3 cast was announced during the FYC event — I’m Dying Up Here‘s Michael Angarano will take on the little known role of Nicky.

“How did he lose his brother?” Ventimiglia continued to Vulture. “That’s what I think at least for Jack what we’re really going to want to pay attention to. It’s just a pretty impactful thing to have loss at that level.” And we’re already crying…

Not long ago it was revealed that Vietnam War journalist and The Things They Carried author Tim O’Brien would serve as a consultant for authenticity purposes. But Ventimiglia took some inspiration for his performance from somewhere even more personal — his dad.

“Jack is a man who has this heart of gold,” the actor told Vulture. “He outshines a lot of adversity that he’s up against, and the one thing that I know my father said about his time in Vietnam was he was surprised that such a beautiful people and such a beautiful culture could be caught up in such a horrific war. I know from what I’ve read already of the Vietnam storyline, Jack feels the same.”

“Jack is a very caring, loving, nurturing man, and he has the same sentiment my father shared with me about this horrible war that he was in,” Ventimiglia continued. “So without specifics, it’s understanding that that war is a pretty horrible thing.”

But Season 3 won’t be all heartbreak, it will also include the start Jack and Rebecca’s relationship, offsetting the drama of the war. Ventimiglia spoke about the season in a segment on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. The actor revealed some secrets about looking younger in the show — “it’s sideburns and eye cream” — as well as teased Jack’s wartime story and romance.

“We explore, kind of, that younger Jack and what he experienced in wartime and then also — the positive side — we get to see Jack and Rebecca’s budding love [and] their courtship.”

See the whole exchange below, and make sure to catch This Is Us when it returns September 25.

This Is Us, Season 3 Premiere, Tuesday, Sept. 25, 9/8c, NBC