-I'm so happy you're here. -Me too.
-And so is our audience. I mean, look -- listen to them.
-Thank you.
The four people and The Roots, obviously.
-It's gonna be interesting to hear you perform with no crowd.
It's almost like being, like, at your rehearsals or something.
-It's kind of like, yeah, a slightly elevated rehearsal.
-It's like a sound check. -Yeah.
-This is your first album in 11 years.
-In 11 years. -Congrats on this.
-Thank you.
-I love the name, "Silver Landings."
How did you come up with that title?
-It was the last song that we wrote for the record,
and, to me, it was sort of like the idea of
a silver lining actualized, something that felt
really grounded and earthbound and everything
that it sort of took to write and record and make
this record after being gone for so long.
-Yeah. When you're getting back into it,
do you ever go back to your old catalog
just to listen to what you used to do like,
"Okay, that's my sound"?
-Let's not do that. No.
-No. Come on. -No, certainly.
I have -- I've kind of come full circle
with a lot of, like, my older stuff.
We are supposed to go on tour.
I haven't toured in 13 years, so it's very precarious timing,
with everything that's happening in the world.
Oh, yeah. Oh, yes.
-This is when you were 15 on tour, I believe, right?
-That was my very first tour.
I flew from doing the "Candy" music video in Los Angeles
to Virginia Beach, Virginia, to open for NSYNC
on their summer amphitheater tour.
-That's a gig. -It was a gig.
I mean, and this -- This van was, like, a marketing van.
-Oh, I was gonna say, if this is your van --
-No, no. -Okay, you didn't.
-And they would pass out cassingles.
Remember cassingles, guys? -Yes, of course.
-They would pass out my -- Exactly, yeah.
-Questlove, yeah.
Cassingles -- I just want to explain at home.
-For the children, yeah. -Yeah.
They were cassettes, but --
Oh, but that doesn't make any sense either.
-Yeah. -Yeah, whatever.
-Antiquated technology that you don't need to worry about.
-Google it, Google it. Yeah, yeah.
-But they would pass out these cassingles --
-I had a cassingles. -Yeah.
And, so, it followed us everywhere that whole tour,
and -- Yeah, pretty crazy.
But I've kind of, like, come full circle, like, I was saying,
about the idea of --
I have a song on my record called "15,"
and it's talking all about this exact time.
I mean, I've been in the industry for 20 years now.
I signed a record deal when I was 15
and sort of started in the industry.
And I think, for a long time, I apologized for that time
of my life and that, like, chapter
because I had no creative control.
And I have kind of come full circle
to have a lot of affection for that girl,
'cause she lives in me, and I carry her around.
She's the reason we're talking.
And so it's been an interesting thing to sort of digest
and come to terms with
over the course of making this record, too.
-I thought I read somewhere that you, at one point,
thought about quitting acting before "This Is Us."
-I did.
You know, it's -- This business is tricky.
-It's tough. -You know.
It's like there is a real ebb and flow to everything in life.
But I had done four failed TV pilots.
And I remember going in for, like, an audition
with some actor, like, chemistry read,
for a show that I was like,
"Oh, um, I don't really feel connected to this,
but okay, yeah."
And I remember going in and feeling pretty good about
the audition and then coming out and finding, like,
I didn't get it.
And I was like, "What?!
I didn't get the thing I didn't even really want?"
I was like, "This is the universe telling me
this is done for me."
-So you were actually mad that you didn't get
the part you didn't want.
You're like, "What's wrong with these people?
I'm perfect for this awful show."
-So, I felt like -- I was like, "You know what?
Maybe it's time to go back to Florida, where I'm from.
Maybe it's time to go back to school."
I really was reconsidering everything.
And I, you know, gave myself like a couple days
to feel really down about everything.
And then I think the idea, just, like, the constant nature
of rejection being a part of the actor's life --
I had some patience, and six months later,
"This Is Us" came into my world.
Changed everything.
-This season has been -- I think it's your season,
because you have such a great story line,
but you put in some good acting chops.
And what your character is going through,
it's a tricky subject and all that stuff.
But all the time traveling in different scenes,
and you pull it off seamlessly.
-Thank you. -You were fantastic in it.
-Thanks, Jimmy.
-I was going to ask you, because we've had Milo on the show,
and I know Justin directed an episode, as well.
-Yeah. -When are you going to direct?
-They both directed an episode this season.
And I would love to. -You have to.
-I would love to.
And I feel like every single cast member wants to sort of
try their hand at directing before the show is done,
and they've kind of, like, given us the nod like, "It'll happen."
-You have two more episodes left.
-For the season, yes. -For the season.
And the next one, I saw the promos, 'cause NBC all the time.
-Yeah, yeah. -All day and all night.
And it's like, "Wait till you see 'This Is Us.'"
And it's, like, what if Jack didn't die?
-Yeah. -Like, what if Jack lived?
-Yes.
-But I didn't see you in the promo.
-I'm in it. Don't worry.
I think there is a lot, obviously,
focused on dad, because what if dad didn't die?
How would that affect our life? But mom is still there.
-Okay. -Oh, yeah, no, no.
-Okay.
-There was a lot of tears shed for the next episode.
I think I cried pretty much the entire episode.
Not as Mandy, as Rebecca. -You need to go on tour.
-I need to, like, rebuild my adrenals or something.
My tear ducts need a break.
-Guys, rebuild your adrenals right now.
I want to show a clip.
Here's Mandy Moore in "This Is Us."
Take a look.
-Wow.
-Watch out, Helen Mirren.
-Oh, stop it. You know she's my spirit animal.
-She's everybody's spirit animal.
-Hey, Kev? -Mm-hmm.
-I have a silly question for you.
-Yeah.
-I'm embarrassed to ask.
-What? No. Come on, Mom. No.
-Can I walk the red carpet with you tonight?
I know I tell you I never want to do that sort of stuff,
but I just feel like it would be a shame to waste this dress.
-Well, yes. Yes, of course. -Yeah?
-Yes, of course. That would be great.
-Thank you. I'm so excited.
I never get to do this sort of thing.
Thank you. -Yeah, of course.
-Perfectly done. Perfectly done. Mandy Moore.
"This Is Us" airs Tuesdays at 9:00 p.m. on NBC.