Even as This Is Us airs final episodes, the NBC series continues to amaze fans with its incredible accuracy in casting younger versions of the many main characters. This Is Us has explored many different timelines in the lives of the Pearson family and beyond, and in doing so, most characters have been shown at various points in their lives.
The series has never made a bad choice in the casting department, consistently introducing the most talented and convincing actors it can to ensure that characters feel believable and real across their whole lifespan. But some castings are just so darn good, they're almost uncanny in the best possible way.
Parker Bates (Young Kevin Pearson)
Kevin Pearson is a character who has taken a long, long time to grow up, due to his inherent childish nature and decades of repressed trauma that he has only just begun to reckon with. As performed by Justin Hartley, the adult Kevin is a character that viewers have watched go through many highs and lows, from the throes of addiction to fatherhood to a new career.
But long before Kevin dealt with any of these things, he was just a little boy portrayed by Parker Bates. Arguably the best Kevin, young Kevin has the flair for the dramatic that will propel the adult Kevin into acting stardom. He is equal parts charming and selfish, much like the older Kevin - but unlike the older Kevin, these are entirely understandable traits for a child this age to have.
Amanda Leighton (Teen Sophie Inman)
The teenage version of Sophie is the most commonly used version of the character other than the adult version portrayed by Virgin River's lead Alexandra Breckenridge. She always brings levity and warmth to the scenes she is in, and she does so all with the added bonus of being a perfect match for a younger version of Breckenridge.
Amanda Leighton, who appears in 19 episodes, mirrors many of Breckenridge's traits, from the way she laughs to the way she scrunches her face when she looks at Kevin. She perfectly bridges the gaps between Breckenridge's appearances in the present timeline so that Sophie is a constant presence in the series.
Michael Angarano (Younger Nicky Pearson)
The reveal that Jack had a younger brother is one of the most shocking moments in This Is Us. Nicky is a character whose life has been filled with pain, from the abuse he suffered in his childhood to the tragic accident he is involved in Vietnam to his difficult sobriety journey in adulthood.
Griffin Dunne perfectly portrays a man who has been through far too much as the older Nicky, but Michael Angarano depicts the transition from the quiet, nerdy Nicky to the broken, self-loathing Nicky with heartbreaking precision. Viewers even wondered at times whether Dunne wasn't just Angarano in old age makeup, which is a true testament to the strength of this casting choice.
Yael Ocasio (Young Miguel Rivas)
Fans may have long been divided about Miguel's role in the series, and whether he or Jack is Rebecca's one true love. But there's no denying that the casting of Yael Ocasio as a child version of Miguel in the long-overdue Miguel-centric episode in season 6 is one of the best casting choices the series ever made.
Even as a child, Ocasio's Miguel is very clearly the same character than Jon Huertas portrays at all versions of adulthood. He is caring, curious, and desperate for a place to belong, and the transition from this curly-haired boy to the young adult Miguel struggling with his identity as part of the Puerto Rican diaspora is all but seamless.
Mackenzie Hancsicsak (Young Kate Pearson)
Kate Pearson is a character that is difficult for many fans to sympathize with - or at least the teenaged and adult versions of the character are. But it would be near impossible to find any This Is Us fan who doesn't absolutely adore the adorable young Kate portrayed by child actor Mackenzie Hancsicsak.
In her youngest years, Kate is as adorable and happy as she ever has been. It's not hard to believe that this little "Katie girl," as Jack lovingly calls her, grows up into the jaded teen Kate played by Hannah Zeile and the adult Kate portrayed by Chrissy Metz. But it's still sad to watch that transformation at times, given how wonderful and adorable the young Kate is.
Rachel Hilson (Teen Beth Clarke)
While fans are often divided over Kate, there is frequent fandom-wide agreement that Beth Pearson is maybe the very best Pearson of them all. Susan Kelechi Watson's Beth is endlessly patient and wise, but she also suffers no fools and is able to handle the Pearson family's many dramas like a true seasoned professional.
Season 3 finally gives Beth some long-overdue backstory, introducing teen Beth as portrayed by Rachel Hilson. The side-by-side comparison of Hilson and Watson is almost breathtaking, as they could truly be mother and daughter. Hilson is one of the best additions to the series, not just because of the incredible likeness, but also in the contribution she makes as part of the young love story between her version of Beth and Niles Fitch's younger Randall.
Johnny Kincaid (Toddler Jack Damon)
In yet another example of This Is Us refusing to slow down in the casting department even in its final season, season 6 introduces the adorable, impossibly talented child actor Johnny Kincaid as the toddler version of Kate and Toby's son, Jack Damon.
The young powerhouse talent (who, like his character, is visually impaired) has had fans clamoring on social media for the 3-year-old to be nominated for an Emmy, particularly for his performance in the episode "Saturday in the Park." But Kincaid's work is all the more remarkable for just how believable it is that he grows up into Blake Stadnik's adult Jack.
Niles Fitch (Teen Randall Pearson)
Sterling K. Brown's work as adult Randall has rightfully earned him many awards and nominations, as his character has the most emotionally complex storylines. But Randall's meaty storylines don't begin in his adult years: teenage Randall, as portrayed by Niles Fitch, is truly a wonder to behold, too.
In early seasons, Fitch is given storylines revolving more around Randall's struggles with anxiety and perfectionism, in which he matches Brown's deeply moving mannerisms to a tee. But it's as Fitch has grown older, and his voice has deepened and Randall's signature laughter along with it, that he has truly started to become a dead ringer for Brown in ways the casting department couldn't have ever predicted.
Jermel Nakia (Young William Hill)
William Hill is one of This Is Us's best and most beloved characters, thanks in large part to the deeply soulful and award-winning performance given by Ron Cephas Jones. As the troubled William, Cephas Jones is nothing short of a revelation, with decades of theatrical credits bringing a level of intensity to the character that demands to be seen.
But the elder William is not the only one who is impossible to look away from. In many painful flashback sequences, in which William struggles with addiction and unthinkable loss, the character is portrayed by actor Jermel Nakia, who embodies every halting move Cephas Jones makes and speaks with the same soothing, stirring cadence that a poet like William deserves.
Lonnie Chavis (Young Randall Pearson)
Of the many time periods in This Is Us, fans have a clear preference for the era in which Jack and Rebecca are young parents raising the "little Big Three." The perfect family unit is never stronger than in these years, and it's during this period of time that the series boasts its strongest younger casting choice: the incredible child actor Lonnie Chavis as the young Randall.
Chavis's young Randall is completely believable as the same Randall that both Fitch and Brown portray. He struggles with his racial identity and his anxiety in much the same way that his older counterparts do, but he does so with a wide-eyed innocence and insatiable curiosity that makes every moment with his character, no matter whether tear-jerking or laughter-inducing, a true treasure for viewers to watch.