This Is Us: Susan Kelechi Watson on How Beth Is Finding Her Identity Apart From Randall

Updated on Feb 16, 2019 at 3:01 PM

Anyone who watches This Is Us knows that the real MVP of the show is Beth, played by Susan Kelechi Watson. While she may not be a Pearson by blood, she has won fans over with her fierce and strong role as a wife and mother. But let's just be clear, Beth is so much more than just Mrs. Randall Pearson. She's also the queen of compromise, the in-law everyone needs, and unapologetically black. Susan, who is equally inspiring as the character she plays, appears on Good Housekeeping's March issue, and in the cover story she opened up about her fan-favorite character and how Beth's life has mirrored hers in a few ways.

The 37-year-old was raised by Jamaican parents in NYC and started pursuing a career in acting at a young age. After graduating from Howard University (yep, the same school Randall applies to on This Is Us), Susan went on to receive a Master of Fine Arts degree from the Tisch School of the Arts Graduate Acting Program. As fate would have it, the NYU graduate school is actually where she first met her onscreen husband, Sterling K. Brown. "I've always been a fan of her work and admired her," the actor said about Susan. "Sue is just cool people, cool like the other side of the pillow. So finally getting to do something together has been wonderful."

While Susan has gained critical acclaim for her role as Beth, being on This Is Us is just the beginning for the actress. In January, Premature, a film she executive-produced, debuted at Sundance, and later this year, she will star alongside Tom Hanks in the Mister Rogers biopic A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. As Susan continues to rise to superstardom, get ready to feel inspired by her quotes about working hard, staying positive, and chasing your dreams.

On Beth and Randall's "rocky" future: "They're trying to work out where they want to be as individuals, and it's creating friction. I've heard many women — friends included — who have said once they became mothers, they lost themselves, and how important it is for a woman to know who she is without the other titles. Those titles are beautiful things, but it's not the definition of who Beth is, so I love her feeling uncomfortable, and on her own search."
On Beth's story in seasons three and four: "This season Beth has become undone in ways we haven't seen before, and that will continue. We'll have an episode about where she came from. It's been wonderful to learn about the dreams she had, who she wanted to become — and how far from that she is."
On filming with all her castmates: "The craziest times are when we're all filming. I feel for those directors! It's hard to wrangle us, because we get along so well and it's like, 'Heyyyy, we get to talk!' It can get a little chaotic. You have Chris Sullivan and Justin [Hartley] and Sterling all cracking jokes. And Justin has the quickest wit — you just go, 'How did you come up with that so fast?"

On pushing through circumstances to achieve your dreams: "I had to really press through to get to being the artist I am today. There was a time when I just didn't have the opportunities, which meant going without things in my life — whether it was clothes, or food, or money — and living a really bare-bones life. What I did was try to become the person I wanted to be in the future. Even though I didn't have everything I wanted, I wasn't like, Oh, when I get to that place, things will be great. I'd go, I have to make where I am now be great . . . and then that will be great. There is no better than now. So if I wanted to feel something in my future, I'd bring it into the present: If I want to be mentored, how do I mentor somebody else? If I want to be in a good financial place, how do I start that now? How can I incorporate the principles that I want in my future into my life now? You have to practice the life you want, regardless of what the circumstances are."
On enjoying getting older and her future dreams: "I take a lot [of direction] from my great-grandmother. I would tell my future self to enjoy getting older . . . but not to get old. Hopefully I become a grandmother, and hopefully I'll live into my 90s like my great-grandmother did, but not seem old. Stay active, stay involved, surround yourself with people who have a firm life and continue to laugh a lot."
On not letting her circumstances dictate her value: "For a while, people were using these gold dollars in New York, I guess because in the subway, when it gave you change, it was in coins. I dropped one in the dirt once, and I looked at this coin in the dirt, and I was like, Huh, you know what? This coin is sitting in the dirt, but it is still worth a dollar. It doesn't matter that it's in the dirt. It doesn't change the value of the coin. It was such a lesson for me, because I didn't want my circumstances to change what I thought was my value. I think so often we can let our circumstances dictate what our value is. And I have to remember that my value is the same whether I'm in the dirt or I'm picked up and dusted off. It taught me about still valuing myself, still holding my head up in the midst of not being in the place I wanted to be."
On her personal mottoes: "I have a few Jamaican proverbs I live by. So a Jamaican would say, 'What's mine can't be un-mine' and 'We run things, things no run we.' The idea 'We run things, things no run we' motivates me, and 'What's mine can't be un-mine' settles me; it makes me feel at peace. Life should flow from you, not be happening to you, you know what I mean? That's something I learned a long time ago, to let it flow from us and not let it toss us all over the place. There are things you cannot control, but you can find some balance in all of it."