'This Is Us' star Justin Hartley says 'it was horrible' wearing prosthetics onscreen and costar Mandy Moore 'walks on water' for doing it for 6 years

• Justin Hartley told Insider the makeup process to age his character for "This Is Us" was "horrible."

• He said costar Mandy Moore "walks on water" for enduring it throughout the show's six seasons.

• Warning: There are major spoilers ahead for the final season of "This Is Us."

"This Is Us" star Justin Hartley told Insider that he thinks costar Mandy Moore "walks on water" for wearing makeup and prosthetics to age her character onscreen on their hit NBC drama, which just wrapped after six seasons.

The beloved series followed the Pearson family as they navigated life through several different time periods. Moore played Rebecca Pearson, a mother of three, raising triplets with her husband Jack (Milo Ventimiglia) until his death. Hartley was Moore's onscreen son, Kevin Pearson.

Hartley spoke about his experience on the series last month while promoting his partnership with Revel Spirits and their new agave spirit, Revel Avila Spritz.

Before he had to go through the slow process of aging, Hartley thought "Mandy has so much patience. For six years, she's been doing this. She has so much patience. This is great.'"

Then, Hartley, 45, had to undergo wearing prosthetics and makeup to age his character, as the final episodes of "This Is Us" focused on the Pearson family caring for their mother in her last days after she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. Hartley's character, now older, built a home for his mother to care for her and later said goodbye to her before she died.

"I thought the respect that I had for her before I did that was immense, and now after doing that for three weeks, seeing what she did for six years, that woman walks on water. I don't know how she did it," he continued.

"She is a goddess and I'm sitting here just squirming in my chair, going, 'Two hours in makeup? Are you kidding me?' That's like I'm pulling my hair out," Hartley added.

According to Variety, aging Moore took about three hours for every present-day scene in which she was featured.

Hartley's aging process might have been about an hour shorter than Moore's, but he described the ordeal as uncomfortable nonetheless. He had to have facial hair "glued" to his face to keep certain scenes consistent.

"I looked like I was wrapped in saran wrap," he recalled.

"Then they glued a beard onto that glue, and then they glued hair on top of that beard...," he continued. "Then they put prosthetics on my face."

Along with the wig, it was "cumbersome," Hartley said.

But no matter how long he had to sit in the makeup chair to make sure the Pearson family got to say a proper goodbye, the impact of the show, which aired its series finale May 24, is not lost on Hartley.

"If you're gay, if you're straight, if you're young, or if you're old, if you're Black, if you're white, if you're rich or poor, it doesn't matter. Our show spoke to you," he said.

"As an actor, you sit here and you go, 'Wow. I worked really hard at my craft.' I tried to be elite, but I never in a million years thought that I would be part of something that impacted so many people in such a positive way for so many years,'" Hartley continued. "It's just really humbling."

Now Hartley is focused on his next act

Though "This Is Us" has come to an end, Hartley isn't slowing down.

His next acting project is a drama called "The Never Game" in which he'll play a survivalist who uses his "expert tracking skills" to help people solve mysteries, whether they're private citizens or officers of the law, per Deadline.

He also bought Revel Spirits in 2020. With his business partner, founder Micah McFarlane, he's dedicated to producing a beverage he called "the best agave spirit on the planet." Revel Avila Spritz is the company's ready-to-drink seltzer with flavors like rosemary grapefruit that Hartley called "pure and clean."

"We didn't want to make another seltzer alcohol drink. There are a million of them," he said.

The actor was quick to admit that while he cares about the work he's doing in the beverage business and in Hollywood, he knows that it's impossible to balance all of his roles — which include being a father to his daughter Isabella Justice and husband to former "Young and the Restless" co-star Sofia Pernas, whom he married in 2021.

"It's just about realizing that you don't do anything on your own," he said. "All this wonderful stuff that's happening, it can seem busy at the time, but if you look back on it, you go, 'Wow. That was pretty incredible. What a life.'"

Read the original article on Insider