Oliver Hudson Reveals Which Hobby Stopped Him Getting Cast As Jack Pearson in ‘This is Us’

By Leena Tailor‍ 6:00 AM PDT, May 15, 2018

Oliver Hudson has shared how was almost cast as a lead in NBC’s hit This Is Us -- but bowed out due to his favorite hobby!

The Splitting Up Together star revealed that he was up for the role of Jack Pearson, now made famous by Milo Ventimiglia, but declined to attend a chemistry read with Mandy Moore, who plays Rebecca Pearson on the series.

“I went in and read and it went very well,” Hudson told ET’s Keltie Knight during her LadyGang podcast with Becca Tobin and Jac Vanek. “They wanted me to come and do a chemistry read with Mandy Moore, but this will tell you how much I love to fish. I had a 10-day fishing trip planned, and it’s my life. Fishing is a big part of my life and it was this 10-day fishing trip.”

“My agent said, ‘We got a test. They really like you,’ and I said, ‘Ooh, I’m supposed to be going on a fishing trip.’ He’s like, ‘OK. So? This is a big thing.’ And I said, ‘You know what? I’m going to do my fishing trip.’”

Hudson, 41, admitted that he then went, "Oh sh**" when the series premiered to massive ratings in 2016. Despite having turned down the chemistry read, he was impressed as soon as he read the script.

“I rarely like anything, but I read it and I was like, ‘This is really good,’” he said. “I thought it was very well written and new and a little different. Interesting.”

Check out the full podcast here, and see more on Hudson below.

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