THIS IS ME

Chrissy Metz opens up about her new series, finding love and keeping things simple

- AMY BIELBY

'EITHER I WAS JUST IN THE RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME OR I STOOD IN LINE LONG ENOUGH' Chrissy on her big break

If you ask Chrissy Metz, she was “in the right place at the right time” when she landed her life-changing role as Kate Pearson on the drama series This Is Us in 2016. But it wasn’t all luck. She’d been chasing such an opportunity for a while.

“People don’t know that I was living in L.A. for 12 years — and I was a talent agent for about nine of them,” explains the 44-year-old, who had secured a few screen gigs in those days, but not the big one. “When I did book [the hit show], I was about to move back home to Florida. They say it takes 10 years to be an overnight success. And I was like, ‘It’s been 12 for me — I think I’ve reached my quota.’ And then This Is Us happened and completely changed my life in a way that I still can’t believe.”

One adjustment she’s had to make? Learning to handle a hectic work schedule. Earlier this year, Chrissy released her second children’s book — When I Talk to God, I Talk About My Feelings — along with a companion album, Big Feelings