Eris Baker and Us | Tess Pearson

That Was Us

Film Interviews, Tv & Film, Tv Reviews

4.9 • 2.5K Ratings

🗓️ 12 May 2026

⏱️ 73 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

This week on That Was Us, we’re so beyond excited to be joined in studio by actor Eris Baker, who grew up playing Tess Pearson on This Is Us! Eris reflects on her journey from child actor to USC film production student, opening up about balancing school and set life, stepping into storytelling behind the camera, and how playing Tess shaped both her personal life and creative voice. In this episode, Eris chats about: * Booking This Is Us at just 10 years old after filming a Target commercial * Growing up on set alongside the cast and forming lifelong bonds with the Black Pearson family * Navigating school while working and missing out on a traditional high school experience * Choosing USC’s film production track and her dream of becoming a creative producer and director * Writing and directing her own short films and the emotional response one of them got from Sterling * Working as a PA on Dan Fogelman’s series Paradise and hustling for internships at production companies * Saying yes to Tess’s coming-out storyline at age 12 * Cutting her hair for the storyline and how it impacted her confidence entering high school * Preparing emotionally for Tess’s coming-out scene with support from Sterling, Susan Kelechi Watson, Ken Olin, and Dan Fogelman * Her close friendship with Lyric Ross and Faith Herman both on and off screen * Where she imagines Tess, Deja, and Annie would be today * Why she hopes to one day run her own production company And a friendly reminder, you can catch new episodes of That Was Us every Monday, a day early, exclusively on Hulu. Available on Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts on Tuesdays like usual!" That Was Us is produced by Rabbit Grin Productions. Music by Taylor Goldsmith and Griffin Goldsmith. ------------------------- Support Our Sponsors: - Don’t just take my word for it – go grab one for yourself. Head to Walmart today to try a bar or stock up on 4CTs of your favorite flavors, like Blueberry Pie and Salted Peanut Butter, sold exclusively at Walmart. Check out https://Walmart.com to find a store near you! - Refresh your everyday with luxury you'll actually use. Head to https://Quince.com/twu for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada, too. ------------------------- 🍋 About the Show: The stars of This Is Us, Mandy Moore, Sterling K. Brown, and Chris Sullivan, dive back into the world of the Pearsons, reliving each episode and all the life lessons that came with it. Together, they dig in and dig deep, have the tough conversations, bring in very special and familiar guests, share never-before-heard behind-the-scenes moments, and feature listeners in highly anticipated fan segments. Join your favorite family back in the living room to examine our past, cherish our present, and look to the future with new episodes of That Was Us every Tuesday. ------------------------- Executive Producers: Natalie Holysz and Rob Holysz Creative Producer: Sam Skelton Production Coordinator: Andrew Rowley Video Editor: Todd Hughlett Mix & Master: Jason Richards About Headgum: Headgum is an LA & NY-based podcast network creating premium podcasts with the funniest, most engaging voices in comedy to achieve one goal: Making our audience and ourselves laugh. Listen to our shows at https://www.headgum.com. » SUBSCRIBE to Headgum: https://www.youtube.com/c/HeadGum?sub_confirmation=1 » FOLLOW us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/headgum » FOLLOW us on Instagram: https://instagram.com/headgum/ » FOLLOW us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@headgum Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is a Headgum podcast. This episode is brought to you by Expedia and Visit Scotland.
0:29.9	Start your story in Scotland.
0:32.3	Experience the pool of wide, untamed landscapes and fresh cuisine that feels rooted in place.
0:39.0	Discover castles steeped in legend.
0:42.0	And feel the genuine warmth from locals you meet in a place that will stay with you long after you leave.
0:48.6	Start planning your own Scottish holiday.
0:51.1	Today at expedia.com.uk slash visit Scotland. Guys, are we doing? How are we doing? It's good to see you. We have a big birthday about to happen. We do indeed. Oh, that's right. So by the time the episode comes out, I will officially be 50 years old. Yes. In real time, we are two days away from SKB's 50th. Yeah. I got invited just under the wire.
1:15.6	You were invited by me. My wife was sending out invitations. Several times. And Ryan, Michelle,
1:23.8	Beth, hey, I can't wait for her to see this. I was just like...
1:27.7	Not that guy.
1:28.5	Let me tell you something.
1:29.5	She and Eris got together and said, not Chris Sullivan.
1:32.8	Not that guy.
1:33.8	She's been so...
1:35.6	It's very sweet to see her planning this party for me.
1:40.1	Because she's very goal-oriented. When my wife puts in her head that she's very goal-oriented.
1:45.0	Like when my wife like puts in her head that she's going to get something done, she does it.
1:49.5	Yeah, like make sure everybody gets invited.
1:52.4	Like that part.
1:54.2	Because so there's, I will have been roasted, right?
1:58.5	And she was like, who do you want to be the roasters? And I was like, well, people from family and people from this part of life, this part of life. So I want people to be represented from all different parts of life. Who all is resting you? So it is, who already participated, Chris and Wirtis. Yeah, we'll have. We'll have, we'll have roasted. Some friends of mine from college will have roasted. I think somebody from my family. The judge is the judge. The judge is one of the roasters. Great, I can't wait. The judge is one of the roasters. And then my buddy from high school, Michael Hogan, who's very funny. He was actually, he played the bartender in the first season of Paradise. Okay. Yeah, so he'll be one of the roasters, and I think possibly my brother, and maybe somebody from grad school, right? So it's just, you know. Is Ryan gonna roast? She's sort of the MC. Yeah. She's the master of ceremony. The mistress of ceremonies, if you will. So I'm very excited. Which means she's open game too. She's on the dais. You're on the dais, Ryan. She's on the dais. So if you have something for Ryan, oh boy, oh boy, this is going to be great. Everybody's asked me, like, why did you wanna do a roast, right?
3:09.0	And I said, I feel like laughter is kind of like my love language.
	...

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