Alexandra Breckenridge Teases Her This Is Us Return & More

E! NEWS: What was it like returning to This Is Us after so long? Did you always hope you’d return one day?
AB: I’ve been wanting to come back on the show for a while. I’ve been tied up with Virgin River. In a few of the seasons, I would’ve come back, but scheduling didn’t permit it. That’s been difficult because I love the show so much and love working with Justin so much. He’s such a pleasure. It’s always great to work with him. We kind of just fall back into this very easy working relationship that you don’t get with everybody that you work with. Given the history between Kevin and Sophie, it’s so great to be able to work with somebody that you have that natural chemistry with. It helps you bring life to the characters and kind of what makes them spark to each other.

E!: What was it like exploring Kevin and Sophie’s relationship over the years with Justin Hartley?
AB: I think he’s been doing such fantastic work in this role, and it’s a really complicated role, given he’s had this pretty large character arc that he’s been exploring from season one until now, and how his character’s developed into a man. He was a very self-centered kid. He was a sweet kid, he’s always been sweet, but pretty self-centered. And I think Justin is not self-centered and he’s been able to wear his heart on his sleeve in these later episodes in such a lovely way. 

We don’t do a lot of rehearsal. We know what characters we’re playing, and then we come together and it just works. We’re lucky in that. We didn’t have a chemistry read to begin with, so I just showed up and we started playing the scenes.

E!: Another important relationship is Kate and Sophie’s friendship. After Kate lied about knowing that Kevin cheated on Sophie years ago, how have they rebuilt their friendship over the years?
AB: [The show] never really got into that when Kevin and Sophie got back together in their 30s. They didn’t get into the Kate and Sophie aspect of their relationship, but I’m happy that they went back into it. I would like to see more between the two of them. Their Thelma & Louise bit, I think would be fun. I think it was that forgiveness. I think that was pretty big for Sophie because she was so close with Kate, but at the same time, it’s hard not to understand why you would be loyal to your brother. I think Sophie was so hurt by what happened. It felt like she’d been betrayed by the two people that she loved the most in the world. And so, for her, when Kate apologized, she was like, ‘Of course.’ It’s really sweet.