This Is Us’ Mandy Moore Remembers Ron Cephas Jones and Their Final Scene: ‘He Was Pure Magic’
Mandy Moore is joining Sterling K. Brown in paying tribute to their This Is Us costar Ron Cephas Jones following the news of his death on Saturday. He was 66 years old.
“Getting to know and work with Ron on the wild ride of This Is Us was the greatest gift,” Moore wrote in a Instagram caption beneath a photo of the pair from their finale scene in the NBC drama series. She went on to say “he was pure magic as a human and an artist,” and an “intrinsic part of the fabric of the show.”
“I’ll never forget how special it was to film this particular episode and welcome him back to say a proper goodbye,” she wrote of their scene in the series’ penultimate episode when Moore’s Rebecca Pearson is visited by Jones’ William Hill in a dream sequence preceding her death.
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Costar Chrissy Metz also honored the late actor in an Instagram post: “Thank you for brightening every room you walked into. I’ll never forget and have been changed by your kind heart, amazing spirit, immeasurable talent and beautiful smile. May your transition be full of light and peace. Sending all of my love to Jasmine & his loved ones during this time. You are truly the coolest cat.”
Jones appeared in all six seasons of This Is Us. He won two Emmys for Outstanding Guest Actor in 2018 and 2020 for his work portraying Randall Pearson’s biological father in the NBC drama. The series ran between 2016 and 2022 and followed the Pearson triplets, Randall (Sterling K. Brown), Kate (Metz) and Kevin (Justin Hartley), and their parents Rebecca (Moore) and Jack (Milo Ventimiglia), as they tackled emotional struggles together.
Jones’ other notable roles include Congressman Leon Kilbride in Law & Order: Organized Crime, Ron in Better Things, Professor Roger Dashmiel in Lisey’s Story, Dr. Hyde in Looking for Alaska, Bobby Fish in Luke Cage, Winston Kipling in The Get Down and Romero in Mr. Robot. He also appeared in The Blacklist, Law & Order: Criminal Intent and NYPD Blue, among others. He most recently starred in all three seasons of Apple TV+’s true-crime drama, Truth Be Told, opposite Octavia Spencer.
His film credits include Half Nelson, Across the Universe and the TV movie, A Raisin in the Sun, to name a few.
He is survived by his daughter, actor Jasmine Cephas Jones.
