William’s Death on ‘This Is Us’ Taught Ron Cephas Jones that ‘Life is Precious’
Fans of This Is Us have been extremely touched by the characters on the series, so much so that they’ve been inspired to be better in their own lives. They’ve also been inspired to reach out to friends and family that they may have lost touch with, ones they may have fought with over silly things, or just ones they usually text instead of taking the time to call.
It’s a series that makes you want to cultivate and protect love and we have a feeling it’ll only continue to get better as the seasons continue. One character we won’t see anymore, sans flashbacks, is William, but that doesn’t mean we won’t continue to feel his impact, and we aren’t the only ones.
Ron Cephas Jones himself has learned a lot from his time playing William and one of those things is that life is short and precious.
‘That was on my conscience for a long time and it’s still today. Every morning that I wake up and I’m breathing, I can feel it and take a moment to say, you know, ‘Thank God I’m alive for another day.’ And that’s what that episode and the character and the whole journey of William taught me, and hopefully a lot of other people are feeling the same way.’
His character arc has touched us the most so far, and while we’re anticipating so much more – and we expect to be absolutely distraught when we learn more about Jack’s – we believe he’ll be one of the characters that truly stands out not just among the series, but through television entirely.
He embraced the last part of his life with a son he loved, so much so that he gave him up so he’d have a better life, and once they were reunited – he gave him everything he had left.
So when Ron learned of his Emmy nomination, it meant a lot to him. In fact, it still takes his breath away sometimes. He’s thrilled not just for himself, but for his entire team, all who make the series possible.
‘I still forget, you know, I mean just in my consciousness, and then it’s like [this] really big breath comes over me, you know, if that makes sense. So, a bit overwhelming, but I’m very excited, very humble, and very happy.’
‘…but I knew him’
