Chris Koch
Appearances
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
Thankfully, KiwiCo gets it. Their new summer adventure series brings six weeks of curated hands-on science and art projects delivered right to your door.
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
You guys, we got a bubble making kit where you sort of like, you put together the little net that you're going to scoop the bubble solution through. And they're like the most gigantic, gorgeous, sort of almost, they're huge. They're like balloons.
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
And we have had so much fun in the backyard running around making bubbles with the boys and our dog Marshmallow who jumps up and like tries to eat all of the bubbles. It's hilarious. Hilarious. We're having so much fun making these bubbles.
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
On today's episode of That Was Us, we are diving into Season 3, Episode 5, Toby. As Kate and Toby receive good news about their pregnancy, Toby's mental health continues to spiral. Meanwhile, Randall struggles to connect with the community during his campaign for city councilman, and Kevin meets a Vietnam vet who once knew Jack.
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
It's creative, educational, and gives parents a much-needed break from planning.
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
Oh, Matt comes back around with your dad.
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
So you shoot what you shoot and then they sort of... Would you know oftentimes when you were shooting, like, yeah, this is probably not going to make it in my cut?
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
Wow. I'm like, let me think back. I can remember some of those.
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
You gotta put those puzzle pieces together.
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
It's her friend Donnie.
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
I mean, that is the typical, I think, response.
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
Yeah, there's catharsis in being able to put pen to paper and pour your feelings out.
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
Also, I think there is a deep association with music and her father in that time and not going to school and not sending in her tape. There's a very tricky relationship with music in general that she's still fighting to sort of overcome.
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
Yeah, just thinking about that moment makes me emotional. You see Toby hugging Kate, and he is emotional, and you're like, oh, wow, this obviously means so much, but we also understand that... this person has been suffering tremendously and everything that's wrapped up in, he can go back on his medication.
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
He's in so much abject pain, you know, that like just the confluence of like both of those things coexisting is really palpable. And it's just, you just feel it as an audience member.
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
Everything he must have been holding in for these weeks.
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
I was just about to say the Birthday Party.
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
Jumping into our show, you jumped into like three different birthday parties.
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
Yeah, I mean, there is sort of this earned trust as an actor with your crew. And this crew became our family. And we were all so comfortable with one another and so familiar. It's like we were on this journey together. And I agree. Yeah. I had never done television, let alone like this long before. And so it's like, I think you sort of set yourself up for these moments.
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
You have this certain expectation of like, okay, I'm going to, I know the set. I'm going to show up. I know what it looks like. I know where my chair is going to be. And then you arrive and somehow everything is different than you imagined.
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
Because they were, like, finishing the last episode or something and moving on to this episode.
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
Use it. Work with what you got. Should we jump to the past? Because there is a past storyline.
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
There is a past storyline with Rebecca and I guess it being prom day. Yeah.
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
And the boys getting ready for prom. We realize that they are not going to, Rebecca's really excited to take pictures and see the boys with, you know, their prom dates with Sophie and Allison, Randall's prom date. But they're going to go to Allison's house. And Kate, we realize, is not going to prom. She's staying home with mom. She doesn't want to go.
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
Correct. And we also see Miguel. I guess he was like passing this piano at like a thrift store or a yard sale or something.
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
Buys this piano for the Pearsons to bring it over to this rental, this apartment that they're living in post-fire.
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
Yeah, he's sort of taking on the responsibilities of Jack, of like what you would expect sort of the best friend to do for the family.
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
He brings over the piano. He's like, I'll take a look at the fridge.
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
And walking and saying, Lucy, I'm home.
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
You don't go to Outback Steakhouse before?
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
And I believe John did as well. I think John definitely spent a fair amount of time in the writer's room and talked about his life and was able to bring his experience into the character as well.
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
It was like he was trying to fill in for Jack and have his big Jack Pearson moment, and Randall was like, let me stop you there.
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
Been over served, yeah.
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
I believe so. I think this is like a real turning point.
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
More That Was Us after this short break.
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
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That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
What everyone's been waiting for. Finally.
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
They're going to Baltimore.
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
She's complicated. She's complicated. What is it? How did she couch it? She chews men alive?
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
Like, this is not for me. I don't get it.
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
You had no idea the significance of the silk pillowcase.
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
They're like, we are a family. They are sisters.
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
The most incredible photographer.
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
He was the squad leader of Alpha Company, the third squad. He was the squad sergeant.
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
And Robinson's wife.
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
In the kitchen. Well, no, they just, she's sort of... they just have this conversation about what it's like to be black and dating this white movie star. What did she say?
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
But it was sweet because you could see these two women sort of commiserating with each other about, you know, like she mentions the silk pillowcase. She mentions the racist gas station attendant. And I believe she's urged, like, by Robinson's wife, like, is he worth it to have this conversation? And she's like, I don't know. He might be.
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
You see her sort of really kind of ruminating and caught between a rock and a hard place.
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
And that, I think, opened the door for her to be like, okay, you want to know why it's important? Let me explain to you.
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
Yeah. Like following like a tennis match.
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
This story ends with Robinson meeting them at the hotel the next morning and basically saying like, you know, sometimes the answers are so dark, you're better off not having them. But if you want to know more about your dad, here you go. And he leaves this packet, which includes a picture of Jack with a Vietnamese woman wearing the necklace that Jack gave to Kevin. That's right.
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
And this just, we're all sort of like, this is another piece of the puzzle of like, who is this woman? What's the significance of this necklace? And I think it unlocks something in Kevin in regards to, there's so much more to this story than I realized. And I don't know where it's taking me, but it might be leading me towards having to make a trip to Vietnam. It's something that will- Good call.
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
discuss in the next episode. But that's sort of where that story ends.
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
And the kindness of Robinson to sort of like, he opened this door. I mean, he told Kevin more or less, like, your dad saved my life in October of 1971. Like, I wouldn't have been here to tell this story. And he was a really guarded man. Like, there was a lot that he didn't want to share with the world, but...
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
You know, he has to sort of make this choice to give the permission, I guess, for Kevin to move forward, learning more about his father.
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
But sorry, to jump into Randall and Beth.
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
I'm like... Candidate Pearson?
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
That was funny when you're like, oh, I like the script.
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
Mission accomplished.
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
You know what I'm saying? Yeah, I need a new tactic.
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
I concur. Actor friendly, for sure.
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
Nope, that's next episode as well.
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
I think Deja's in the next episode too. I know it's hard because they really fit so well together.
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
You're like, am I losing it?
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
Her boss was so effusive and talked so highly of her. And that just, you see, throws her off. It's this reminder of like... how deeply wounded she is, how deeply hurt she is by being fired. She was with, like you were with the company for 12 years. Like we don't often see that. And he spoke so highly of you.
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
And it just sets off this chain of, she starts to like really lose her footing and she never recovers, right?
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
And then she just couldn't recover either. It's like she was trying to mask how emotional she felt. And she couldn't, like, she kept, like, kind of stuttering and trying to find the way to... It's a horrible feeling. Yeah. And then she finally just has to excuse herself. And you think, oh, gosh, she definitely is not getting this job.
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
Come back with our favorite segment of the show.
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
And it's just this powerful reflection on mental health and fatherhood and how this show can ripple into real life, so... Let's read it.
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
I was watching this episode with my incredible wife. We watched the whole show together. After that episode, it took me only one or two days to mention to her that I was feeling a bit like Toby. And she was the one who pushed me to talk to a psychiatrist. The doctor told me right away that I had depression. After I started taking the meds, I talked to some friends about it.
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
It came to me as a shock that about half of my close friends had already been... or were going through a similar situation. I come from a privileged background in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and even though this topic should be widely discussed in my friend's group, it was actually very disregarded.
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
I also believe it because we are all white, privileged men, and we never talk about our feelings with each other.
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
Yeah, you really could. You could be family.
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
You could be related.
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
He had caught his breath.
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
Yeah. That reflection.
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
It's really powerful stuff, the ability that this show does have to open those doors for so many people.
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
Yeah, let us know when that happens, because I would love to purchase one as well.
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
We need, like, a coffee table book from you, too.
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
But you have some episodes of Only Murderers coming out too in the next season.
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
Oh, my gosh. We've talked about this.
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
Have you seen this guy in the shower?
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
And Kate mentioning that she talked to the doctor and they're going to... try to figure out his correct dosage of medication or something.
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
But I do think that it is illuminating seeing the manifestation of where his humor kind of...
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
Is he up that high? No. He doesn't have the energy.
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
comes from like there is that light to him but also it to me felt like this is his way of sort of trying to brighten yeah his mom's day as well like she's sad she's overwhelmed and it's it becomes you know a tool in his toolbox like further down the road i mean you are the levity of our show a lot of funny people are have a history i was gonna say yeah
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
He doesn't have the energy, but he did.
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
The viability of these embryos.
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
With the little sombreros on.
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
I think it all sort of kind of came about at the same time.
That Was Us
Becoming Toby | "Toby" (305) with special guest Director Chris Koch
This kind of gave her that confidence of, like, you know what?