Milo Ventimiglia literally got punched in the face while filming this intense This Is Us scene

Without giving too much away for those who aren’t entirely caught up on This Is Us Season 3, we think it’s safe to say that this is officially a season of origins. We see how Jack and Rebecca first met and fell in love, we get a solid dose of Jack’s formative years in Vietnam…basically, we’re learning a huge part of what made Jack, well, Jack. And perhaps one of the most moving revelations has been the show’s exploration of his relationship with his younger brother, Nicky, played by Michael Angarano.

In an interview with USA Today, Angarano said that he immersed himself in the role of Nicky Pearson, losing about 20 pounds to get into character. He then revealed that, during a particularly intense moment, he literally punched costar Milo Ventimiglia in the face during the fight scene in the November 28th mid-season finale.

"That was intense enough that I did lose control of my distance and accidentally punched Milo in the face for real," he said. "He gave me a look in the middle of the scene and, in the back of my head, I thought, 'He's really in it right now. At the end of the scene, I was replaying it in my head and I said, 'I punched you, didn't I?' He goes, 'Oh, yeah. You punched me.' And I'm like, 'I'm so sorry.' I accidentally punched him in the face."

Ouch. We just hope they used the take.

Angarano also said that the scenes involving Vietnam have challenging, but that he’s been “extremely taken care of” by everyone on set.

This Is Us returns on Tuesday, January 15th, and we are ready.