Who Plays Eric On This Is Us?
The following article contains spoilers for the "This Is Us" episode, "One Giant Leap."
The latest episode of "This Is Us" saw the crew go on a road trip of sorts. While Deja (Lyric Ross) travels to Harvard to visit Malik (Asante Blackk), Nicky (Griffin Dunne) comes along for the ride to reconnect with his first love. Nicky has high hopes when meeting Sally (Dey Young), but when he finally does come into contact with her, he's a bit displeased to find that she's moved on in a big way. She's married, albeit unhappily, to a man named Eric (Jeffrey Nordling).
Upon meeting Eric for the first time, Nicky wants to leave, but Sally convinces him to stay for dinner, which gets a bit awkward, as one would imagine. Here, the audience learns that Sally and Eric aren't precisely on the best of terms. It sets the stage for both Sally and Eric to continue playing a role in the larger narrative of "This Is Us," and it's entirely within the realm of reason for Nicky and Sally to reconnect even more.
That could potentially mean more of Eric, which would be a big boon for the series. Jeffrey Nordling is an immense talent with a resume that goes back decades.
Nordling played Frank Bertinelli on Arrow
Jeffrey Nordling has long been a fixture on TV programs going back to the 1980s. He had minor roles in the likes of "Beauty and the Beast," "Alien Nation," and "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine." However, modern audiences may best remember the actor for the small stint he had on The CW show "Arrow."
He played Frank Bertinelli, head of a massive crime family and the father to Helena Bertinelli, who would go on to become the vigilante known as Huntress (Jessica De Gouw). He gets on her bad side when he puts out a hit on her fiance because he believes he's about to sell out the family to the FBI. In actuality, Helena was the one planning on flipping on her family, so all he managed to accomplish was get on her bad side. Frank ends up losing his life in the crossfire when Team Arrow sets out to exchange him for one of their own, but he's mentioned periodically throughout the remainder of the series.
He played his smarmiest character yet on Big Little Lies
In 2017, Nordling appeared in arguably one of his most significant roles to date as Gordon Klein on HBO's "Big Little Lies." He's the husband of Renata (Laura Dern), who appears throughout both Seasons 1 and 2. In the first season, he comes across as a backseat player to most of Renta's dealings, but in Season 2, it's revealed he has some shady practices of his own as both a thief and an adulterer.
Nordling explained in an interview to The Knockturnal what his character went through during that second season: "They have been trying to suppress it for a year. But from the first scene of the first episode, it's there. It's waiting to come out, and Gordon and Renata have a very unique ride this year. Gordon is perhaps going through a bit of a mid-life crisis maybe."
Additionally, there's a bit of a cool connection between his roles on "Big Little Lies" and "This Is Us," which was detailed by Glamour. Writer Kevin Falls mentioned, "Nordling pointed out when we were there, that Eric and Sally's house was the same house — [Bonnie and Nathan's house] — in 'Big Little Lies.' So that was really interesting to me."
Jeffrey Nordling returned to The CW on Walker
Prior to his appearance on "This Is Us," fans could most recently catch Nordling on another CW show — "Walker." He plays Stan Morrison, a fast-talking businessman who's incredibly close to the Walker family. However, despite (or perhaps in relation to) his various connections, he often finds himself in the middle of trouble throughout the episodes he's been a part of so far.
Nordling was reportedly pleased as punch to take on such an eclectic role. As he stated in an interview with the "Walker" Wiki page, "I love these kinds of roles. I love multi-layered, complicated roles. They make it worthwhile, it's fun to do." Jeffrey Nordling has never been short on work, and it appears as though he could be sticking around "This Is Us" for a while if Sally and Eric get more storylines. Regardless if he pops up again, you can be certain you'll catch Nordling on your TV screen sooner rather than later one way or another.