Justin Hartley Looks Back at 'Inappropriate' First On-Camera Acting Job: 'This Is the Last You'll See Me on TV'

Mar. 15, 2025

Justin Hartleywould rather not keep aTrackeron some of his earliest acting roles.

The formerThis Is Usactor then explained where his television career all began. “I remember a beer commercial that I did, and it was a commercial that they had me ad-libbing for hours,” he explained. “They were like, ‘Do it different. Ad-lib.’ There were no lines.”

Justin Hartley on ‘The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’.Scott Kowalchyk/CBS

Scott Kowalchyk/CBS

The Late Showdid in fact unearth the old clip, which finds a young Hartley approaching a woman sitting alone at a bar and sliding her a key to his hotel room, much to her annoyance. Although it appears as though the two exchange words, the only sound that can be heard is the tune of an upbeat jingle.

“That’s so inappropriate!” he said after the commercial played.

Aside from the crude tone of the ad, he also opened up about why the job ended up being a bit of a disappointment. “I was really proud of all my ad-libs that day. And then when I watched the thing — I told my mom, I was like, ‘I made it. I’m on a commercial’  — they play that silly jingle over the whole thing.”

Justin Hartley and Stephen Colbert on ‘The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’.Scott Kowalchyk/CBS

While speaking to Colbert, the Emmy-nominated actor also reflected on how he played the titular role of Frosty the Snowman in a school production growing up. Hartley explained that he was first thrilled about being the lead, but realized later on he felt like “the worst actor” because he barely moved or spoke the entire show. (“The snowsuit was a dunce cap, really,” he quipped.)

After looking back on his first on-screen performance, he said, “It’s like the second time I’ve had no lines — the lead role, no lines!”

“Frosty the Snowmanall over," Colbert added.

Justin Hartley as Colter Shaw in ‘Tracker’.Michael Courtney/CBS

Michael Courtney/CBS

Hartley has more than a few lines in his latest project, playing bounty-hunter-turned-private-eye Colter Shaw in the new CBS thrillerTracker.

TheSAG Awardwinner opened up to PEOPLE in a recent interview aboutwhat fans can expect.

He described his latest role as “a guy who’s got it all figured out. He’s efficient. He says what he means, means what he says, and he doesn’t talk too much."

Hartley also shared the main difference between Shaw and his beloved character Kevin Pearson onThis Is Us.“I enjoyed theThis Is Usjob so much, it just was so much character-sitting there, not a lot of exercise. The guy didn’t move around a lot!” he joked. “So it’s good to change it up. It’s good to get a role where you’re doing a lot of physical stuff.”

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Trackerpremieres afterSuper BowlLVIII this Sunday on CBS, andThis Is Uscan be streamed on Hulu and Netflix.

source: people.com