Like His 'This Is Us' Character, Actor Timothy Omundson Is Also Recovering From a Stroke

With the fall finale of This Is Us approaching, we can't think of a better time to debrief on the slew of new characters we've met over the course of this current Season 4. 

In addition to Deja's new boyfriend Malik Hodges, and his parents Kelly and Darnell, we've also met a veteran who's played an intricate role in both Uncle Nicky and Kevin's trajectory.

But when it comes to the last of the Big Three, Kate, who's recently given birth to baby Blake and is struggling in her marriage to Toby, has forged a friendship with her neighbor Gregory, who's recovering from a stroke.

Keep reading for everything you need to know about Gregory and the actor who plays him.

We first meet Gregory as Kate and Toby's extremely unfriendly, if hostile, neighbor. He complains throughout his introductory episode about the fact that Toby has been parking on the sidewalk, which truly doesn't seem like a big deal.

And despite Kate's best attempts at being neighborly and smoothing things over, Gregory proves to be downright curmudgeonly — though we learn at the end of the episode why exactly that is. 

The neighbor explains that he's recovering from a major stroke and has had to relearn to walk and talk.

Since he's been trying to implement a routine for himself, Toby's unfortunate car placement actually places a big impediment on is recovery. And in typical This Is Us fashion, the neighbors establish an emotional connection because of it.

While Toby is out at the gym, pursuing fitness as his coping mechanism, lonely new mom Kate forges a friendship with Gregory, and the two begin to go on daily walks together. Gregory serves to help Kate appreciate the little things in life around her, things he almost lost due to his stroke, and aids her in putting her own life into perspective.

This Is Us is pretty inclusionary when it comes to casting, and this season, employed a visually impaired actor to play the adult version of Toby and Kate's blind son. 

The effort might stem from the controversies surrounding Toby wearing a fat suit and prosthetics to play his overweight character, but who's to say. 

In any case, Timothy Omundson, who brings Gregory to life on This Is Us, has actually overcome a stroke and recently celebrated his "second anniversary of Stroke Survival."

"Just over two years ago, a stroke almost killed me," Timothy shared on Twitter ahead of his first This Is Us episode. "Tonight, I'm returning to Prime Time Network Television thanks to @Dan_Fogelman and the great people on @NBCThisIsUs. Hope you'll [tune] in." Timothy followed up the tweet with his favorite hashtag, "#SuckItStroke."

Before stealing our hearts as Kate and Toby's neighbor, Timothy was a familiar face from his roles as Sean Potter on Judging Amy, Eli on Xena: Warrior Princess, and Carlton Lassiter in Psych.

He'll be reprising his role as Carlton in the forthcoming Psych 2: Lassie Come Home after his stroke recovery prevented him from having a bigger role during the 2017 Psych film.

Watch Timothy in the role of Gregory when new episodes of This Is Us air Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on NBC.