Sterling K. Brown, Reborn as Network TV's Newest Leading Man

A New Chapter

Just two days before Thanksgiving, Brown is sitting at a long table in a photo studio in Culver City, digging into a take-out lunch as he begins to break down the plot of his new Hulu drama series, "Paradise." Brown chooses his words deliberately while simultaneously ramping up his energy to match his passion for the subject. It's a significant departure from "This Is Us," the NBC family drama that made Brown a star as fan-favorite character Randall Pearson, and was known for giving audiences a good weep.

Though "Paradise" hails from the same creator and executive producer, Dan Fogelman, this series aims to provoke very different emotions in viewers. It's a contemporary political thriller with a twisty plot. At times, it's downright terrifying.

"'This Is Us' offered a bit of catharsis. Usually, at the end of every episode, you got a chance to lay a burden down. This one, the burdens just keep piling up," Brown says. "It's more intrigue and anticipation."

Breaking Boundaries

Brown rhythmically raps his knuckles on the table as he walks me through the plot of "Paradise," eager to share more, and more than I'm allowed to reveal, ahead of its Jan. 28 premiere. He's got a couple of hours to talk before he has to pick up one of his two sons from soccer practice. But for the moment, he's giving his undivided attention to gushing over his co-stars Julianne Nicholson (a "motherfucking beast" in her role) and James Marsden ("Sometimes I wonder, like, do I have a chance? Because he's that charming").

Brown is particularly animated because this is the first time he's openly discussed details of the much-anticipated series with anyone outside of his colleagues and close friends sworn to secrecy. "Paradise" also marks Brown's first time as No. 1 on the call sheet, as well as his debut as an executive producer. His professional horizons have expanded greatly since "This Is Us" and FX's "The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story" made him a name-brand actor. He earned a supporting Oscar nomination last year for his role opposite Jeffrey Wright in 2023's "American Fiction."

But Brown is clearly ready to prove that he has staying power as a leading man. With "Paradise," he's reunited with a trusted colleague and prolific writer-producer in Fogelman to help him get there.

A Musical Inspiration

The stakes for Brown are evident in his obsession over every detail of the show, produced by Disney's 20th Television. He slaps his thighs with excitement over the simplest things, like the show's '80s-inspired soundtrack. "It almost feels very much like 'Bridgerton,' which I was watching over the pandemic," he says, noting how the soundtrack of Shonda Rhimes' Netflix costume drama put a classical spin on pop hits such as Madonna's "Material Girl" and Pink's "What About Us."

"It's like we've taken these songs that are very familiar and we've updated them in the covers. I remember Jordan Peele in 'Us' did a cover of 'I Got 5 on It' — ba-dump bum, ba-dump bum, ba-dump bum," Brown says. "And as soon as you heard it in the trailer, every Black person was like, 'Oh, shit! '"I Got 5 on It!"' We're hoping for a certain demographic, they'll hear the songs and be like, 'Oh, shit.'"

From "This Is Us" to "Paradise"

Before "This Is Us" ended in May 2022, Brown says, Fogelman came to him with a "really great idea" for his next show — but it wasn't "Paradise," and at that time Brown wanted to explore the world of film. After his success with "American Fiction," Brown got a new pitch from Fogelman.

"He goes, 'I wrote this show, and as I'm writing it, I realized I was kind of writing it for you.' He said, 'If you're not interested, all good, I understand — but if you are, then we can talk about it.' So I was like, 'Bro, you've written six years of dope-ass shit — let me take a gander.' I read it, and I called and said, 'I'm in.' He heard me say, 'Amen,' because I'm Black, and he figured I was just saying something from church, and then he's like, 'What does "amen" mean? Is it good? Is it bad?' 'No, dummy. I'm. In.'"

A Tangled Web

Set in a serene, wealthy community, "Paradise" follows Xavier Collins, a Secret Service agent and single dad with two kids, whose tranquility is threatened by the shocking murder of former U.S. president Cal Bradford, played by Marsden. Brown's character becomes the leading suspect in an investigation closely overseen by a mysterious character named Sinatra (Nicholson).

"'Paradise' is the exploration of that storyline, but it's also about how people deal with crisis, how you move on when the world has been flipped upside down and you don't necessarily see a way to move forward but there is," Brown says. "And how you cope with a sense of loss with a new normal. The truth of the matter is, he had a very complicated relationship with the president, who is his employer, who I think he would also consider to be a friend. Maybe not at the time of his passing, which is why he's also implicated, but definitely in life, they have a friendship."

A Different Kind of Hero

Xavier and his trials are a world apart from the family-focused Randall, the character Brown played on "This Is Us," which earned him five consecutive Emmy nominations (and one win) between 2017 and 2021.

"Where Randall was sadder, I think Xavier is angrier, and anger is the emotion that I think that people latch on to in order to not feel sad," Brown adds.

When casting Brown as Xavier, Fogelman asked the actor to bottle up all those emotions he'd previously spilled out on-screen in tearful monologues. In "Paradise," he expresses himself through stoic looks, not waterworks.

"It's just a whole different side of him, this kind of muscular acting, quiet acting," Fogelman says with awe as we watch Brown's performance in the first episode of "Paradise" in the showrunner's office on the Paramount lot in Hollywood. "Sterling doesn't talk that much in this pilot until the very end of it, and in 'This Is Us,' he never shut up. It's just a very different role."

Inspired by "Waves"

Brown's work in the 2019 indie coming-of-age drama "Waves" inspired Fogelman's choice to offer him the role of Xavier. "I thought it was one of the best films that year and should have gotten Oscar nominations," Fogelman says. "And he was a very dark character, a much darker character than he was in 'This Is Us.' He's just got such range that I think he sits nicely in the middle here in 'Paradise.'"

Humble Beginnings

Brown has been putting in the work to develop that range since he was fresh out of NYU and broke as he pursued his acting career. His role as L.A. County prosecutor Christopher Darden on Ryan Murphy's "The People v. O.J. Simpson" changed everything.

"He calls me 'Big Time,'" says Sarah Paulson, who co-starred as prosecutor Marcia Clark in the miniseries. "We have this long joke where now I'm like, 'You've lapped me. You've lapped me so hardcore. You've got two [Primetime] Emmys, and you are nominated for an Oscar.' And it's just funny how he used to look at me like I was super fancy and successful, and now I'm like, 'Wow, little brother, really, you lapped me. It's over. Congratulations.' And he still is like, 'No, no, no.' But I know what I know. The proof is in the proverbial pudding."

Paulson recalls how much the two trusted each other during filming, which allowed them to push themselves and to experiment. "There's this one scene where we're supposed to be at the hotel together, and we're in a bar breaking things down, and they've had too much to drink, and they go upstairs, and there's this moment where they almost kiss in a doorframe, and