THIS IS STERLING
The Complex Characters Of Sterling K. Brown
This Is Us’ Randall Pearson is one of the most popular dads on television right now. He deserves a plaque in the proverbial TV Dads Hall Of Fame along with Andy Taylor, Walter White, Danny Tanner, Ned Stark and his own father, Jack Pearson. For some, it’s hard to see Sterling K. Brown as anyone other than Randall, but he’s taken on all kinds of different roles.
Brown’s breakout moment happened as it did for other TV actors: on a Ryan Murphy production. It was the FX drama The People v O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story. “Who is the person playing Christopher Darden?” viewers asked. They got their answer when NBC premiered its tearjerker This Is Us as it made Sterling K. Brown a household name. Before his successes on those shows, he had roles in dramas like Third Watch, Army Wives and Supernatural. But he was merely a supporting character in those projects.
No matter what role he plays, Brown brings charm, intelligence and, above all else, emotion to it. The latter is hard to come by for any male lead. This Is Us is one of the few series diving deep into humanity — and Randall is at the heart of it. Randall is adopted. He’s a father and happily married. He loves going out for a nice run. But, he also has anxiety. Randall is open about his mental health issues and doesn’t deny that he needs help sometimes. Some could say Sterling K. Brown is like that too, as he talks about in his Men’s Health cover article when he discusses tackling masculinity on screen.
“I want to hopefully give you some sense of inspiration, either to make the world a better place or for you to be a better person,” Brown said. “And so when I step into a theater, when I step on set, it is my sanctuary. It’s me and it’s not me. I’m a vessel for a story to be told, for a perspective to be illuminated.”
Brown will be a vessel for several stories this year. The movie Waves, in which he plays a tough patriarchal figure, is getting rave reviews and Oscar buzz. Though the Supporting Actor category is a tight race, there’s still room for Brown to win. Brown also lent his voice to Frozen 2, his biggest feature film since the Marvel hit, Black Panther.
But he’s not leaving his TV roots behind. He’ll star as an unknown character on the third season of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Based on his filmography alone, it’s hard to pinpoint just exactly who Sterling K. Brown is, but maybe that’s the goal. Just like all humans, he’s able to do a lot. He’s complex. He is Sterling K. Brown.
