Sterling K. Brown’s time has come with ‘This is Us’ and ‘People v. O.J. Simpson’

TORONTO – Fifteen years into his career, Sterling K. Brown is having a moment — a big one.

As Randall Pearson on the hit family drama “This is Us,” he’s amassing a huge fan following and exploring heavy subjects, from adoption, to having a mixed-race family, and cancer.

He’s also fresh off an Emmy win in September for his role as prosecutor Christopher Darden in “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story.”

“Walking up on that stage, people stood up …. I know people watched the show and they may have been enjoying it, but they were really happy for me and I could feel it like across the country, across the world,” he recalled during a recent stop in Toronto.

“It feels like a strange thing to say, but you try to reap what you sow and I try to put good vibes out into the world and I thought they all came flooding back to me at that one time.”

Brown hasn’t found a place for the Emmy yet.

“It’s in a special Emmy box in the garage and it’s because it’s very sharp,” he said with a laugh. “The wings on the Emmy can cut you and I’ve got a one year old and a five year old.

“I don’t want to see them maimed in the house, so until I find a proper display case, I just keep it in the box. I go look at it.”

Airing Tuesdays on CTV, “This is Us” goes back and forth in time as it centres on the story of a couple, played by Mandy Moore and Milo Ventimiglia, and their children. Randall is the child they adopted after one of their triplets was stillborn.

In the present, 36-year-old Randall has taken in his cancer-stricken birth father, played by Ron Cephas Jones, and is clashing with his adoptive brother Kevin, played by Justin Hartley. Chrissy Metz plays Kevin’s twin sister, who is struggling with her weight.

Brown thinks the show is such a hit because it’s relatable, tackles stories in a truthful way, and brings people together.

“With the election that just happened in the States, hopefully it’s also a show that can bring red and blue together and see themselves in this family,” he said.

“I think there’s this strong tendency to push people to the side and vilify. Hopefully this is the kind of show that can bring people together and unite.”

As a father of two and husband for 10 years, Brown has found himself relating to Randall, and he considers the cast members family.

Meanwhile, his own family is also caught up in the series.

“I’ve had several members of my family call me up after every episode,” said Brown. “After the first couple, even, they were like, ‘Look, man, I know you won an Emmy and that’s great. But this show, this is the one.’”

Such success has been a long time coming for Brown.

“It feels like God loves me. That’s what it feels like,” he said. “It’s like, ‘Brown, you’ve gone through quite a bit, you’ve paid some dues, so why don’t you just enjoy yourself for a little while?’

“I’m like, ‘OK, God, I’ll enjoy myself.’ It feels good.”