Sterling K. Brown | |
|---|---|
 Brown at the 2018San Diego Comic-Con | |
| Born | Sterling Kelby Brown (1976-04-05)April 5, 1976 (age 49) St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. |
| Education | |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 2001–present |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Awards | Full list |
Sterling Kelby Brown (born April 5, 1976)[1] is an American actor. He has receivednumerous accolades including threePrimetime Emmy Awards and aGolden Globe Award as well as a nomination for anAcademy Award. He was included inTime's list of the100 most influential people in the world in 2018.[2]
Brown portrayedChristopher Darden in theFX limited seriesThe People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story (2016) earning thePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie. For his role asRandall Pearson in theNBC drama seriesThis Is Us (2016–2022) he earned thePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. He has also starred in theAmazon Prime Video comedy seriesThe Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (2019) and theHulu thriller seriesParadise (2025).
For his role inAmerican Fiction (2023), he was nominated for theAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Brown had leading roles in films such asHotel Artemis (2019),Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul. (2022), andBiosphere (2023); supporting roles inMarshall (2017),Black Panther (2018), andWaves (2019); and voice roles in the 2019 animated filmsThe Angry Birds Movie 2 andFrozen 2.
Brown was born inSt. Louis,Missouri, to Sterling Brown[1] and Aralean (née Banks) Brown. He has two sisters and two brothers.[3] His father died when he was 10 years old.[4]
As a child, he went by the name Kelby; when he turned 16, he adopted the name Sterling, explaining in 2016:
I went by Kelby. My mom tells me this story — she was reiterating it the other day — in kindergarten I came home one day and said, 'Mom, Sterling is eight letters and Kelby is five. I'll just do Kelby and then when I turn 16, I will go by Sterling.' And I don't remember that. The impetus for me is that he had been gone for some time, and I was like, 'Kelby was a little boy's name.' I felt like I was ready to become Sterling.[4]
Brown grew up inOlivette, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis. He attended the privateMary Institute and St. Louis Country Day School.[5]
He graduated fromStanford University in 1998 with an acting degree. He had initially majored in economics with a focus on business, planning on going into investment banking, but after finding his internship at the Federal Reserve to be a crashing bore and falling in love with acting as a freshman, he switched his major and career trajectory.[6] He completed his Masters atNew York University Tisch School of the Arts, where he graduated with anMFA.[7]
After college, Brown performed a series of roles in regional theater.[8][9][10][11][12] In the theater, Brown was cast in the 2002 production ofBertolt Brecht'sThe Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui starringAl Pacino,Paul Giamatti,Steve Buscemi,John Goodman andJacqueline McKenzie at the National Actors Theater.[13] That same year he played the sea captain Antonio inThe Public Theatre's revival of theWilliam Shakespeare playTwelfth Night at theDelacorte Theatre. He acted alongsideZach Braff,Julia Stiles,David Harbour,Natalie Gold,Oliver Platt, andChristopher Lloyd.[14]
He has also appeared on numerous television shows, includingER,NYPD Blue,[6]JAG,Boston Legal,Alias,Without a Trace,Supernatural,[15] andThird Watch.[16] He was a regular in the comedyStarved,[17] and has also appeared in numerous films, includingBrown Sugar (2002) withTaye Diggs,Stay (2005) withEwan McGregor, andTrust the Man (2005) withDavid Duchovny andJulianne Moore.[18][19] He had a recurring role on the television seriesSupernatural, as vampire hunter Gordon Walker.[20]
In 2006, he playedMacduff inThe Public Theatre's production ofWilliam Shakespeare'sMacbeth at theAnspacher Theater. Brown acted oppositeLiev Schreiber andJennifer Ehle.[21] From 2007 to 2013, he played Dr. Roland Burton on theLifetime drama seriesArmy Wives.[22] In 2009, he acted in theTarell Alvin McCraney playThe Brother/Sister Plays atThe Public Theater. The production had two parts and was directed byRobert O'Hara featuring performances fromAndre Holland andBrian Tyree Henry.[23]
During this time, he guest starred inEli Stone (2008),Medium (2010),The Good Wife (2011), andMasters of Sex (2014). He took the role as Detective Cal Beecher onPerson of Interest from 2012 to 2013.[24] In 2014, he starred as Hero inSuzan-Lori Parks'sOdyssey-inspired playFather Comes Home From the Wars at New York'sPublic Theater.[25][26]
In 2016, he starred in the FX miniseriesThe People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story asChristopher Darden,[27] for which he won thePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie at the68th Primetime Emmy Awards.[28] From 2016 to 2022, Brown had a starring role in the television seriesThis Is Us,[29] for which he won his secondPrimetime Emmy Award.[30] In 2018, it made him the first African-American actor to win aGolden Globe in the Best Actor in a Television Drama category,[31] and the first to win aScreen Actors Guild Award in the Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series category. He also won, with the rest of the cast, the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series.[32]
During this time, he had high-profile supporting roles in several feature films. Brown portrayed Joseph Spell in the historical dramaMarshall (2017),N'Jobu in theMarvel Cinematic Universe filmBlack Panther, and Ronald Williams in theA24 independent filmWaves (2019).[33] In June 2018, Brown gave the commencement address at his alma materStanford University.[34] He appeared as a guest star in theNYPDsitcomBrooklyn Nine-Nine, and earned critical acclaim for his role as Philip Davidson, a dentist under investigation for murdering his business partner. He was nominated for anPrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series in 2018 for this performance.[35] The following year he had a recurring role in the third season ofThe Marvelous Mrs. Maisel in 2019. He portrayed Reggie, the manager of the fictional singer Shy Baldwin (Leroy McClain). For his performance he received aPrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series nomination. In August 2019, he was announced atD23 Expo and on Twitter as the voice of Lieutenant Destin Mattias inFrozen 2.[36][37][38]
From 2019 to 2020, he narrated theDisney+ documentary seriesOne Day at Disney. He portrayedLeo McGarry, replacing the lateJohn Spencer in theHBO Max specialA West Wing Special to Benefit When We All Vote (2020).[39] Brown took a recurring voice role as Michael Angelo in theNetflix animated comedy seriesBig Mouth (2020). He continued playing voice roles inHulu's animated science fiction seriesSolar Opposites andApple TV+'s animated children's seriesInterrupting Chicken. In 2022, he starred in and produced themockumentary comedyHonk for Jesus. Save Your Soul. acting oppositeRegina Hall. The film premiered at theSundance Film Festival receiving positive reviews.[40]Justin Chang ofNPR wrote, "Brown and Hall give wonderfully complex performances as a disgraced Christian power couple trying to salvage what remains of their spiritual empire."[41]
In 2023, he acted alongsideMark Duplass in the science fiction comedy filmBiosphere (2023), which premiered at theToronto International Film Festival.[42][43] That same year he played Randle P. McMurphy withLaura Benanti asNurse Ratched for a reading forOne Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.[44] He gained critical acclaim for his supporting role in the satirical comedyAmerican Fiction (2023) directed byCord Jefferson starringJeffrey Wright. Peter Debruge ofVariety described Brown as a "scene-stealer" playing the protagonist's gay brother, a plastic surgeon.[45] For his performance, he received a nomination for theAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actor at the96th Academy Awards.[46] Wright was nominated for theAcademy Award for Best Actor forAmerican Fiction, and the nomination of Brown and Wright was the first time a Black lead actor and a Black supporting actor from the same film were both nominated for Academy Awards.[47] In 2024, Brown joined the filmDouble Booked which will be directed byAdam Scott.[48] He also took a supporting role in theNetflix science-fiction dramaAtlas withJennifer Lopez andSimu Liu.[49]
Brown met actressRyan Michelle Bathe as a college freshman at Stanford.[6] They eloped in March 2006,[50] but held a large ceremony in June 2007.[6] They have two sons, Andrew and Amaré.[51][52]
| † | Denotes film or TV productions that have not yet been released |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002–2004 | Third Watch | Officer Edward Dade | 9 episodes |
| 2003 | Hack | Rasheed Morgan | Episode: "Hidden Agenda" |
| Tarzan | Detective Carey | 2 episodes | |
| 2004 | ER | Bob Harris | Episode: "Get Carter" |
| NYPD Blue | Kelvin George | Episode: "Chatty Chatty Bang Bang" | |
| JAG | Sergeant Harry Smith | Episode: "Coming Home" | |
| 2005 | Boston Legal | Zeke Borns | Episode: "Death Be Not Proud" |
| Starved | Adam Williams | 7 episodes | |
| 2006 | Alias | Agent Rance | Episode: "There's Only One Sidney Bristow" |
| Smith | Mr. Corey | Episode: "Three" | |
| Without a Trace | Thomas Biggs | Episode: "Watch Over Me" | |
| 2006–2007 | Supernatural | Gordon Walker | 4 episodes |
| 2007 | Shark | Quenton North | Episode: "Teacher's Pet" |
| Standoff | Russell Marsh | Episode: "Lie to Me" | |
| 2007–2013 | Army Wives | Roland Burton | 107 episodes |
| 2008 | Eli Stone | David Mosley | Episode: "Patience" |
| 2010 | Medium | Todd Gillis | Episode: "The People in Your Neighborhood" |
| 2011 | Detroit 1-8-7 | Cameron Jones | Episode: "Ice Man/Malibu" |
| The Good Wife | Andrew Boylan | Episode: "Feeding the Rat" | |
| Harry's Law | Mr. Thomas | Episode: "American Girl" | |
| 2012 | Nikita | Nick Anson | Episode: "True Believer" |
| 2012–2013 | Person of Interest | Detective Cal Beecher | 6 episodes |
| 2013 | NCIS | Elijah Banner | Episode: "Devil's Triad" |
| 2014 | The Mentalist | Agent Higgins | Episode: "White Lines" |
| Masters of Sex | Marcus | Episode: "Story of My Life" | |
| 2015 | Castle | Ed Redley | Episode: "The Wrong Stuff" |
| Criminal Minds | Fitz | Episode: "Beyond Borders" | |
| 2016 | The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story | Christopher Darden | 10 episodes |
| 2016–2022 | This Is Us | Randall Pearson | Main role |
| 2017 | Insecure | Lionel | 2 episodes |
| Running Wild with Bear Grylls | Himself | Episode: "Sterling K. Brown" | |
| 2018 | Saturday Night Live | Himself (host) | Episode: "Sterling K. Brown/James Bay" |
| Brooklyn Nine-Nine | Philip Davidson | Episode: "The Box" | |
| Black Love | Himself | 2 episodes | |
| Robot Chicken | Various voices | Episode: "Shall I Visit the Dinosaurs?" | |
| 2019 | The Unauthorized Bash Brothers Experience | Sia | TV special |
| Sesame Street | Himself | Episode: "Sesame Street's 50th Anniversary Celebration" | |
| The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel | Reggie | 4 episodes | |
| 2019–2020 | One Day at Disney | Narrator | 52 episodes |
| 2020 | Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts | Lio Oak | Voice, main role[53] |
| A West Wing Special to Benefit When We All Vote | Leo McGarry | Recreation of "Hartsfield's Landing" | |
| Big Mouth | Michael Angelo | Voice, recurring role (season 4) | |
| 2021–2022 | Solar Opposites | Halk | Voice, 10 episodes |
| 2022–2023 | Interrupting Chicken | Papa | Voice, 12 episodes |
| 2023–present | Invincible | Angstrom Levy | Voice, 9 episodes[54][53] |
| 2025– present | Paradise | Xavier Collins | Main role, also executive producer[55] |
| 2025 | Washington Black | Medwin Harris | Main role, also executive producer[56] |
| Year | Show | Role | Playwright | Theater | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Twelfth Night | Antonio | William Shakespeare | Public TheaterDelacorte Theater | [57] |
| The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui | Goodwill | Bertolt Brecht | National Actor's Theatre | [58] | |
| 2006 | Macbeth | Macduff | William Shakespeare | Public TheaterDelacorte Theater | [59] |
| 2009 | The Brother/Sister Plays Part 1 & 2 | Shango / Shua | Tarell Alvin McCraney | Public TheaterAnspacher Theater | [60] |
| 2014 | Father Comes Home From the Wars (Parts 1, 2, & 3) | Hero/Ulysses | Suzan-Lori Parks | [61] |
| Year | Artist | Title | Role | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | The Lonely Island (feat.Sia) | "Oakland Nights" | Sia | [62] |
Brown has won 24 awards from 91 nominations.
In 2016, Brown earned his firstPrimetime Emmy Award forOutstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie for his breakout portrayal of attorneyChristopher Darden inThe People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story. Brown also won aCritics' Choice TV Award, along withGolden Globe Award,Screen Actors Guild Award, andNAACP Image Award nominations.
In 2023, Brown delivered thecommencement speech for the graduating class atWashington University in St. Louis and received an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from the university.[63][64]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)| International | |
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