STERLING K. BROWN DOING IT ALL

THE THIS IS US STAR HAS TWO YOUNG SONS, TWO PODCASTS AND ONE VERY TWISTY NEW TV DRAMA, PARADISE

- By JOELLE GOLDSTEIN

Sterling K. Brown couldn’t be happier with his life these days—though he wouldn’t mind a few more hours of sleep. “I’m kind of losing it,” he jokes. “I’m very tired right now but just moving off of sheer inertia.” Whatever force is driving Brown forward, it’s propelling him to new heights. Three years after ending his acclaimed run as soul-searching dad Randall Pearson in This Is Us, the Emmy-winning actor, 48, is reteaming with the hit show’s creator Dan Fogelman for Hulu’s new political thriller Paradise, out now. Brown plays a Secret Service agent who becomes the leading suspect in the investigation of the murder of the President, played by James Marsden. Fogelman wrote Paradise with Brown specifically in mind. “It was such a different character than Randall,” Brown says. “To come back to television and be able to give something different to people is always something that I’m looking for.”

The St. Louis-born actor has come a long way from his start doing one-episode stints on shows like ER and