LOS ANGELES – When Sterling K. Brown was in the Twin Cities for Super Bowl festivities last year, he took time to share advice with students in the Guthrie Experience actor training track. It was a hush-hush appearance.
"How do you know about that? Come on, man," he said Thursday on the set of his NBC series, "This Is Us."
After graduating from the program in 2000, Brown would go on to perform in several Guthrie productions and eventually win two Emmys, including one for his ongoing "This Is Us" role as Randall Pearson. He also appeared last summer in the Oscar-nominated film "Black Panther."
His interaction with Minnesota students last February clearly meant a lot to him. Brown said he takes every opportunity he can to inspire the next generation, in the same way that fellow St. Louis native Robert Guillaume ("Benson") did for him.
"Once in a while, it hits me that there are people who look at me the way I looked at him. That's kind of crazy," Brown said.
"I want to be able to make people smile and make people think, I want to inspire people to make the world a better place and be a better version of themselves. I've been fairly consistent throughout my career about that. Now that I have a more heightened platform and people are anxious to hear what I have to say, I hope I'm able to inspire future generations to have a similar creed in regards to this profession.
"I think some people get into it for different reasons, whether it's for fame or fortune or whatever," Brown continued. "But when you have a true love for it and a desire to affect people, it will sustain you indefinitely. I hope that message is passed on clearly to anyone else who is trying to do what I do."
Brown said he's been amused by fan reactions to the marital woes between his "This Is Us" character and Susan Kelechi Watson's Beth, who will take center stage in Tuesday night's episode.
