St. Louis native Sterling K. Brown could bring an Oscar back to the Show Me State

When Sterling K. Brown shows up to the Academy Awards next month, he has the chance to show off on behalf of the Show Me State.

Born and raised in the St. Louis area, the 47-year-old received a best supporting actor nod for his portrayal of Cliff Ellison in writer-director Cord Jefferson's "American Fiction." A Brown win would add to an intermittent but potent list of Oscar-winning performers with strong Missouri ties.

Sterling K. Brown's journey to Oscar night

Brown has worked steadily and widely on screens small and big for more than 20 years. To date, his most prominent role was as Randall Pearson on NBC's "This is Us," a part which earned Brown an Emmy and a Golden Globe.

The actor won his first Emmy for a previous part, playing attorney Christopher Darden in the FX limited series "American Crime Story: The People vs. O.J. Simpson." Other prominent work includes roles in "Black Panther" and "Frozen II" as well as TV series such as "Third Watch," "Army Wives" and "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel."

Who does Brown play in "American Fiction"?

"American Fiction" takes its narrative cues from Percival Everett's 2001 novel "Erasure," in which a well-respected Black author fills his new book with stereotypes and tropes as an act of protest. To his consternation, the book becomes wildly popular.

Jeffrey Wright, who plays author Thelonious "Monk" Ellison, earned a best actor nomination, one of the film's five Oscar nods, including best picture.

Brown plays his brother Cliff; Indiewire praised his "extremely charismatic" and "especially hilarious" performance "as a man going through some very significant mid-life changes."

"It’s a thrill, too, to see Brown land a Best Supporting Actor nomination for his work here — the conversations Monk and Cliff share about the latter’s ostracisation from the family due to his sexuality are tender and emotional," Clarisse Loughrey wrote for British publication the Independent.

What are Brown's chances of winning?

Vegasinsider.com currently lists "Oppenheimer" co-star Robert Downey Jr. as the best supporting actor favorite, with Brown coming in fifth of five nominees. Brown seems to buy that.

"Robert Downey Jr.‘s gonna win, and he’s incredibly deserving. He’s an incredible actor. Like, you should give him love," Brown recently said on a British TV show. "The fact that I get a chance to be nominated along with him and Mr. [Robert] De Niro and Ryan Gosling and [Mark] Ruffalo … I’m just happy to be in the room."

Brown won best supporting actor awards from the Black Film Critics Circle and African-American Film Critics Association.

And the nominations have piled up elsewhere: from the Screen Actors Guild, Independent Spirit Awards, Critics' Choice and NAACP Image Awards to critics' associations in major metro areas such as Washington D.C., San Diego, Seattle, San Francisco and, yes, his St. Louis hometown.

Other Oscar-winning actors with strong Missouri ties

Oscar-winning performers with strong Missouri ties include (but aren't limited to):

• Chris Cooper (Kansas City native, University of Missouri graduate): best supporting actor for 2002's "Adaptation"

• Joan Crawford (grew up in Kansas City, attended Stephens College): best actress for 1945's "Mildred Pierce"

• Kevin Kline (St. Louis native): best supporting actor for 1988's "A Fish Called Wanda"

• Geraldine Page (Kirksville native): best actress for 1985's "The Trip to Bountiful"

• Brad Pitt (grew up in Springfield, attended MU): best supporting actor for 2019's "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood"

• Ginger Rogers (Independence native): best actress for 1940's "Kitty Foyle"

• Dianne Wiest (Kansas City native): best supporting actress for 1986's "Hannah and Her Sisters" and 1994's "Bullets Over Broadway"

• Shelley Winters (St. Louis native): best supporting actress for 1959's "The Diary of Anne Frank" and 1965's "A Patch of Blue"

• Jane Wyman (St. Joseph native): best actress for 1948's "Johnny Belinda"

More: What the Oscar nominations got right and wrong — and what it means for the big night

More: 2024 Oscar nominations have been released. Here's how to watch the awards ceremony

The 96th Academy Awards will be broadcast live on ABC Sunday, March 10 at 6 p.m.

Those without ABC can tune in on streaming services that offer live television, including DirecTV Stream, Hulu + with Live TV, FuboTV, YouTube TV, Vidgo and NOW TV.

The Springfield News-Leader's Greta Cross contributed to this report.

Aarik Danielsen is the features and culture editor for the Tribune. Contact him at adanielsen@columbiatribune.com or by calling 573-815-1731. He's on Twitter/X @aarikdanielsen.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: St. Louis' Sterling K. Brown could win Oscar for 'American Fiction'