Winter Olympics Opening Film Voiced By ‘This Is Us’ Actor Sterling K. Brown
Emmy award-winning actor Sterling K. Brown from NBC’s This Is Us will be the voice of the opening film for the XXIII Olympic Winter Games.
The seven-minute film, Always Start With the Dreams, will be presented tomorrow at 8 PM ET/5 PM PT to start coverage of the opening ceremony for the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. The film celebrates the world’s athletes coming together for the games.
Brown stars as Randall Pearson in This Is Us and won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. He has an NAACP Image Award and also has won a SAG Award, Golden Globe and Critics Choice Award.
The film features alpine skiers Mikaela Shiffrin and Lindsey Vonn, figure skater Nathan Chen, short track speed skater Maame Biney, snowboarders Shaun White, Chloe Kim and Kelly Clark, as well as Russian figure skater Yevgenia Medvedeva and Japanese figure skater Yuzuru Hanyu, among many others.
The feature was filmed and produced over the course of 18 months and showcases South Korea’s picturesque coastal plains and rugged mountain regions. The film was co-produced by Mark Levy, Senior Vice President, Original Productions and Creative,NBC Sports Group; Joe Gesue, Senior Vice President, Olympic Production and Executive Editor, NBC Sports Group; Phil Parrish, Senior Producer, NBC Sports Group; and Matt Allen, Senior Features Producer, NBC Sports Group. Always Start with the Dreams was written by Aaron Cohen.
“Our opening film has become our signature Olympic welcome for the American audience, and it is an honor to have a performer of the caliber of Sterling K. Brown to bring it to life,” said Levy. “This year’s film centers on the theme of Olympic dreams, and is highlighted by the very best imagery our production team has collected over the months leading up to these Games.”
Prior narrators for NBC Olympics opening films include Academy Award-winning actor James Earl Jones (2000 Sydney Games and 2004 Athens Games); NBC Olympics host Bob Costas and veteran Olympic Games host Jim McKay (2002 Salt Lake City Games); Emmy Award-winner Andre Braugher (2006 Turin Games, 2008 Beijing Games, and 2010 Vancouver Games); Emmy Award-nominee Ewan McGregor and Golden Globe-winner Emily Blunt (2012 London Games); Emmy Award-winner Peter Dinklage (2014 Sochi Games); and Emmy Award-nominee Giancarlo Esposito (2016 Rio Games).
Mike Tirico will be the NBC primetime Olympic host and will handle coverage of the opening games with Katie Couric. Also aboard is Joshua Cooper Ramo, the co-CEO of Kissinger Associates, who returns to NBC Olympics coverage after discussing culture and geo-political issues during the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Mike Tirico, who will be making his debut as NBC’s primetime Olympic host, will anchor coverage of the Opening Ceremony, alongside award-winning journalist Katie Couric, who co-hosted the Opening Ceremony in Sydney 2000, Salt Lake 2002, and Athens 2004. Also joining NBC’s Opening Ceremony coverage will be Joshua Cooper Ramo, Co-CEO of Kissinger Associates, who is returning to NBC Olympics’ coverage after discussing culture and geo-political issues during the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
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