‘This Is Us’ Star Sterling K. Brown Says He and Randall Pearson Share One Major Fear
Randall Pearson is having a hell of a week. In fact, that’s the title of the latest episode of This Is Us season 4. After picking up the pieces of a home invasion, fighting off a neighborhood woman’s attacker, and carrying a secret about his mom’s health, its end finds Randall alone in familiar, panicked tears. So yes, he’s having a particularly hard week, but periodic flashbacks confirm that from the time monsters lived under his bed, he has battled the same existential fear: losing the people he loves.
That deep-rooted anxiety is also one he shares with his award-winning portrayer, Sterling K. Brown. “You always know that there’s an end to life,” Brown tells Prevention.com. But as you get older, the 43-year-old says, “it’s in the forefront of your consciousness that things will ultimately come to an end.”
This somber thought is also front-of-mind thanks to Brown’s recent work with Survivorship Today from Bristol-Myers Squibb, an online initiative that provides resources and community for cancer survivors. Brown has been wholly inspired by triumphant survivors’ testimonies, but they have also reminded him of his own mortality, and specifically, his mother’s growing age. Just like Randall, Brown worries about losing his mom, after losing his father at just 10 years old.
“It is definitely something that Sue [Kelechi Watson] and I have talked about together as characters, because both Sue and I also have parents who are a little bit older, who are dealing with different ailments,” Brown says.
But to process it, he doesn’t just go on a long run. “I have brothers and sisters that I can talk to and plan with to figure out what that looks like,” he says, adding that those conversations are still difficult ones to have. “It’s something you don’t think about in your 20s,” he says. “Not your 30s. But now I’m 43 years old, almost 44. And those are conversations that are quite prevalent in my household,” Brown says.
A post shared by Sterling Brown (@sterlingkbrown) on Jan 21, 2020 at 7:02pm PST
Overall, Survivorship Today has inspired Brown to move forward with gratitude, in his personal life and with Randall. “In order to make it to the other side, the battle begins with your state of mind,” he says. Right now, Randall’s state of mind isn’t the best—he’s resisting the help he needs through therapy and overworking to occupy his thoughts. But Brown hopes to de-stigmatize those hesitations by talking about them and playing this role.
“It’s really important for me to have a depiction of a human being who lives with anxiety, who does have a very full and fulfilling life. And while there are hiccups, it doesn’t keep him from living his best life possible,” he says. “And I think sometimes the power of media is that once you see it, you can actually believe that it’s a possibility for yourself.”
Whether its grappling the after-effects of cancer treatment or handling general anxiety, Brown’s work creates a safe space for talking about it, even on Instagram. While “A Hell of a Week” was airing on NBC, he reached out to those who might be struggling. “Hello, my name is Sterling K. Brown and I’m here for you,” he wrote in a post. “We all have our struggles and fears, but no one should fight them alone.”
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