Sterling K. Brown finds 'Paradise' after a few years of focusing on film and an Oscar nomination

As an executive producer and star of the new Hulu series “Paradise,” Sterling K. Brown put the hours of TV he watches to good use and cast actors he admires.

“I got a chance to hire people that I am a fan of,” said Brown in a recent interview. “I remember meeting Julianne Nicholson at the Emmys the year that she won for ‘Mare of Easttown.’ I was so geeked out that I got a chance to be in the same room with her ... Now I get to be on a show with her."

Brown is known for his role as Randall in the series “This Is Us,” which ended in 2022. He was nominated for an Oscar for his supporting role in “American Fiction.” In “Paradise,” Brown is a Secret Service agent to James Marsden’s president of the United States. A shocking murder is revealed shortly into the first episode which unspools a deeper mystery beyond just whodunit.

“When James became available, I was like, ‘please.’ I had just finished watching ‘Jury Duty' and this dude is so funny." "Paradise," said Brown, is an opportunity for Marsden "to show something that a lot of people haven’t had a chance to see him do.”

Marsden says Brown is one of Hollywood's good guys.

“He’s one of the most graceful, generous, good human beings that I’ve been fortunate to meet in this business. He's so humble and cares so much about not only his work, but the people around him. He wants everybody to be great. When I think of people I need to be more like, it’s this man.”

“Paradise” has themes of climate change, privilege and the pecking order of who in society gets saved during an emergency. There's a relevance to the series which Brown says is coincidental because Dan Fogelman — creator and writer of “This is Us” — conceived “Paradise” 10 years ago. It makes sense to him though why it would provoke thought.

“There is obviously a very interesting coalescing of capitalism and politics across the world, especially within our country," he said. "Our show sort of looks directly at that in terms of who wields the real power and asks should it be that way."

Disney, Hulu’s parent company, has thrown its support behind the series. It dropped the premiere early Sunday night on Hulu and Disney+. The second and third episodes will stream Tuesday on Hulu before going to a weekly schedule.

In a Q&A, Brown talks about choosing “Paradise,” podcasting and missing the audition process.

Answers are shortened for clarity and brevity.

BROWN: Everybody is safe and everybody is healthy. Everybody who has been affected directly from Mandy and Milo to other friends are putting their lives together one day at a time. It’s a really strange sort of phenomenon where I feel blessed and heartbroken at the same time for everybody that has lost so much, so I try to make myself a service in whatever way I can.

BROWN: It was an opportunity to work with ("This Is Us" creator, showrunner) Dan (Fogelman) again. I read the pilot. I loved the pilot. I love that the character was very different than Randall or anything that I had done and that people had seen me do before. There was an invitation to be an executive producer on the show as well. It's also my first time being No. 1 on the call sheet, and I'm 48 years old. People wanted to put me No. 1 on the call sheet, and I was superstitious about it, and I was like, ″You know what? Just make me No. 2," and they’re like, “Are you serious?” I was like, “Yeah, totally cool. It’s fine.” I’d say “I think I’ve been successful at not being No. 1.” It felt like this was the right time and the right fit.

BROWN: A lot of folks have come up to Ryan, and I like, “You guys need a show.” Our dynamic is pretty special and fun and playful and crazy. It was like, “OK, if our friends are thoroughly entertained by us, then maybe a larger public will be entertained by us as well.” And it proved to be so. We got nominated for an NAACP Image Award. Hopefully we’ll get a chance to do more. Then, Chris (Sullivan) and I were having brunch, and he brought up the idea of doing a rewatch podcast. I was like, “Bro, I would be down.” We asked Mandy to join us. For the three of us, it’s really an excuse to get together and enjoy each other’s company.

I do. When you book a job through an audition, you’re like, “I know I deserve to be here.” A perfect example was “The People v. O.J. Simpson (:American Crime Story)." I was looking around (at John Travolta, Sarah Paulson, Courtney B. Vance, David Schwimmer and Cuba Gooding Jr.) I was like, “One of these things is not like the other. Like, all you people are famous. I’m just me.” But I had auditioned for it and knew the role. Now, it’s like I have to make sure I prove to people that, I deserve the offer that I got.

Sterling K. Brown poses for a portrait on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Rebecca Cabage/Invision/AP)

Sterling K. Brown poses for a portrait on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Rebecca Cabage/Invision/AP)

Sterling K. Brown poses for a portrait on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Rebecca Cabage/Invision/AP)

Sterling K. Brown poses for a portrait on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Rebecca Cabage/Invision/AP)

Sterling K. Brown poses for a portrait on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Rebecca Cabage/Invision/AP)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The FBI said Friday it disrupted a New Year’s Eve attack plot targeting a grocery store and fast-food restaurant in North Carolina, arresting an 18-year-old man who authorities say pledged loyalty to the Islamic State group.

Christian Sturdivant was charged with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization. Investigators said he told an undercover FBI employee posing as a supportive confidant about his plans to attack people. Their online messages, along with a recent search of his home, indicated attacks would occur with knives and hammers, according to prosecutors and records.

Worried Sturdivant might attempt violence before New Year’s Eve, the FBI placed him under constant surveillance for days, including on Christmas, U.S. Attorney for Western North Carolina Russ Ferguson said.

Agents were prepared to arrest him earlier if he left his home with weapons, Ferguson said at a news conference in Charlotte. “At no point was the public in harm’s way.”

Sturdivant was arrested Wednesday and remained in custody after a federal court appearance Friday. An attorney representing him did not immediately respond to an email or phone message seeking comment. Another hearing was scheduled for Jan. 7.

The alleged attack would have taken place one year after 14 people were killed in New Orleans by a U.S. citizen and Army veteran who proclaimed support for IS on social media.

The FBI has foiled several alleged attacks through sting operations in which agents posed as terror supporters, supplying advice or equipment. Critics say the strategy can amount to entrapment of mentally vulnerable people who wouldn’t have the wherewithal to act alone.

Searches of Sturdivant’s home and phone uncovered what investigators described as a manifesto detailing plans for the attack, FBI Special Agent in Charge James Barnacle told reporters.

“He was willing to sacrifice himself,” Barnacle said.

A handwritten note found in a trash can at Sturdivant's home listed details of the planned attacks and the number of intended victims at a Burger King restaurant and unnamed grocery store, according to an FBI affidavit.

The note also said he would attack arriving officers and “hoped to die by the hands of police.” Ferguson said the attack was to take place in Mint Hill, a bedroom community of Charlotte.

The affidavit said a database check indicated Sturdivant worked at Burger King in Mint Hill. It wasn't clear if that was the same restaurant cited in the note. Ferguson declined to identify the specific targeted businesses, citing the ongoing investigation.

If convicted, Sturdivant faces up to 20 years in prison, according to court documents.

The fact that Sturdivant encountered two undercover officers while allegedly planning the attack should reassure the public, Ferguson said.

The affidavit says the investigation began last month after authorities linked Sturdivant to a social media account that posted content supportive of IS, including imagery that appeared to promote violence. The account’s display name referenced Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the former leader of the extremist group.

Some experts argue that IS is powerful today partly as a brand, inspiring both militant groups and individuals in attacks that the group itself may have no real role in.

The affidavit says Sturdivant had been on the FBI's radar in January 2022, when he was a minor, after officials learned he'd been in contact with a suspected IS member in Europe, and received instructions to dress in black, knock on people's doors and commit attacks with a hammer.

At that time, Sturdivant set out for a neighbor’s house armed with a hammer and a knife but was restrained by his grandfather, the affidavit says.

No charges were filed at that time, but Sturdivant underwent psychological treatment and the FBI was told he no longer had access to social media, Ferguson said. But the FBI found out weeks ago that he was back on it, he added.

The FBI in Los Angeles last month announced the disruption of a separate New Year’s Eve plot, arresting members of an extremist anti-capitalist and anti-government group who federal officials said planned to bomb multiple sites in southern California.

Other IS-inspired attacks over the past decade include a 2015 shooting rampage by a husband-and-wife team who killed 14 people in San Bernardino, California, and a 2016 massacre at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, by a gunman who fatally shot 49 people.

Robertson reported from Raleigh, North Carolina. Associated Press writer Eric Tucker in Washington contributed.

FBI Special Agent James C. Barnacle, Jr., center, U.S. Attorney for Western District of North Carolina Russ Ferguson, right, and Mint Hill Police Department Chief Joseph Hatley give a press conference, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Erik Verduzco)

U.S. Attorney for Western District of North Carolina Russ Ferguson speaks next to FBI Special Agent James C. Barnacle, Jr. during a press conference, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Erik Verduzco)

This photo released by the Gaston County Sheriff's Office shows Christian Sturdivant. (Gaston County Sheriff's Office via AP)

FILE - An FBI seal is displayed on a podium before a news conference at the field office in Portland, Ore., Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File)