Regé-Jean Page reflects on friendship with Sterling K. Brown

Since their friendship’s start, Page says, Brown has “talked me through a couple of things that scared me.”

Breakout star Regé-Jean Page opened up in a new article about his friendship with This is Us favorite Sterling K. Brown, who he described as a mentor.

In the Variety article, Page said the two met during the 2016 Emmy season at a party where Page approached Brown, who had just starred as Christopher Darden in the Emmy Award-winning limited series, The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story.

“I was like [mimics stumbling over his words] ‘Oh man, that thing you did with your hand was so cool. I just want to be you,’” Page recalls. “And Sterling just smiled patiently and let me do that and then talked me through how not to be overwhelmed by this room. He reassured me and said, ‘You’ve got stuff ahead of you. You can breathe.’”

Page says that since the beginning of their friendship, Brown has “talked me through a couple of things that scared me.”

Brown, for his part, says his pal Page has a “wonderful swagger” about him, and his humility and grounded nature make him a great actor and artist.

“He really loves the art of illuminating the human condition,” Brown explains. “If stardom comes — and stardom is clearly approaching — I don’t think he was ever actively seeking it; it just kind of happened.”

Read More: Michelle Williams shares reunion calls with, Beyoncé, Kelly Rowland

In the Variety interview, Page also reflected on what life may be like after his star-making role on the Netflix series, Bridgerton. He departed the drama after the first season.

“Simon was this bomb of a one-season antagonist, to be reformed and to find his true self through Daphne,” he explains. “I think one of the bravest things about the romance genre is allowing people a happy ending.”

Read More: Stephen Satterfield on connecting African cuisine to our culture in ‘High on the Hog’

He noted that he saw his role on the show as an opportunity to represent a new type of leading man to a global audience.

“As Black people, we’re very used to empathizing with the world through white people’s eyes, because they’re the protagonists. I know what it’s like to look at the world and empathize with Superman because I spent my whole life doing that,” he explains. “What’s revolutionary, in its own way, is getting folks to see the world through my eyes because then they are in my skin and looking at the world through me.”

Have you subscribed to theGrio’s “Dear Culture” podcast? Download our newest episodes now!
TheGrio is now on Apple TV, Amazon Fire and Roku. Download theGrio.com today!

The post Regé-Jean Page reflects on friendship with Sterling K. Brown appeared first on TheGrio.