Sterling K. Brown Embraces Every Emotion That Comes With Playing Randall

From Good Housekeeping

Sterling K. Brown knows exactly what's top of mind for every This Is Us fan right about now.

He knows you can sense trouble brewing between the living, breathing definition of #CoupleGoals – a.k.a. Beth and Randall Pearson. He also knows you hardcore winced when his character asked Beth — his queen, his rock, his everything — to put her dreams of becoming a dance teacher on hold. So let's get to it then: Are Beth and Randall really headed toward divorce?

"We're gonna go through some lows with Beth and Randall," Sterling says. "But hopefully we'll see how they're able to navigate those and make it through to the other side. Hopefully."

"Hopefully" doesn't sound very promising. But as Sterling further explains, season 4 is centered on significant change happening in Beth and Randall's family. For one, Randall's commute between Alpine, New Jersey, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for his new role as city councilman is going to, as Sterling puts it, "cause a tremendous sort of emotional, financial strain on the family."

"It's probably the most intense we've seen things between Beth and Randall. And we've seen, you know, a little bit of a glimpse into the future of what the status of their marriage could be, which I will neither confirm nor deny," Sterling spills.

It'll be a tough pill for This Is Us fans to swallow, watching their favorite couple go through some hard times together — especially if their struggles end up breaking their partnership. But if this show strives to do one thing, it's tell it like it is — and as Sterling knows from his own 13-year marriage to actress Ryan Michelle Bathe, love is not all about light-hearted fun.

"I'll say that it's not always easy," Sterling says. "I love her [my wife] more than anything that I could possibly love on this planet. And I know that we go through stuff [as well]."

While Beth and Randall's relationship may or may not falter, at least fans can cheer up knowing that Sterling has a strong bond off-camera with Susan Kelechi Watson (or "Sue" as he calls her). The two first crossed paths when they attended graduate school at New York University together. When it comes to the Randall-Beth dynamic we all know and love, the chemistry likely stems from the fun they have together behind the scenes.

"It's ... you know, it's so funny because my wife will watch Sue and I on screen and she's like, 'Y'all really seem like you're married.' And I'm like, 'Thanks! That's what we're going for,'" Sterling jokes.

It's clear that he has nothing but pure admiration for Susan not only as a person, but as an actress, as well. "I've been able to watch her work and I've always been a fan ... She's always just been cool. Sue is just cool like the other side of the pillow."

In fact, Sterling is so blown away by his on-screen wife that it sometimes even moves him to tears. As a result of Sterling's emotional bouts, he's been labeled as the cast's resident crier (though, as Susan has said, Justin Hartley might just give Sterling a run for his money). Being a naturally emotional guy, it's a title that he fully embraces, and one that stems from how he was raised.

"There was never any sort of stigma in our household attached to showing emotions," Sterling shares. "My dad would cry at anything. And we would sit and watch, like you know, Lassie or whatever together, and he'd have a tear and I'd have a tear and we'd just have a little moment."

It's a sweet tradition that he seems to be passing on to his 7-year-old son — though, he is arguably not as big of a crier as his old man (yet):

Classic.

When he's not tearing up behind cameras or at home with his son, Sterling is silently admiring the work of his This Is Us family — especially Eris Baker (who plays Tess) after she made her character's coming-out scene one of the most memorable moments in season 3. It was a time where Sterling says it obviously pushed the 13-year-old actress to go to a "deep, sort of, fertile, emotional place."

"Sue and I both would look at each other, like, after rehearsal and after each take and be like, 'We got something special here,'" Sterling remarked about doing the scene with Eris.

Being from St. Louis, Missouri, Sterling says it was hard for the gay people in his own family to feel accepted by everyone — something that he sees changing in part thanks to characters like Beth and Randall on primetime television.

"When I see Beth and Randall be able to give such grace and permission to their daughter to be who she is, I immediately ... texted Dan [Fogelman] afterwards and I said, 'Bro, I think we just shot one of our most important scenes.'"

Based on the feedback Sterling saw online, the audience seemingly agreed. Sterling says he has received nothing but positive notes from parents and teens alike after that episode. For him, it's this show's ability to showcase different life struggles, biases, and identities that makes working on it so groundbreaking.

"It's changed people's minds. People who think 'Well, there is one way to be' and then ... well, maybe, if Beth and Randall are cool with it, then maybe we should be cool with it too," Sterling says.

Particularly, Sterling remembers one fan whose message proved to him just how important playing Randall is in moving the conversation forward.

"They're like, 'The way that you guys dealt with that, the level of grace and acceptance was overwhelming and just kind of reminded me of who I want to be in life," Sterling remembers. "And I was like, 'There's no higher compliment.'"

There really isn't.

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