Sterling K. Brown does not crumble under pressure.
“And I’m not saying that because I’m awesome,” he tells TODAY.com. “I’m saying that because it’s who I am. And I think why I am that way is because I know inherently that stress in that situation never helps the situation.”
Brown certainly does not crumble when it comes to portraying Agent Xavier Collins, a Secret Service agent assigned to protect former President Cal Bradford (James Marsden), in Hulu’s drama “Paradise.” After his boss is found dead, he attempts to discover who is behind the murder.
The show has already been renewed for a second season and the March 4 finale, Brown says, will answer many questions — including who killed President Bradford.
“We’ll find out who the killer is, which is cool,” he teases. “Very curious to see how the audience responds. We’ve met them. We’ve met them, that’s all I’m saying.”
“Paradise” has captivated viewers right from the start with its unexpected twists. At the end of the first episode, people find out that the world has been destroyed and Agent Collins, the president, and a few lucky others survived the fallout by living underground in a man-made city.
Brown credits creator Dan Fogelman (“This Is Us” and “Crazy, Stupid, Love”) for the show’s clever turns. He says “Paradise” shows Fogelman’s talent and “his very earnest and sincere paranoia about the state of the world.”
He recalls a “This Is Us” scene where his character Randall and Beth play a game of “Worst Case Scenario“ where they play out the worst thing that could happen. “I think Dan decided to make a worst case scenario TV show,” says Brown with a hearty laugh.
The eight-episode drama is the first time Brown leads a show and he says the feedback “has been overwhelmingly positive.”
He doesn’t read reviews, but every once in a while he’ll get sent positive feedback. “It’s been really a delightful moment in my career to do something that released worldwide,” he says. “And that everywhere I’ve gone, people have been like, ‘Yo, dude, this joint is really good.’”
The 'Paradise' questions Sterling K. Brown gets asked the most
Among the questions that he gets asked the most from friends and family about “Paradise” are: “Is this going to be one of those shows where we don’t get no answers?”
He laughs and says, “No.”
“Are we actually going to find out who killed the president?” He says yes, viewers will find out.
“Are we going to find out why these people are living in a mountain?”
He says, “Yep.”
People are also curious about Collins’ relationship status with Dr. Gabriela Torabi (Sarah Shahi), and some even question who is doing his on-screen daughter's braids in the fictional town of Paradise.
“Dudes ask one thing, ladies ask something different, and then Black people are like, ‘Who is doing your daughter’s hair? Her braids are on point, is there somebody doing braids in Paradise? You got some Dominican lady down there hooking people up?’” he says. “Everyone has a slightly different thing based upon where they’re coming from. It’s pretty cool.”
One thing that's certain, people are talking. And they're wondering what is going to happen during the season finale.
Teasing the page-turning 'Paradise' season finale
Reading the scripts, Brown says every episode was “a page turner.” Going into the finale episode, he says his character is looking to justify shooting Sinatra.
“Because that’s all I really (want) as a character, is like, ‘Can I shoot her now?’” Brown says, adding that actor Julianne Nicholson’s performance of “delightful antagonist” Samantha “Sinatra” Redmond is “outstanding” because you don’t know if you can trust her.
Agent Collins has accused Sinatra of killing the president and his friend Agent Billy Pace (Jon Beavers).
Sinatra, who is a member of President Bradford’s cabinet and overseeing the investigation of his death, tells Collins that she did not kill the president. She did, however, orchestrate Billy's death.
“She’s like, ‘I didn’t kill the president.’ She’s like, ‘I would have though, because he was doing bad stuff. But as far as Billy’s concerned, I had to do what I had to do,’” Brown says. “And I’m like ‘I will shoot you!’”
Brown wonders if Sinatra’s actions are “justified in any aspect” because of her son's death and she might “still be hurting.”
Sinatra has also taken Collins' daughter hostage and informs him that he needs to figure out who has killed the president.
“We’re both actually wanting the answers to the same question here,” Brown says.
Sinatra also claims that Collins’ wife is still alive.
“I think that’s the first time that he’s allowed himself to even think that his wife could be alive ... When she tells him at the end of (Episode 6), ‘I knew she’s alive. I know where she is, and I can help you get to her.’”
Collins, he says, has every right not to trust Sinatra but he now has a glimmer of hope and has to find out if it's true or not.
What will a second and third season of 'Paradise' look like?
Brown is looking forward to continuing “Paradise.” When created, Fogelman envisioned the show as a three season drama.
Brown says he likened the original pitch he received to the popular show “The Wire,” a Baltimore-set HBO drama where “each season sort of explores a different aspect of a community.”
Brown explains that each “Paradise” season might explore “the same community, but from a slightly different aspect.”
“For us, we’re looking at what happens to the world inside of Paradise? The people who prepared for it, who knew that it was coming, how do they manage the situation? How do people manage the situation that had no idea what was coming and are forced to live without any sort of infrastructure?” Brown says.
He says that one of the questions that remains heading into future seasons is: What is life like?
“That is something that, if and when we get picked up for Season 2, we will be exploring,” he says. “I can tell you that much, but I think the main exploration and the main question will be, is his wife really alive? That will be a propelling, sort of, drive to Season 2.”
In the meantime, Brown hopes people are “as satisfied with the culmination of the season as I am.”
