I’m not a betting woman, but I thought Sterling K. Brown was going to have to make space on his mantle for another Emmy Award after Sunday night’s ceremony and I was not wrong. The 41-year-old actor won the award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for his tissue-requiring role as Randall Pearson on the NBC series This is Us. Sterling isn’t a stranger to winning. He won an Emmy last year for his role as Christopher Darden on American Crime Story: The People vs. OJ Simpson and received a NAACP Image Award earlier this year for This is Us.
Sterling’s win was the only one for This is Us, beating out co-star Milo Ventimiglia who was nominated in the same category. The series lost Best Drama Series honors to The Handmaid’s Tale (and although I haven’t watched the show, I heard the Hulu series definitely deserved it). Both Chrissy Metz and Ron Cephas Jones, who played Sterling’s on-screen biological father, were snubbed for Supporting Actor awards.
During his sweet and heartfelt acceptance speech, he confessed to being a fan of all of his fellow nominees and was overwhelmed when recalling those who received the award before him, including Bryan Cranston, (my future husband) Jon Hamm, and Andre Braugher, the last African American to win the award. Braugher’s 1998 Emmy was in 1998 for his work on Homicide: Life on the Street. Sterling said, of Braugher “It is my supreme honor to follow in your footsteps.”
He showcased his wonderful sense of humor in thanking his fellow This is Us cast members, joking “I want to thank my cast, Milo , Mandy [Moore], Justin [Hartley], Chrissy: you are the best white TV family that a brother has ever had. Better than Mr. Drummond, better than the white folks that raised Webster.” He called out his TV wife, Susan Kelechi Watson, saying, “It is my pleasure to rep black love with you, sister. Let’s keep doing it like Martin and Gina.” Unfortunately, when he tried to thank the show’s writers, he got played off the stage, which elicited boos from the audience – most notably co-star Chrissy. After the ceremony, Milo commented on the incident to US Magazine, saying, “I think it’s unfortunate. I haven’t had a chance to ask him what the remaining was, but I read his mouth pretty well. I think he was talking about his loved ones. I’m so proud and excited for him to be on that stage.”
Needless to say, fans were also not happy and expressed their displeasure on social media.
Nicole Kidman got like 10 minutes but they cut off Sterling Brown #emmys pic.twitter.com/9YS02W1lVz
— * (@queenkepners) September 18, 2017
#emmys cut the mic during the part of @SterlingKBrown 's speech where he said "and by the way, welcoming Spicer on stage: totally uncool."
— Conrad Rothbaum (@CSRoth) September 18, 2017
I KNOW they didn't just rush Sterling Brown off the stage after they gave Nicole Kidman 5 damn minutes of speech time. Smmfh 😑😒#Emmys
— James Walker II (@JWalkerII) September 18, 2017
In the press room, a reporter asked Sterling if he wanted to complete his speech, which he did, crediting the This is Us writers, whom he called “the life’s blood” of the show and show creator Dan Fogelman, describing him as “the Hebrew hammer with which our house was built.” And, most importantly, the press too allowed Sterling to thank his own family, which he did in the way you’d expect – amazingly. Said Sterling:
I can’t believe they cut me off before I got to thank my wife, Ryan Michelle Bathe. You’re everything. You make my life worth living. You gave me two of the most beautiful things that God has ever put on this planet: my sons Andrew Jason Sterling Brown and Amaré Michael Ryan Christian Brown. Your daddy loves you with the strength of a thousand suns. I’ll see you Monday after work.
I am delighted that Sterling won and I can’t wait for the new season of This is Us. You know the old expression, “It couldn’t happen to a nicer person?” That’s definitely how I feel about Sterling’s win – and I’m sure it’s not going to be his last by any stretch of the imagination. What a class act – and a great actor.
Photos: WENN.com, Getty Images
I too was upset they cut him off. Nicole Kidman for quiet orchestra music that she talked through. The dude got loud music a second later and then his mic was cut. Ridiculous.
So happy Variety asked him to finish his speech. Yet another misstep for someone that made history at a major awards show
Aww. I love him. I’m so happy he won.
He’s so lovely. And such a fine, detailed actor. I might add him to my ever-growing list of interwebz boyfriends, actually.
Great actor, his win last year and this year were both well-deserved. His storyline is the only when I really find that interesting on the show.
I’m sorry they cut him off. I wish these award shows would find a better way to make people wrap it up rather than playing music over them speaking.
Is being nominated but not winning really being “snubbed”? Snubbed is more for a great performance being ignored with no recognition, IMO.
I admit that I had never heard of him prior to the OJ movie but I became completely captivated by him while watching that, and him being in This Is Us is what got me to watch it (the series as a whole kept me hooked). Both of his Emmy wins were well-deserved!
Don’t know much about him and never watched his show but anyone who gives a shootout to Frank Pembleton and Homicide Life on the Street becomes an instant fave of mine.
HLOTS, Hill Street Blues, Oz were amazing shows of their time.
He’s a wonderful actor on a wonderful show and yes he totally deserved best actor. I love that show and can’t wait for it to come back. So unfortunate they played him off like that but at least he thanked his lovely wife in the press room!
I also enjoyed him on hbo’s Insecure. I thought him and Molly would have made a hot couple .
He’s the best on This Is Us and a well
Deserved win! Glad Variety published the rest of his speech.
He’s always been this nice and authentic. When he was on Supernatural (where I know him from) he was gracious and welcoming with that show’s crazy fans. While I haven’t watched This is Us, going to now. Happy he won.
Please do tune into This Is Us! He brings so much heart and soul to Randall Pearson. ❤ him.
I kept staring at Ryan and thinking I know her from somewhere. Where, where, where. Ha, she was on Boston Legal.
Geez, that cut-off sucked and was way more premature and aggressive than others that night. The director should have let him finish. His award was one of the major categories of the night, and he is on a super-popular show. It’s not like the Best Assistant Director for a TV Movie No One Watched was up there reciting a grocery list of names. Brown had a really awesome speech going – smart, funny, insightful. It’s exactly the kind of magical moment you hope for during a live broadcast, and someone decided to squash it.
How disappointing that they cut him off. He’s amazing on that show. Will have to watch some of his other work, sounds like I’ve been missing out. On a superficial note, his wife is beautiful.
First, if they would cut short some of the eye-rolling “comedy” bits during the show, the winners would have more time to properly thank those that they want & give the acceptance speech they want.
Second, I noticed Nicole droned on & on……but wasn’t cut off by loud music. The orchestra did start playing during her speech but she continued DRONING on…….
Lastly, his win was historic & he shouldn’t have been disrespected during his speech.
love sterling and totally agree, a nicer person couldn’t have won!
Yea… he started talking about black love and the powers that be were all like O HELLLL TO THE NAW
black twitter knows what’s up….. meanwhile Nicole Targaryen Kidman got almost what feels like 28 mins lol…. man listen!
It seems like I stand alone in these comments, but I find this actor so very ANNOYING. He over acts in every scene he’s in. If you need to play it big every time (and this includes his Emmy speech), then you’re compensating for talent and sincerity IMO. The best actors are the ones that can convey emotion with strong (vs big) acting.
He could be a very nice man so it’s not personal. But his scenes in This Is Us made my toes curl.