Sterling K. Brown on ‘Paradise’.Photo:Disney/Brian Roedel
Disney/Brian Roedel
Warning: this story contains spoilers from the first episode of Hulu’sParadise.
In the new series, which dropped its debut episode early on Sunday, Jan. 26, Brown plays secret service agent and single father of two Xavier Collins, who becomes the leading suspect in the investigation of the shocking murder of President Cal Bradford (James Marsden).
The premiere episode follows Xavier as he discovers the president’s body and quietly starts to investigate the murder on his own before it’s revealed that Xavier, and the rest of his counterparts, are living in an highly controlled underground bunker. However, two mysteries remain: who killed President Bradford and how/why are those people there?
Sterling K. Brown (left) and James Marsden on ‘Paradise’.Disney/Ser Baffo
Disney/Ser Baffo
“I said, ‘You son of a gun. You did it again,'” Brown recalls saying to Fogelman. “Because I forgot who I was dealing with. I thought I was just looking at a political thriller and I’m trying to figure out who killed the president. And that was enough. I was totally satisfied.”
“And then I find out that this whole thing is taking place in this bunker that sunshine is not sunshine, that ducks aren’t mother-effing ducks,” he continues. “There’s something completely and totally different.”
Brown, who last worked with Fogelman on the hit NBC seriesThis Is Usfrom 2016-2022(which also had a pilot full of surprises), adds of the show creator: “The dude has a way. I look at the promos for the show and we show that Cal Bradford, we see Marsden, laying down on the floor with blood coming out his head. I was like, ‘Have we given away too much?’ [But] we haven’t given it away, anything — it’s just the tip of the iceberg.”
Dan Fogelman (left) and Sterling K. Brown in January 2024.Frazer Harrison/Getty
Frazer Harrison/Getty
More than playing the dramatic role, Brown was thrilled to reunite with his friend again.
“If he was not him, it wouldn’t be the same,” Brown adds, noting that taking on the role of Xavier was also intriguing because it was shot in Los Angeles at a very familiar location: Paramount Studios, the same place whereThis Is Uswas filmed.
“It’s pretty much all of my crew fromThis Is Usis on this show,” he explains. “The same hair and makeup department is there. It feels familiar and different at the same time.”
“It’s like the whole family went on this huge family vacation to Australia and … we’ve been looking at lions, and now we’re looking at a kangaroo,” Brown adds. “So we all get a chance to do it together. All those things combined together to make a sort of perfect reunion.”
Ron Batzdorff/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty
Brown is hopeful that fans will be inspired and “feel seen” as the show progresses.
“Even when it’s painful, I have in the back of my mind that somebody will see what this character is going through and they will recognize themselves inside of it … it gives me great joy to help people feel less alone,” he says.
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Paradise’s first episode is now streaming on Hulu and the next two episodes are set to drop on Tuesday, Jan. 28.
source: people.com
