Sterling K. Brown Reveals He Once Nearly Had a Panic Attack During His First Big Press Interview

Even actors as accomplished as Sterling K. Brown have moments of self doubt. During an interview with Once and Always a Fanboy, the Emmy winning star shared a surprising story from early in his career when he nearly backed out of a press interview because he felt like he did not belong. The moment happened while promoting the 2011 comedy Our Idiot Brother alongside co stars like Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Banks, and Zooey Deschanel at the Sundance Film Festival. Brown admitted the nerves hit hard right before the interview. “I started to get really nervous,” he recalled. “I was like, ‘Man, they don’t want to see me. They want to see the famous people.’”

The anxiety nearly got the better of him. “I almost left the interview in a panic attack,” Brown said, remembering how he even called his manager because he felt unsure if he should go through with it. Encouraged by those around him, including Rudd, he eventually pushed through and joined the interview panel. What he discovered was that the moment he had feared so much was actually simple and welcoming. “I worked up the nerve to go into the interview,” he said. After answering a few questions alongside the rest of the cast, the experience wrapped up with a small surprise that changed his perspective.

“They gave us movie tickets for the year just for doing an interview,” Brown laughed. “From that moment on, I was like, ‘This is the greatest thing in the whole world.’” More importantly, it helped shift how he saw himself in the industry. “Before it happened, I was so nervous because I didn’t feel as if I belonged. Now I feel like I belong.” Today, Brown is known for acclaimed roles in projects like This Is Us, Black Panther, and the new series Paradise, but he says the biggest lesson from that early moment was internal. “The internal feeling has to come first, and then other people will see you the way that you see yourself.”

Watch the full Sterling K. Brown interview.

Photo courtesy of Disney+ Philippines.