SAN DIEGO – Sterling K. Brown has three Emmys, including best actor in a drama for “This Is Us.”
His friend, “This Is Us” creator Dan Fogelman, has none, despite nine nominations.
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Both are heading into Sunday's Emmy Awards with fresh nominations, this time for the first season of their new collaboration, “Paradise.”
Fogelman is not overly jealous of his buddy's trophies. He has a bottle of scotch that he cherishes just as much.
“After Sterling won his first Emmy for ‘This Is Us,’ not his first Emmy in life, but his first ‘This Is Us’ Emmy, I’d had a dinner party over at my house and Sterling came and he brought me a very expensive bottle of booze,” Fogelman said during a joint interview with The Associated Press, while Brown began pacing laughing and shaking his head in embarrassment behind him. “I was like, ‘Sterling’s not a drinker’ and I was like, ‘This is too generous, this is too much.’ It was like a really big like beautiful bottle of ... Johnnie Walker Blue.”
By this time, Brown is bent over laughing and looking like he's nearly crying.
“Months later,” Fogelman continued, “I hadn’t thought about it I’m like, ‘You know what, I’m going have a sip of that great whiskey Sterling got for me.’ And I open it up, and it’s engraved, 'TO OUR 2017 EMMYS BEST ACTOR, STERLING K. BROWN.'”
From behind him, Brown howls “I didn't know it was engraved!”
“He had re-gifted me a bottle of booze from the Emmys and it’s one of my prized possessions,” Fogelman said.
The two talked to the AP at Comic-Con International shortly after the summer's Emmy nominations announcement. Brown's best actor nod for “Paradise” had been expected. But the Hulu show's best drama nomination — which would mean Fogelman finally getting a trophy if it wins — was not.
With “Paradise,” Fogelman sought to do something different from the domestic dramas he's best known for. And it's certainly that. It takes wild swings. Brown plays a Secret Service agent assigned to guard James Marsden, a booze-swilling, robe-sporting, wisecracking president.
The story takes a huge left turn at the end of the first episode and doesn't stop swerving after that.
Fogelman is determined not to follow the prestige TV pattern of a yearslong wait before the next season, which apparently has its own set of swerves. It's set to air early next year.
“I think these serialized shows benefit from getting on the air so that you don’t have to remind yourself of what happened” Fogelman said. “As a fan, I hate waiting like an extended period of time for something that I’m excited about, and there seems to be real enthusiasm, so while the iron is still hot, let’s try to get the people what they want.”
Brown gets to be the show's clear star, but his character is quiet and brooding. His castmates, including fellow nominees Marsden and Julianne Nicholson, get to have more fun. Brown said he's not envious, he's entertained.
“James has great monologues,” Brown said, “but it’s also because like his character is very loquacious, and I think sort of he’s just always working through things, It’s part of his charm.”
Nicholson, who already won an Emmy at Saturday's Creative Arts ceremony for her guest acting on “Hacks,” plays the shows complicated villain, known as Sinatra.
“Julianne, Sinatra, is just delightfully evil — until she’s not,” Brown said with a laugh. “So I enjoy her.”
Brown says that in the forthcoming season, “I don’t talk a ton. This year particularly, I don’t talk a whole lot, but I do a lot of stuff.”
What stuff?
“I can’t really talk about it yet,” Brown said, smiling. “But later when you see, you’ll see what I’m talking about.”