My Favorite Room: Sterling K. Brown lets work enter his evolved man cave
Sterling K. Brown admits that his man cave used to be “a disgusting amalgam of junk”; even the Emmy statuette that he won last year for his role as Christopher Darden in “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story” was stowed in a box.
The actor tried to avoid the cluttered space, which was originally a garage disconnected from his family’s 1,300-square-foot house. Massive Ikea closets held tools, towels and other odds and ends.
But this year, Brown gave furniture company Apt2B carte blanche to transform the room into a space where he can prepare for projects, such as the upcoming “Black Panther” superhero film.
Brown lives in Mid-City with his wife, actress Ryan Michelle Bathe, and sons Andrew, 6, and Amare, 2. He will next appear in the film “Marshall,” out Oct. 13. He also stars on NBC’s “This Is Us,” for which he won his second Emmy last month.
Sounds like your garage was in pretty rough shape pre-renovation.
There wasn’t anything particularly inviting to the eye. It was a de facto pool house and held most of our storage. Things just started to spill out, the pingpong table was covered with clothes and boxes, the fake Christmas tree was sitting in front of a bookshelf. What was once a sanctuary became a way station. We needed some help.
And now you have a place to properly show off that “O.J.” Emmy — and your newest one!
Until now, I didn’t have a safe space to display it. It wasn’t false modesty; it’s very sharp. I just didn’t want my 2-year-old child to impale himself on the wings. But it’s nice to remind myself every once in a while that, hey, man, you won!
What else is in there?
There’s a TV set up, where I watch football when my wife gets tired of me watching in the house. I’m from St. Louis, so I was a Rams fan. I wish Angelenos all the best, and I hope the Rams are successful, but I’m now officially a man without a team.
So this doubles as a play and work space?
I need quiet when I’m memorizing lines. I need space I can walk around in and be as loud and weird as I want with no one overhearing. I can do that now.
What’s new in the room?
There was a sofa that I found on the street, which worked just fine for me, but the designer said we could do better. So now there’s a mustard sectional that’s way more comfortable. We repainted the floor so it doesn’t look dirty all the time.
What about family keepsakes?
There are really great photos from when Andrew was born. The photographer, Linnea Lenkus, took pictures of me holding him and kissing him, and they’re some of my favorite things in the world. They show the wellspring of emotion that this little boy brought into my life.
Which of your characters are you most similar to in the home decor department?
I wish I had the design eye of Randall Pearson from “This Is Us.” If I could live in their house, I would be an exceptionally happy man. But I’m probably closer to Gordon Walker, the vampire hunter from “Supernatural.” I live a very spartan existence. Sterling left to his own devices would have many a white wall to stare at.
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