‘This is Us’ actor to be Stanford’s 2018 commencement speaker
Sterling K. Brown, a Stanford alumnus and the first African-American to win both the Screen Actors Guild and Golden Globe awards for best actor in a drama television series, has been tapped to give the university’s 127th commencement address.
“Sterling K. Brown is an eloquent role model for an entire generation, inspiring us with moving performances that not only bring life to each character, but also impart to the world a deeper understanding of our society,” Stanford President Marc Tessier-Lavigne said.
Tessier-Lavigne made the announcement Friday, when Brown and his wife, Stanford alumna Ryan Michelle Bathe, spoke before a standingroom only crowd at the Cemex Auditorium, according to the university. Commencement will take place June 17.
Brown arrived at Stanford in 1994 as an economics major and planned to be a businessman, but he switched course after being invited by then-associate drama professor Harry Elam Jr. to participate in the university’s production of “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone.”
In 1998, Brown graduated with a degree in drama. He earned a master of fine arts from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts in 2001 and launched his professional acting career a year later with a small part in the movie “Brown Sugar.”
He co-starred in 2017’s “Marshall,” earning a NAACP Image Award nomination for his performance.
He won his first Emmy in 2016 for outstanding supporting actor, for his portrayal of prosecutor Christopher Darden in FX’s true crime anthology series “The People vs. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story.”
Another Emmy followed in 2017, for outstanding lead actor in a drama series, for his work in NBC’s “This is Us.” It was the first time an African-American had won in the category since 1998.