What did Sterling K. Brown go by until 16? The actor reveals why he chose to stop using his middle name

This Is Us actor Sterling K. Brown shared details about his name on The Kelly Clarkson Show. The actor appeared on the April 5 episode of the show to promote his Hulu thriller series, Paradise.

Brown agreed when Clarkson asked the actor if he asked his mother to call him by his middle name. He clarified that he was named after his grandfather and father, and he went by Kelby until he was 16 years old. He said,

"I went by my middle name, I went by 'Kelby' until I was 16 years old. My dad's name is Sterling Brown Jr. My grandfather Sterling Brown Sr, I'm Sterling Kelby Brown."

Calling his name "an old man's name," the actor stated that as a kid, he wanted his own identity, which is why he preferred his middle name. However, at sixteen, he started missing his father, who passed away when he was only ten. That's when Sterling K. Brown decided to use his first name again. He said,

"I wanted my own name, and it felt like Sterling was like an old man's name. But because he passed away when I was 10, by the time I turned 16 and I hadn't heard his name for five-and-a-half years, I was like, I kind of just want to hear that name again, so I asked people to call me Sterling."

---

Sterling K. Brown on the Hulu series Paradise

The cast of Paradise at Hulu's "Paradise" Official FYC Event - Arrivals - Image via Getty

On February 25, Sterling K. Brown sat down for an interview with The Washington Post.The actor plays Xavier Collins in Paradise, a U.S. Secret Service agent who tries to figure out the killer of the U.S. President. Brown said that when the show's creator, Dan Fogelman, gave him the script, he was intrigued by the plot. He said,

"I’m reading the thing, and I’m like, 'Oh, who killed the president?' completely forgetting that my dude has a penchant for flipping things. Then you get to the end of the script, and it’s like, 'We ain’t really in the world? We in a mountain! Are we all cool to be here?' Honestly, I was like, I have to figure out how this story ends, so I guess I have to be a part of it."

While discussing the major issues in Paradise, Sterling K. Brown stated that the show's "biggest tension" is the class issue, not race. The actor told the media outlet that the message of the series is some people shouldn't be making important decisions on behalf of everyone in the country. He said,

"The greatest tension that exists in Paradise — and in other countries — is more class than it is race. You’re witnessing the people that have been making all of the decisions for everyone that does not, there’s a more unifying, clear line of saying like, yeah, we cannot let them dictate what life will be for the rest of us."

---

Sterling K. Brown's series, Paradise, was released on January 25 on Hulu. According to Deadline's February 20, 2025 report, it is renewed for season two.