Ten Questions with James Marsden and Sterling K Brown
The pair star in TV's latest post-apocalyptic drama, but they’re more interested in the return of romcoms
Disney
- Laura Rutkowski
This article was first published in Radio Times magazine in February 2025.
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This Is Us star Sterling K Brown, 48, reunites with series creator Dan Fogelman for Disney+’s Paradise, in which he plays Agent Xavier Collins, in charge of protecting President Cal Bradford, played by James Marsden, 51. When a catastrophic event occurs on Earth, the pair, along with thousands of others, seek shelter in an underground bunker. But following this tense political thriller, the American actors say they’d quite like to do a romcom together…
Fallout, Silo, Paradise. Why do you think people are enjoying shows about post-apocalyptic dramas set in bunkers?
JAMES MARSDEN Because it’s non-fiction now!
STERLING K BROWN We thought we were making something that was far off and unbelievable. It’s sad that this is timely and relevant.
The LA fires have happened since you filmed, and Paradise deals with themes of climate change. Was that surreal?
STERLING Dan Fogelman wrote Paradise ten years ago – climate change is something we’ve been warned about for a long time. Al Gore rung it as loudly as he could with [2006’s] An Inconvenient Truth.
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James, you play the President in this series — in real life, what’s the first law you would enact with supreme executive power?
JAMES No more slow drivers in the fast lane. That would be my first order of business.
STERLING It would probably have something to do with the industrial prison system – making it so that the wealthy don’t profit and exploit the manual labour of the poor and disenfranchised, who are often black and brown people.
JAMES Well, that’s way more useful than mine.
Paradise was written ten years ago – it's sad that it's still timely and relevant
You’ve both been in superhero movies — Sterling in Blank Panther and James in the X-Men series. Do they now play a central part of any successful actor’s career?
STERLING It’s a fortunate part. I don’t know if it’s a central part. James has been doing it much longer than me, he’s got a couple of franchises [Marsden also stars in the Sonic films].
JAMES It’s a nice box to tick if you’re lucky enough. X-Men was one of the first things I ever did.
STERLING Franchise money is different – tell them, James!
JAMES I keep hearing about that, but I don’t see it in my bank account.
Sterling K Brown as Xavier in Paradise. Disney
James, why are you known for playing the “other man” who never gets the girl?
JAMES I’m so glad we’re perpetuating this. There was a string of movies I did – X-Men, The Notebook, Superman Returns, – where it looked like I was pathologically choosing these roles. That’s why I did 27 Dresses (2008). I was like, “Ok, I need to come away with a girl in one!”
Would you like to star in another romcom?
JAMES Yeah, of course!
STERLING They don’t do them as much any more, do they? It’s sad.
JAMES They don’t, we’re missing them. They make people happy.
STERLING I’d do a romcom with James. This time, I’ll be the guy who comes in second.
JAMES You’d do that for me?
STERLING Absolutely. I’d take a bullet for you, Big Dog.
James Marsden in Paradise. Disney/Brian Roedel
Sterling, you were part of a huge TV phenomenon in America with This Is Us. What was that like?
STERLING The other cast and I will forever be family, knowing that the show meant something to so many people and allowed them to release their burdens and feel a little bit lighter after a good cry.
What’s it like splitting your work between TV and film?
JAMES It’s never been a movie actor versus TV actor thing. Content and quality of roles is as much in TV as it is in film. There is a fun, old-school feeling about doing a film that you know is going to be on a 70-foot screen with the shared experience of a room full of strangers watching it.
STERLING For Paradise and This Is Us, I got to shoot in LA, and to know you have work that is artistically fulfilling guaranteed for at least half the year – and you get to see your children every night, that’s a big draw.
Sterling K Brown in Paradise. Disney/Brian Roedel
James, you played a version of yourself in Jury Duty. How much do you both “play” yourselves?
JAMES I always try to bring some of myself to certain roles. With Paradise, I definitely don’t feel like I’m presidential by nature, but the role allowed me to bring a little fun to it – I feel like I’m fun!
STERLING I think I play myself all the time. I’m self-aware, so I know which “me” to present to the public-facing world. My wife and kids tell me there’s a part of me that’s very intense – if you put me on a basketball court, you’ll catch a glimpse. Competition is fun, because winning is fun. I’m not out here to have fun and lose.
JAMES I do the same thing with board games with my kids. I’ll just destroy them.
You don’t let your kids win?
JAMES No, they need to feel what loss is!
STERLING Then when they win, they know it’s legit.
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Paradise is streaming weekly on Disney+
Authors
Laura RutkowskiCommissioning Editor
Laura Rutkowski is a Commissioning Editor at Radio Times magazine, where she looks after the View From My Sofa slot, and the "What it's like to…" column, which spotlights behind-the-scenes roles within the TV and film industry. She loves finding out how productions are made and enjoys covering a wide variety of genres. Laura is half-American and half-British and joined Radio Times in 2022. She has a degree in Psychology and a Master's in Magazine Journalism.
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