When you think of actors in Hollywood who have a pretty pristine image and clean reputation, Sterling K. Brown is near the top of the list. However, according to a recent interview, that reputation was almost tarnished due to a small incident when he was a teenager.
Recounting the experience during his appearance on “Good Morning America” on Tuesday, Brown revealed that though he wasn’t “out there in these streets like that,” he and a friend got pulled over by a cop when he 19 years old. While that encounter went off without a hitch — as Brown wasn’t the one at fault — it was what transpired in the aftermath that almost saw the “This Is Us” star land in some trouble.
When asked by GMA host Robin Roberts to discuss his “little bit of a run-in with the law,” back then, Brown detailed:
“One time I was driving my car. A motorcycle cop pulls me over. He goes, ‘Do you know why I pulled you over?’ And I was like, not even being sassy, ‘No sir, I don’t.’ I wasn’t speeding or anything. He goes, ‘I bet you your friend in the backseat does.’ He goes, ‘Oh, ‘cause I threw a cigarette out the back?’”
In order to get the heat off Brown, his friend Brian Brooks — of whom they affectionately called “Donk” at the time — promised to take care of everything and pay for the ticket.
However, when Brown returned back home from college to renew his license, he received some startling news. His friend never paid the ticket and the authorities were looking for Brown instead.
“I had a warrant out for [my arrest]. Your boy had warrants at 19. That’s not a good feeling. I’m not that dude. I never paid it off,” Brown said with a laugh.
When asked where Brooks was now after all these years, he quipped: “That’s a very good question. We kind of stopped talking to each other.”