Sterling K. Brown is having a moment.

Whether he captured your attention for his Emmy winning performance in The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, or making you cry every week on the hit NBC drama series, This Is Us, as father and husband extraordinaire Randall Pearson, it’s safe to say that Brown’s moment is undeniable and well-earned.

ESSENCE caught up with the history-making actor while promoting his partnership with Clorox to celebrate the power of clean, and discussed his dynamic performance in Black Panther, his acting calling card, and the love of his life, wife Ryan Michelle Bathe.

“I never thought that that would be sort of my calling card,” he said with an infectious laugh when asked if eliciting tears in every role was somehow negotiated into his contracts.

“I honestly love to laugh way more than I like to cry. I’m going to start doing more stuff that doesn’t make people cry, I promise so that there will be balance brought back to the universe!”

Speaking of balance, the 41-year-old always makes it a point to credit his wife and fellow actress for being his better half.

The college sweethearts wed in 2007 and will celebrate 11 years of marriage, so Brown gave ESSENCE his secrets to a happy marriage — and dished on what his TV character Randall Pearson has taught him about love. 

His answer, of course, was everything!

“Number one, never stop talking. Problems arise when people stop talking to each other,” he explained. “Laugh a lot, we crack each other up constantly!”

He continued, “I do the best I can and I feel like that’s the way most people are. We do the best we can until we know how to do better. And Sterling Brown prides himself on putting his best foot forward.”