Sterling K. Brown explained that his half-naked scenes in “American Fiction” as the newly out-and-proud character Clifford Ellison were added after costume designer Rudy Mance got a look at his chiseled physique.
The conversation about his body’s appearance in the film came up during a sit-down interview between the Oscar nominee and SiriusXM’s Jess Cagle and Julia Cunningham. He admitted that he’s totally comfortable showing a little skin every now and again.
“I’m thinking you’re looking at the script and did it say, ‘Cliff walks in with almost no buttons buttoned. Cliff walks in shirtless,’ and I thought: Was that added after we hired Sterling K. Brown, or was that in the script?” Cunningham asked the actor of memorable scenes showing him in scantily clad swimwear and button-ups showing a lot of pectoral cleavage.
“I think that was an addition. I think I went into costumes and he had lots of ideas. You change, you’re in various states of undress in front of your costumer, and he’s like, ‘Or we could just do that,’” Brown said, imitating costuming motions towards his body.”. “He’s like, ‘We can just keep it open if you want to,’ and I’m like, ‘Whatever.’”
Brown explained that he’s happy to show off his body, particularly at his age, 47.
“Anytime, people want to see — look, I’m almost 50. Anytime people still want to see it, I’ll take the dub.”
In “American Fiction,” Brown played Cliff, Monk’s (Jeffrey Wright) brother, who is working through being a newly out gay man. Cord Jefferson’s feature directorial debut is a satirical comedy that tells the story of a frustrated novelist named Thelonious “Monk” Ellison (Jeffrey Wright) who ends up finally finding success in his career when he writes a book that perpetuates Black stereotypes.
The film, which was released on Dec. 15, is based on Percival Everett’s 2001 novel “Erasure” and is the subject of five Oscar nominations, including Best Picture.
