OnlyOnAOL: Sterling K. Brown is all trial, no error, in 'O.J. Simpson'

BY DONNA FREYDKIN

Sterling K. Brown is earning major notice for playing prosecutor Christopher Darden, the lawyer who asked murder suspect O.J. Simpson to try on those notorious bloody gloves. Now, his story is a key part of the FX hit miniseries "The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story," airing Tuesdays.

Brown, a graduate of Stanford and NYU, says he's been as immersed in the story of Simpson, who was acquitted, as the rest of us.

"After six months of playing Christopher Darden, it's hard to separate his views from my own. Seeing the preponderance of evidence he had, it's hard for me to reach a conclusion other than (Simpson) was guilty of a double homicide," he says.

The jury didn't buy it, declaring Simpson not guilty in what is now known as the trial of the century. It's being revisited by a star-studded cast including Sarah Paulson as fellow prosecutor Marcia Clark, Oscar winner Cuba Gooding Jr. as Simpson, and as Simpson's legal dream team: John Travolta, David Schwimmer and Nathan Lane.

"I've seen some of the reviews and I've been very, very happy. We have eyeballs and critical success. Normally you get one or the other," he says.

Shooting the show was intense, but also intensely worthwhile. And not as heavy as you'd imagine.

"You have to have some sort of release. I have two kids at home and a wife who look forward to seeing me. But there's a lot of levity as well when you're dealing with something so heavy. We laughed a lot. Cuba Gooding Jr. is a very funny man. Travolta would dance for people. Everyone would cheer. Sarah is hysterical," says Brown.

It's one of the many reasons he's saying the E word (we mean Emmy) in relation to his costar, who impeccably embodies the drive, confidence, insecurity, passion and hubris of Clark, who never imagined that the evidence wouldn't be enough to convict Simpson of murdering Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend, Ronald Goldman.

"I will say, hashtag: Paulson is a beast. I am rooting for her. She deserves it," he says.