Sterling K. Brown used to live off doughnuts

His manager of 25 years, Jennifer Wiley-Moxley, told Variety.com: "There are so many careers built on offers that Sterling had and wasn't available to do.

"Sterling just never had to work doing anything else. He was one of the rare actors who never had to have a side hustle because he was willing to live so frugal-minded that he rented a room in a Harlem townhouse, didn't have his own bathroom, couldn't afford a gym membership.

"He would get a dozen Krispy Kreme doughnuts and eat them in front of me at my desk like, 'Well, these are my calories for the day!' He was very fun and very quirky in that way. That grit of 'I'll do whatever I have to do to get it.'"

Sterling had a small role in 2018's 'Black Panther' and he would welcome the opportunity to return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

He said: "I feel like Marvel should be like 'Law + Order' - after a certain number of years, you gotta reset, you get to come back.

"I would love to come back to the Marvel universe, absolutely. Please have me back. Please, please. Thank you."

The 'Paradise' star - who has two sons, Andrew, 13, and nine-year-old Amaré with wife Ryan Michelle Bathe - admitted opportunities to star in such franchises allow actors to "breathe a little easier" because they know they will be able to secure their financial futures.

He said: "The IP stuff allows for you to think about retirement in a real way.

"You get the franchise, and it's something you can do a few of and people keep coming back for - that means you can breathe a little easier and don't feel like you have to just keep working all the time. I'm not saying I'm in that place right now, but it does allow a very large exhale."

Read the full interview at https://variety.com/2025/tv/news/sterling-k-brown-paradise-turning-down-the-boys-marvel-1236283687/