Sterling K. Brown Says He Would Be 'Beyond Flattered' to Be PEOPLE's Sexiest Man Alive (Exclusive)

Sterling K. Brown would be "flattered" to be deemed the Sexiest Man Alive!

The Paradise star, 48, caught up with PEOPLE at an FYC event for the Hulu series in Los Angeles on Friday, March 7, and shared what it's like to see so much support for his latest project — as well as what a Sexiest Man Alive title would mean for him personally.

"The support for the show feels incredibly good. You know what? I have my own sense of internal sexy," says Brown, who was previously recognized in the 2019 Sexiest Man Alive issue. "And I appreciate it."

"You know, you try to give the people something that they want. If they deem me so, I would be flattered. Beyond flattered," he adds.

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Elsewhere in his conversation with PEOPLE, Brown detailed what it's like to spend time on set with costar James Marsden, who he previously revealed was his duet partner for some '90s R&B while filming.

"I think it's just sort of a release. You know when you're dealing with something that's as tense as the series, you have to have something to bring you down a little bit and just a little bit of harmony, a little something, something makes you feel real good," says Brown, who plays Secret Service Agent Xavier Collins in the political thriller series. " '90s R&B, hip-hop, etc. James knows everything. He knows everything."

"If I start singing something, he's like, 'What are you singing?' And then he just starts to harmonize with your boy," he adds. "It's always fun."

The singing pair star in Paradise alongside Julianne Nicholson, Sarah Shahi, Nicole Brydon Bloom and more. The series follows Brown's character after he discovers the president's body — before the show dives into the surprising existence of an underground climate-controlled bunker housing 25,000 people.

Speaking with PEOPLE earlier this year about his experience taking on the role, Brown — who previously starred in Dan Fogelman's This Is Us from 2016 to 2022 — explained that "all of it is fun" in relation to Paradise, Fogelman's latest creation.

"The funny scenes are fun, the hard scenes are fun. And maybe fun's not the right word all the time, but it's the only word that I have at my disposal because I get to do it," he said at the time.

"I mean, I get to do this thing. People pay me to show up and do this thing, this sort of illumination of the human condition, and it's fun," Brown continued. "And that even when it's painful, I have in the back of my mind that somebody will see what this character is going through and they will recognize it and they will recognize themselves inside of it and they will feel seen."

"And I don't know if fun's the right word, but I'm still sticking with it because it gives me great joy to help people feel less alone," he added.

Paradise's first season is now streaming on Hulu, which renewed the show for a second season in February, per Deadline.