Sterling K. Brown Reveals His First Impression of Laura Dern - Watch!

Laura Dern and Sterling K. Brown are on the cover of Variety‘s Actors on Actors issue, out on newsstands now.

Here’s what the 52-year-old Big Little Lies actress and the 43-year-old This Is Us star had to say…

Sterling, on his first impression of Laura, her Big Little Lies character, and his desire to be more like her: “Let me segue to a first impression that I have of you. I’ve met you on a couple of occasions, in passing. And you strike me as the kind of person who is incredibly comfortable in their own skin. I’m wondering how long have you lived that life, or am I putting something on you? You seem fearless. The choices that you make as an actor — you’re not afraid to be very big. As Renata: ‘I’m not not going to be rich!’ It’s a whole mood. But some people are afraid to let it out there. How long did it take to become Laura Dern? Because I want to be like that.”

Laura, on being a woman and growing up in showbusiness: “Being a woman is amazing. I started making movies as an 11-year-old, and so becoming an adult actor is an amazing feeling because I’ve been raised by all these filmmakers who forced me to dive into the deep end. Complicated, amazing, fearless filmmakers who would create insane circumstances or worlds — but ask me to be incredibly honest in it, or have something simple and honest, and asked me to be radically insane in those worlds. And so I think that’s where you get your bravery. And my parents [Bruce Dern and Diane Ladd] are incredibly fearless, beautiful actors, and I watched them be fear- less in areas and fearful in areas.”

Laura, on how her parents hoped she would choose a career other than acting: “My mom discouraged me [from becoming an actor], because as a woman in the film industry, she was worried for me, especially as a child. And my dad assumed I’d find something else interesting. But I went into the family business.”

Sterling, on his hope as a parent: “I hope, in real life, as a parent, I create the space for my sons to come to me and say, ‘Dad, I’m having trouble. I need help.’”

For more from Laura and Sterling, head to Variety.com.