Attorney Christopher Darden is opening up about why he declined to talk with Sterling K. Brown before the filming of The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story.
Brown took home the Emmy for Best Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie on Sunday, and the one person he said he wouldn't be calling was Darden, whom he portrayed in the true crime mini-series.
According to the actor, he tried to get in contact with Darden as he prepared to take on the role of the famed prosecutor, but Darden "respectfully declined." However, Darden recalls the communication attempts quite a bit differently, saying that Brown reached out very late at night.
"It was kind of weird actually," Darden told ET's Lauren Zima on Monday. "It was 3 o'clock in the morning. I was concerned about my parents that night. I thought, when the phone rang, there was a problem, but it was just Sterling K. Brown."
Darden also said that part of the reason he shied away from connecting with Brown was because of the terrible memories the infamous trial evokes in him.
"For me, it was a hugely negative life experience. For me to have to revisit it, it really drags me to a very dark and angry place," Darden shared. "I don't want to go back to 1995. And I don't want to feel the way I felt in 1995."
However, now that Brown's a "big shot Hollywood actor, Emmy-award winning actor," Darden said he'd have to take Brown's call, as long as it's "during the daylight hours."
While Darden maintains that he's never watched the Ryan Murphy-helmed miniseries, the 60-year-old lawyer and author said he was "very happy" for Brown's triumph, adding, "I knew he was going to get nominated and I knew he would win."
According to Darden, he relied on his "surrogates" to tell him about Brown's performance -- namely his daughter, Jenee, who communicated with the actor over the course of his time shooting the series and was rooting him on during the awards show.
Darden said he thinks it's "great" that his daughter has a friendship with the star who played him -- with one exception. "The only thing I don't like is when she calls him her TV dad. That part I'm not happy about," he pointed out.
While Darden hasn't seen much of the actor's portrayal of him, he said he has seen a lot of photos of Brown in character.
"I've seen more pictures than anything because when I Google myself, the first picture that comes up is Sterling K. Brown," Darden said, laughing. "People that have watched it said he did a great, great job, so I'm glad for that. I'm glad for him."
"It's a tremendous thing after all of these years, for an actor to play me and do a great job!" Darden added. "He must have done a great job because he beat John Travolta! I'm really happy for him. Last night I took a shot of tequila for you, Sterling."
In 1996, Darden wrote his recollections about prosecuting the Simpson trial in his memoir, In Contempt, which he's currently re-releasing. Darden said he "bled over those pages," while writing the story, one week after the conclusion of the trial.
"You will hardly ever find such a personal story," Darden said. "I wanted to write something that would last and people could read and understand and know about us and what we did and what we tried to do and who we were -- because I couldn't just leave it to the tabloids and the media."
Brown spoke with ET after his big win, where he opened up about being unable to contact the real-life inspiration for his role. "I don't think it would be right to call him again," Brown said. "He's a grown man living his life." Check out the video below to hear more from the first-time Emmy winner.