Geoffrey Owens Has a Second Wind. Where Will It Take Him?

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/19/arts/television/geoffrey-owens-trader-joes.html

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Geoffrey Owens, who played Elvin Tibideaux (a son-in-law of Cliff and Clair Huxtable) for several years on “The Cosby Show,” is suddenly a famous actor again. He’s getting consistent roles; just last week, he shot episodes of Tyler Perry’s drama on the Oprah Winfrey Network, “The Haves and the Have Nots,” and the CBS procedural “NCIS: New Orleans.”

And there are more roles on the way, in both film and television, he said in a phone interview on Monday.

“It’s been a little busier than usual, let’s put it that way,” Mr. Owens said.

On Monday night, his story even came up at the Emmys. In a prerecorded sketch called “Reparation Emmys,” in which the co-host Michael Che gives trophies to unlauded black actors of the past, he joked with the comedian Jermaine Fowler, who, remarking on Bryan Cranston’s many Emmys, said “if he was black, he’d probably be bagging groceries at Trader Joe’s somewhere.”

Mr. Owens’s re-emergence came as an unexpected result of unflattering articles in late August about his job at a Trader Joe’s in Clifton, N.J., accompanied by an even less flattering photograph, taken by a customer, of Mr. Owens at work in a stained shirt. When he learned the article was about to be published, he immediately quit the grocery store, assuming an onslaught of internet derision was headed his way.

“I was kind of in a panic,” Mr. Owens said. “I didn’t even give notice. I said, ‘I’m leaving.’”

There was, indeed, an internet onslaught. But it was directed mostly toward the outlets, including The Daily Mail and Fox News, which posted the original articles, with many accusing them of trying to demean someone for simply trying to maybe make a living. As for Mr. Owens, he received, to his surprise, an outpouring of support from all over the world, and roles from Mr. Perry and “NCIS.” The article and reactions also put a bright spotlight on what performers who aren’t on the A-list have to do to get by.

Now Mr. Owens’s career has a second wind, a renaissance buoyed by his own willingness to stay committed to the craft. In the interview on Monday, Mr. Owens, 57, spoke about the recent whirlwind of attention, his feelings about Mr. Cosby and his reflections on the last several weeks. These are edited excerpts from the conversation.

I want to get a sense of how crazy the last couple of weeks have been. Can you walk me through what last Friday was like, for example?

I woke up at 3:30 a.m., took a 6 a.m. flight from Newark to Atlanta, went straight to the Tyler Perry studios, got right into hair and makeup and wardrobe, met with the producer for 10 minutes, went to the set, met Tyler Perry, filmed two scenes and did paperwork. Got some lunch, went to my hotel, and then worked on my lines for the rest of the day. I have nine more scenes to shoot.

You told Good Morning America that you wanted to get acting roles because they wanted you for your acting, not as a result of the Trader Joe’s picture. Did you express that concern to Tyler Perry?

No, I was not presumptuous and ungrateful enough to say such a thing. I know that Tyler Perry is a very shrewd businessman. He would never make that offer if he didn’t think I could deliver.

I think of it this way: He offered me the role but it’s not like I don’t have to do a job. It’s a job I have to do for him and I have to do it well. It’s an offer, but it’s not a handout. He knows my work and he knows that I’m a professional and I can do what he needs me to do.

Were you at all heartened by the outrage in response to the photo being published?

I wasn’t heartened at the anti-lady-who-took-my-picture or the tabloid stuff, although I appreciated it because I feel the same way: that news organizations should not exploit these types of stories. What was very gratifying, of course, was just incredible support I got from all over the world from people from all walks of life.

Who was the most interesting person that reached out to you?

Justine Bateman came to my defense on social media and she sought to reach me personally. And so we started to communicate directly via text and she has been extremely supportive, and she even sent me a copy of her book that is being published as we speak, a book called “Fame,” which is wonderful. I’ve actually already read it.

She is one of the few people who shares the experience that I have. A person who experienced great fame and celebrity, more than I ever did, for longer, and then has had to adjust to not being famous, which is a lot of what her book is about. We understand certain things that very few people can understand, not to sound elitist about it.

Before this happened, what else were you up to, besides Trader Joe’s?

Teaching, primarily, other than very sporadic television gigs. I actually taught at the Columbia M.F.A. program this past spring, Shakespeare. I teach a weekly, private Shakespeare workshop, which I’ve taught going on 20 years. And I teach at a place called Primary Stages, where I teach acting and Shakespeare in Manhattan. Teaching has been a little bit more consistent than acting in my last five to 10 years.

You told People Magazine that you took the Trader Joe’s job partially because “The Cosby Show” royalty checks dried up. (Some networks stopped airing reruns when women began accusing Mr. Cosby of sexual assault.) How did you feel when you first heard about the accusations?

When it happened, I immediately started getting calls from all the media. I just said, at the time, “Everyone is innocent until proven guilty.” That’s all I said about it. What I say now is I don’t know what happened. I wasn’t there.

Obviously, because Bill was a former colleague of mine and somebody who did a lot of good for me, I’m very upset and sad about his situation. I can safely say that.

Have you corresponded with him at all since the accusations came out?

No.

Do you remember the customer who took the picture at Trader Joe’s?

No, I had no idea about that. But from the first day I worked at Trader Joe’s, every day for 15 months, at least one person, if not a number of people, recognized me. They were very cool.

When people asked for autographs, I occasionally gave one. An awkward story: I was literally on my hands and knees changing the garbage at the registers and a customer poked his head over and said, “Can I have your autograph?” I just said to myself, “This is just too bizarre.” I gave it to him as graciously as I could but it was just a really strange juxtaposition of the dichotomies in my life.

When they asked for pictures, I would say no. I never took a picture in the store. I took one picture out in the parking lot with a couple of ladies but never in the store.

Do you have advice for other actors who aren’t A-listers who might be having a similar career track to you or haven’t hit it big yet?

My advice is get a job at Trader Joe’s and have someone take your picture without you knowing it.

This would be my advice before this whole thing happened: Hang in there. Do whatever you need to do to stay in touch with the art and the craft that you love. One of the reasons I took the job at Trader Joe’s is because it would allow me flexibility to continue on some level to stay in the business, which it did.

Have faith. If you love it, if you have passion. If you don’t, God knows, do something else. It’s such a difficult business. I’m talking from 32, 33 years’ experience.

Now that it’s been a couple of weeks, how are you feeling about this, ‘‘post-storm,” if that makes sense?

First of all, even as the storm passes in terms of my being the focus of this event, I’m hoping what will continue is this re-evaluation of what it means to work and the idea that one job isn’t better than another. I hope that that perspective continues: that people are inspired by the idea that whatever they do, it really counts and it means something and it’s worthwhile.

I also hope that as this storm dies down, and the celebrity dies down, that this has generated enough focus on me as an actor and as a professional, that doors will open as far as auditions, and that I’ll be able to be in the room. That I’ll be able to compete for roles, whether they’re offers or not.