Conversations with Louis Gossett, Jr. (2015)

Career Q&A with Louis Gossett, Jr. on June 15, 2015.  Moderated by Scott Mantz, Access Hollywood.

Award winning actor, Louis Gossett Jr. is recognized as one of the most respected and beloved actors on stage, screen and television. Off screen, he has spent his life as a social activist, educator, film producer and author trying to educate and enrich the lives of those around him.

Among Gossett’s many accolades are an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor for a Single Appearance in a Drama or Comedy Series for his portrayal of Fiddler in the historically groundbreaking ABC series “Roots” and a Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV for “The Josephine Baker Story.”

In 1983, Gossett was the first African–American male to win the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his unforgettable performance as drill Sergeant Emil Foley in “An Officer and a Gentleman.”

Gossett’s recent work includes “Book of Negroes," BET's six-part miniseries that follows a West African woman's long search for freedom after she is sold into slavery around the time of the American Revolution. The historical drama was nominated for a Critics Choice Award for Best Limited Series.

Gossett is currently guest starring as Halle Berry’s father on the hit CBS television series “Extant,” which returns for a second season Summer 2015.

Previous films include, ”A Raisin in the Sun,” “The Deep,” “Skin Game” “Daddy’s Little Girl’s,” “The Grace Card,” “Enemy Mine,” “Iron Eagle 1-4” and “Don't Look Back: The Story of Leroy 'Satchel' Paige” among many others.

At age 17 Gossett won the prestigious Donaldson Award as the year’s best newcomer for the Broadway production of, “Take A Giant Step.”

Gossett is recognized as much for his humanitarian efforts as he is for his accomplishments as an actor. In 2006, Gossett founded The Eracism Foundation which is a 501 (c) 3 nonprofit dedicated to abolishing racism, violence, and ignorance. The foundation will eventually be organized around "Shamba Centers" in the heart of inner cities, places where children of all races can go after school to play sports, hang out, and learn about one another’s history and culture. The vision is to eradicate the systematic impacts of all forms of racism.

Louis Gossett, Jr. attended New York University on a drama and athletic scholarship,.He currently resides in Malibu, California.