By Cindy Chen
On Friday Nov. 11 at 5 p.m., Louis Gosset Jr. sat down with Susquehanna University Dean Laure Carter in Stretansky Hall to talk about his life, career and aspirations for the future.
As the first African American to win an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, Gosset is a Hollywood icon. Among his various other accolades include an Emmy, several Golden Globes Awards and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Despite his accomplishments as an actor, Gosset remains humble. He told the audience that he is flattered by applause but does not think it belongs solely to the actor because a movie requires the effort of an entire set—not just the star. He continues by saying that the deepest desire of an actor should be to satisfy other members of the cast and the production crew as only by doing so, can a hit play or musical be produced.
Gosset’s playful sense of humor shone throughout his conversation with Dean Carter. Pausing to reflect on memorable moments from his career, Gosset recalls an incident where his great-grandmother slapped him after hearing him curse an actress playing the role of a grandma. Unable to understand that the cursing was just a line in the play, Gosset’s great-grandmother scolded. “I taught you how to speak to your grandmother better than that.” When asked by Carter if he experienced stage fright during the initial stages of his career, Gosset jokingly remarked that he was “too ignorant to be nervous.”
Although Gosset continues to act at the age of 86, with “The Color Purple” hitting theaters in 2023, he has focused his attention on other areas such as charity work. In 2006, Gosset founded The Eracism Foundation, which is a nonprofit organization dedicated to eradicating racism and continues to work toward that goal daily.
Being a Black man, Gosset is no stranger to discrimination. When asked by an audience member if he had ever experienced discrimination due to his race in Hollywood, Gosset responded that he had but did not let those experiences define his self-worth because there will always be people who will use any excuse to hate others.
Towards the end of the conversation, Gosset shifted to discuss his outlook on life. He stresses that in cases of resentment, the best thing to do is the opposite of what you are feeling. Resentment builds into hatred, and by letting go of the former, he said, we prevent the latter from poisoning society.
Gosset left the audience with the personal responsibility of loving all. In his words, “it’s going to take mankind to save mankind.”