Interviews: 1980s Icons Anthony Michael Hall, Louis Gossett Jr.

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Louis Gossett Jr. of “An Officer and a Gentleman”

Louis Gossett Jr. at Chicago Wizard World Comic Con, August 2011 Photo Credit: Joe Arce of Starstruck Photo for HollywoodChicago.com

HollywoodChicago: What quality do you believe won you your first Broadway role at the age of 17, with no acting beyond high school?

Louis Gossett Jr.: I just happened to be the right person for that part at that age. I looked just like the writer, and it was his autobiography. My high school teacher told me to audition because they couldn’t find anybody in the business. What could I lose?

HollywoodChicago: You have a Chicago connection by originating the role of George in ‘Raisin in the Sun.’ What did you learn about this city while working on the Lorraine Hansberry classic, and of course what did you observe about Sidney Poitier in doing the play and film?

Gossett: Sidney was great, and we both learned it’s really cold in the winter in Chicago. [laughs] We were doing the show at the Blackstone Theater and staying across the street, and it was still hard to get across.

HollywoodChicago: Once you got out of the cocoon of specific stage work, how difficult was it to compete for roles on episodic television and the movies in the 1960s and 1970s?

Gossett: It was easy for me, because many of the theater people I worked with moved into that area, and would recommend me for jobs. We knew each other very well, and worked the town by going to my old stage contacts.

HollywoodChicago: In your perspective, how important was the miniseries ‘Roots’ in American cultural history, and how do you believe it still makes an impact?

Louis Gossett Jr. in ‘An Officer and a Gentleman’ Photo credit: Paramount Home Video

Gossett: It still makes an impact, because at the time it was world shattering. To finally do something that everyone saw, to have the courage to say what the show said and to do it so beautifully, that’s what people attached to. Now that it’s out there, everyone can say, ‘have I got a story for you.’

HollywoodChicago: You won your Academy Award playing a military man and have played military men several times since. How did you best capture the pride of playing that occupation the best?

Gossett: When I did my research on a military base, you get the point immediately, and it stays with you forever. For my role in ‘An Officer and a Gentleman,’ I went down to the Marine Corp drill instructors school in Camp Pendleton in San Diego for their 30 day training course. They said if I did it wrong, they’d kill me, so that’s how I got the Oscar. [laughs]

HollywoodChicago: Finally, which of your roles in you long career, after you did the research, taught you the most about yourself?

Gossett: ‘Enemy Mine.’ It was a very simple self-examination role, being satisfied with who you are and what you believe.

By PATRICK McDONALD Senior Staff Writer HollywoodChicago.com pat@hollywoodchicago.com