Geoffrey Owens
The 9th Annual TV Land Awards at and the Javits Center
Featuring: Geoffrey Owens
Where: New York City, New York, United States
When: 11 Apr 2011
Credit: WENN
Tyler Perry started shooting the next season of his hit show, The Haves and the Haves Nots this week and it would appear that casting wasn’t completely tied up. That’s because after hearing that Cosby Show actor Geoffrey Owens was in between jobs and making ends meet by working at his local Trader Joe’s, Perry quickly tweeted out that he’d be more than happy to snatch him up for a role on the Oprah Winfrey Network series.
“I have tremendous respect for a man who has no pride about working. He’s going to do what he has to do to support his family,” Perry said. “I know a lot of people … that refuse to go to work when they’re between acting gigs. When I saw that, I was moved by him. That’s the true measure of a man. The true measure of an artist. I have so much respect for him.”
Owens, who does not have a Twitter account, found out about the offer from Perry during a visit to ABC’s Good Morning America. He was there to be interviewed about the immediate “job-shaming” he experienced in the wake of the story breaking about his 15 months as a cashier at Trader Joe’s and the outpouring of support he received from friends, family, and the Hollywood community in the days following.
Of the offer from Perry, Owens said, “It’s certainly very generous of him even to kind of put that out there. It’s certainly very encouraging,” he said, after being told the news by “GMA.”
UPDATE
In the days since Perry first tweeted the offer, it would appear that Owens has accepted and will join the ensemble cast as part of a ten-episode arc.
Watch Owens inspirational interview below and stay tuned to the next season of The Haves and the Have Nots to see who this story unfolds!
