The former 'The Cosby Show' actor proudly addresses his day job while making appearance in the show's traditional opening 'I am an actor' segment.
- Jan 28, 2019
AceShowbiz - Geoffrey Owens was honored with a surprise cameo at the 25th Screen Actors Guild Awards, four months after he was job shamed for working at a New Jersey Trader Joe's to make ends meet. The actor was included in the show's traditional opening "I am an actor" segment to kick off the Sunday, January 27 event.
The 57-year-old, who is best known for his role as Elvin Tibideaux on "The Cosby Show", acknowledged his financial struggle as he introduced himself. "So somewhere in the middle of the road of my life I found myself in the dark wood of unemployment and debt, but instead of switching careers like a sane person, I took a job at a local trader Joe's to see if I could hang in there with my career," he shared. "And it's actually worked out pretty well."
"I'm Geoffrey Owens and I'm an actor," he concluded as he received applause from other attendees inside the Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall in Los Angeles.
We are officially underway at the #sagawards
DO NOT MISS IT! pic.twitter.com/ZGahasZRx8
— SAG Awards® (@SAGawards) January 28, 2019
Owens, who also starred on FX's "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia", ABC Family's "The Secret Life of the American Teenager" and HBO's "Divorce", was trolled on Twitter after a customer spotted him working as a cashier at Trader Joe's last August. But stars like Patricia Heaton and Donnie Wahlberg quickly came to his defense, while Nicki Minaj donated $25,000 to help out the actor.
"The initial thing was bad - the shaming," Owens told PEOPLE of the reactions. "But it lasted such a short time before the flood of support, the love rolled in. I don't even remember what it felt like that day to feel bad, but I know what it's felt like for the last two months to be offered work, to be offered auditions, to be approached on the street and told how much my story inspires people."
He's also grateful for the support from fellow actors and the SAG-AFTRA Foundation, saying, "The vast majority of actors, as you know, work one maybe even two day jobs while pursuing parts. What was good (about my viral photo) was the flood of support that I received from people all over the world. It was astonishing. And right in the middle of that flood was support from the SAG-AFTRA Foundation."
Owens has since quit Trader Joe's and landed a recurring role on Tyler Perry's crime drama series "The Haves and the Have Nots".
