Exclusive: John Amos & Louis Gossett Jr. reflect on Roots 45 Years Later
In honor of Black History Month as well as celebrating the 45th Anniversary of Roots, Blackfilmandtv.com’s Wilson Morales had the pleasure of speaking with the series stars, Academy Award Winner Louis Gossett Jr. (“An Officer and a Gentleman”, “Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married Too?”, TV’s “Watchmen”) and John Amos (“Coming to America”, “Die Hard 2”, TV’s “Good Times”) as they share their memory from working together and how important that series was to their careers. Roots is currently on Digital, Blu-ray and DVD and Stream on HBO Max.
This award-winning historical epic mini-series was the first consecutive night mini-series and one of the highest-rated television programs in broadcasting history. Based on the best-selling novel by author Alex Haley, Roots chronicles the progress of Haley's own family across many generations, from the kidnapping of an African warrior by American slave traders to eventual post-Civil War freedom. Roots was nominated for 37 Emmy’s, winning nine awards, and also was awarded Best Television Drama Series at the Golden Globes. The original broadcast was seen by an estimated 140 million viewers total, more than half of the U.S. population in 1977. It was the largest viewership ever attracted by any television series in U.S. history.
Louis Gossett Jr. is an icon in the film and television industry with more than 400 acting credits to his repertoire. He is most known for the role as Gunnery Sergeant Emil Foley in the 1982 romantic drama film An Officer and a Gentleman for which he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Gossett was the first black actor to receive the Academy Award for Best Supporting award. Gossett also won an Emmy Award for his role as Fiddler in the 1977 ABC television miniseries Roots. Other notable credits include A Raisin in the Sun, Skin Game, Enemy Mine, Jaws 3-D, Toy Soldiers, Iron Eagle, Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married Too? the Return to Lonesome Dove miniseries, the HBO film Lackawanna Blues and the Emmy-winning HBO series Watchmen.
John Amos is an American actor known for his role as James Evans, Sr., on the CBS television series Good Times and for his portrayal of the adult Kunta Kinte/Toby in the 1977 miniseries Roots, for which he received an Emmy nomination. Amos's other television work includes The Mary Tyler Moore Show, a recurring role as Admiral Percy Fitzwallace on The West Wing, and the role of Washington, D.C., Mayor Ethan Baker in the series The District. Amos has appeared on Broadway and in numerous films in his five-decade career. He has been nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award and an NAACP Image Award. On film, he has played numerous supporting roles in movies such as The Beastmaster (1982), Coming to America (1988), Die Hard 2 (1990) and Coming 2 America (2021).