Remembering Louis Gossett Jr

It was very sad to hear about the passing of the late, great Louis Gossett Jr (1936-2024). He was the first Black man to win the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, and would go on to become a well-loved character actor and commanding presence across many genres, including many action fan-favourites.

His Oscar was actually earned for 1982's An Officer and a Gentleman, but he also scored Emmy and Golden Globe wins elsewhere in his career. He once said: "I can do more than anyone suspects. I pride myself on my versatility. It took 32 years of difficult parts, second leads, villains and juveniles. The Oscar changed the quality of the roles I was being offered."

We was always highly regarded for his discipline as a serious, heavy duty player, seen in his award-winning work for the seminal mini-series, Roots. Yet also, within the action arena, he remains well loved for his roles in the Iron Eagle franchise, Enemy Mine, The Punisher, Firewalker and Toy Soldiers. Most recently, he appeared in The Colour Purple and even made a cameo voice appearance in Michael Jai White's The Outlaw Johnny Black. His work and legacy lives on and speaks volumes about the versatile approach to his art.