Cosby Show alum pictured working at Trader Joe’s catches a break and will guest star on The Pitt

The Cosby Show star Geoffrey Owens will look successful an upcoming section of The Pitt, astir 10 years aft he was photographed moving arsenic a market shop cashier.

In 2018, pictures of Owens, 63, scanning groceries astatine a New Jersey Trader Joe’s shop circulated online. He precocious explained astatine Sunday’s Screen Actors Guild Awards that he took nan occupation during a play of “unemployment and debt” successful an effort to “hang successful location pinch my [acting] career.”

It seems nan actor’s perseverance has paid off, arsenic he landed a guest-starring domiciled connected adjacent week’s section of HBO Max’s Emmy-winning aesculapian drama, The Pitt, arsenic Dr. Clay Barrett, a cardiothoracic surgeon.

Owens is champion known for playing Elvin Tibideaux, nan hard-working hubby of Sondra Huxtable (Sabrina Le Beauf), connected 7 seasons of nan Bill Cosby-led family sitcom, from 1985 to 1992.

Following his breakout role, he has gone connected to make insignificant appearances successful a slew of TV shows, including Disney Channel’s That’s So Raven, nan apocalyptic play The Leftovers and nan long-running sitcom It’s Always Sunny successful Philadelphia. Owens has besides starred successful respective films, specified as The Paper (1994), Fatale (2020), Somewhere successful Queens (2022) and Mr. Santa: A Christmas Extravaganza (2024).

He later addressed nan viral pictures of him arsenic a Trader Joe’s worker successful a 2024 question and reply connected the Big Tigger Morning Show.

“It was unusual because personification had been successful nan shop taking pictures… And I was like, well, now that this is breaking, I’m not going to consciousness comfortable moving successful this store, wondering who’s astir pinch a camera,” he said, adding that he discontinue nan occupation earlier nan images were published. “It’s gonna beryllium conscionable excessively weird. I’m a very backstage person.”

After nan photographs surfaced, nan character was offered a domiciled connected Tyler Perry’s OWN drama The Haves and Have Nots. He was besides talented $25,000 by rapper Nicki Minaj, which he yet gave to charity.

“Right now, arsenic we speak, I still struggle to make a living,” Owens added successful 2024. “I struggle each time to make my ends meet. And group can’t get their heads astir that because they spot maine successful movies, whether it’s Mr. Santa or, you know, I’m connected Poppa’s House on CBS. All nan TV shows I’ve done and each that stuff.

“People person nan belief that, ‘Well, you’re making a batch of money. What’s nan problem? Why would you person financial troubles?’ They don’t understand nan specifics of really my manufacture works,” he said.

New episodes of The Pitt premiere Thursdays astatine 9 p.m. ET connected HBO Max.