Emmy Contenders: Louis Gossett Jr. talks BET’s ‘Book of Negroes’

Louis Gossett Jr. calls the BET miniseries “The Book of Negroes� better than “Roots.� And he starred in both, so who are we to argue?

Gossett stopped by The Times recently to talk about the acclaimed six-parter, which Times television critic Robert Lloyd praised for its ability to “catch the ordinariness even in the awfulness -- the creepy dailiness of the business of slavery, and the capability of those who profit from it to regard themselves as just and even tender people.�

Gossett discussed filming the miniseries, first in Cape Town, South Africa, and then at the end of winter in Nova Scotia, the “out of body� acting scenes he shared with costar Aunjanue Ellis and the career choice he faced as a young man.

“I had to make a decision in 1959,� Gossett says, talking about being drafted by the New York Knicks that year when he was concurrently in a production of “A Raisin in the Sun.� “After concentrating either on all of this or all of what God has given me as a gift, I went with ‘A Raisin in the Sun’ and the rest is history.�

Gossett elaborated a bit on that history, talking “Roots� (he wasn’t initially happy with being chosen to play Fiddler, a character he initially thought of as an “Uncle Tom�) and the satisfaction that comes from being in projects that unveil little-known chapters of the past.

“There’s so much more to tell,� Gossett says. “There’s such a plethora of stories.�

Twitter: @glennwhipp