Emmy winner Colman Domingo praises the late Louis Gossett Jr.

Rustin Oscar nominee Colman Domingo praised the late Louis Gossett Jr. on Instagram when news broke that he had died Friday, March 29, at age 87. But on Monday, in an article he wrote for Variety, Domingo detailed just what Gossett, the first Black man to win a Best Supporting Actor Oscar, meant to him.

“The first day that I met Mr. Gossett, I said ‘Thank you,'” Domingo wrote of his onscreen father in The Color Purple. “Those were the words I wanted to say. Because I knew that there would be no me, if there was no him.”

He concluded, “When he wrapped, I kissed his hands twice. I asked Fantasia to sing a song of thank you. He told us, ‘Knock ’em dead, now.’ He had tears in his eyes. I couldn’t thank him enough for all that he had given. He ran his race for us. It is up to us to ‘Knock ’em dead, now.'”

On Friday, Domingo posted to Instagram that very moment in which he thanked the “dear legend” on his last day of filming. “What an honor to have been able to give him his flowers on his last day of his final film…,” he captioned the post.

“Fantasia sang it best…He ran his race for us. We are forever indebted,” Domingo continued. “May we stand firmly on his shoulders. Lift him up today. R.I.P.”

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