'Cosby Show' actor Geoffrey Owens goes from Trader Joe's to 'NCIS: New Orleans' guest role

Former "Cosby Show" actor Geoffrey Owens is adding to his resume with a guest role on CBS' "NCIS: New Orleans."

It's the second acting role announced for Owens, 57, after news reports about him bagging groceries at a Trader Joe's in New Jersey. Last week, Owens nabbed a recurring role on Tyler Perry's OWN series, "The Haves and the Have Nots.

» Tyler Perry invites “Cosby” star Geoffrey Owens to Atlanta to film

» Geoffrey Owens on being shamed for working at Trader Joe's: 'No one should feel sorry for me'

Celebrities and others offered Owens support after Fox News and the Daily Mail appeared to job-shame him over his grocery store job. Owens, who worked at Trader Joe's for 15 months, played Sondra Huxtable’s husband, Elvin, on "Cosby" in the '80s and '90s and he more recently appeared in an episode of “Lucifer” in 2017. 

          

On "New Orleans," Owens will appear in the upcoming season's sixth episode playing Cmdr. Adams, "an old and valued friend who Pride (Scott Bakula) goes to for both medical and spiritual advice." The episode is expected to air in late October. 

According to the episode's description, Pride, "still emotionally reeling from his brush with death in the season finale/season premiere ... consults his friend, Adams" regarding the cause of his current symptoms and what he should do to relieve them. 

Executive producer Christopher Silber explained the motivation for casting Owens: “For Cmdr. Adams, we needed someone with compassion, competence and heart. …  That’s Geoffrey in a nutshell. An accomplished actor who seemed like the perfect fit to add to our extended repertory company.”          

Season 5 premieres Sept. 25.