George Wilson did not plan on an acting career. Growing up in Bastrop, his first brush with fame came as drum major in the Morehouse High School band.
“That was my first experience in the entertainment field,” said Wilson. “But I was always kind of a joker, always trying to make people laugh.”
Wilson graduated from MHS in 1965 and moved to Michigan, where he worked in a General Motors plant. The work did not always agree with him. He began spending time at Michigan State University in Lansing while an acquaintance was taking classes there.
“One day I was just walking around the campus, and I wandered into the drama classroom, which was empty at the time.”
He met a faculty member who helped him enroll in Lansing Community College, where he studied theater and began acting in stage productions. From there, he moved on to acting at Michigan State.
“Then there came a time when I felt like it was time to spread my wings, and try to fly on my own.”
Wilson auditioned for a theater company in Detroit, where his first reading with a fellow thespian did not seem to go well.
“The director said, ‘George, you stay.’ And lo and behold, I got the role.”
Five seasons later, Wilson decided to take his talents to Los Angeles, where he enrolled in an acting workshop. Things did not go as planned on the West Coast.
“I had some bad times, so I came back to Bastrop. But I had gotten used to living in big cities, so I moved to Shreveport.”
Wilson worked as a diesel driver in Shreveport for the next 10 years. His acting career seemed to be over.
“But then the movie industry came to Shreveport and really started to get going.”
Auditions and acting workshops began to pop up around town, and Wilson decided to get back in the game. He landed his first movie role as a detective in the 2007 film “Cleaner.”
Wilson recalls, “Being on the set stirred me up again.”
He worked as an extra on “Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle,” then landed a more sizable role in the 2007 film “The Great Debaters.”
The Golden Globe-nominated film tells the story of Professor Melvin Tolson, who coached the Wiley College debate team in Marshall, Texas in the 1930s. The film was produced by Oprah Winfrey and directed by Academy Award winner Denzel Washington.
Wilson said his role as the character “Samuel” required him to spend 30 hours in the make-up chair while he was made to appear injured.
“I looked to one side of me, and there was Denzel Washington getting something done to his hair. I looked to the other side of me, and there was (Academy Award winning actor) Forest Whitaker.”
Wilson said watching Denzel Washington at work, as both director and actor, helped enhance his own acting ability.
“Things started kicking then.”
Wilson landed parts in the films “Longshot,” “The Lazarus Heart,” “W” and most recently “Cool Dog,” slated to be released in December.
“I’m working on a movie now, a mystery thriller called ‘For Whom He Tolls.’ My agent just called Monday and told me about a part in a movie called ‘Shaggy Dog.’”
Wilson said at 62, with some gray hair, he has no trouble getting roles that call for older men.
Wilson has not forgotten his hometown: He plans to return to Bastrop for the July 5 reunion of the Morehouse Class of ‘65.
“Things happen sometimes, and you don’t know why they happen. But nothing happens in God’s world by accident.
“God blessed us all with a measure of talent, and sometimes we don’t discover it for a long time. I love to talk to young people. I tell them, once you notice your talent, you’ve got to develop it. Just step out and do it.”
