Actor Joseph C. Phillips’ passions go beyond the screen!
“Festival of Trees was my first holiday movie,” says Joseph C. Phillips. That’s surprising to hear from an actor with more than 50 film and TV credits to his name, including perhaps his most famous role as Bill Cosby’s son-in-law on “The Cosby Show,” once the No. 1 program in the country for five straight seasons. Festival of Trees, which was filmed in Atlanta and released last November, happily allowed Phillips to cross holiday movie off his career bucket list. The 63-year-old says that as an actor, you have to do it all, which he has, be it commercials, voiceovers, stage plays or sitcoms.
His first job, back in 1985, was on a soap opera called “Search for Tomorrow,” and his longest recurring role was on another soap, “General Hospital,” from 1994 to 2004. You might also recognize Phillips from episodes of shows like “NCIS,” “How to Get Away With Murder,” “Martin” and “The Larry Sanders Show.” He’s also appeared in movies such as Strictly Business with Halle Berry and on stage in productions such as A Raisin in the Sun opposite Danny Glover.
Phillips moved from Los Angeles to Buckhead three years ago to take on his newest role, that of assistant professor at Clark Atlanta University, where he teaches classes in subjects like acting, theater appreciation and play production. He recently led his students in a hip-hop version of Sophocles’ classic tragedy Antigone, complete with original music and choreography.
“I felt the students might struggle with the material and find it tedious, but it went very well, and the students love the production now,” Phillips says, which is a good thing given he turned down a potential acting gig for the production. Two weeks into rehearsals, Phillips got a call from his manager about a Netflix show that meant he’d have to leave for the month of February. “They asked if someone else could direct the play in my absence,” Phillips says, “but I’d gotten the kids excited about the play, and I felt that if I left to put money in my pocket, I’d lose their trust and respect.”
Originally from Colorado, Phillips has fully embraced his new home in Georgia. “One of the main things I wanted to do when I moved to Atlanta is explore the food scene,” he says. Some of the places he’s tried are Buckhead favorites such as Hal’s, Chops and Bartaco. He also joined the Georgia Barbecue Association and became a certified judge. Phillips went to culinary school at one point and had a restaurant in Los Angeles called Daddy J’s, which served 11 flavors of wings and had many celebrity customers. “We did lots of things right, but the business side of it hurt us,” says Phillips of having to close after two years.
Early on, Phillips also pursued being a lawyer and was accepted to Rutgers University law school, but then came the offer to star on “General Hospital.” Phillips added published author to his list of achievements after penning his 2006 autobiography, He Talk Like a White Boy, along with essays in outlets like Newsweek and USA Today. He’s also done commentary on BET, NPR, Court TV and other media. If one thing is evident from his long and varied resume, it’s that Phillips was clearly born to play multiple roles.
