Rob Morgan returned to his VSU roots in Feb. to discuss his career in front of a packed audience at Davis Recital Hall. The veteran character actor has appeared in numerous film, television and theater projects over the last 20 years.

 Morgan’s acting credits include the highly acclaimed films “Mudbound,” and “The United States vs. Billie Holiday,” as well as NBC’s “This is Us,” and a recurring role on all of the Netflix produced Marvel programs. He has also been recognized by The New York Times as one of the 25 greatest actors of the 21st. century.

Morgan’s honesty and frankness were immediately apparent from the start as he talked about his journey. He told the story of his first acting experience on the set of the 1997 film “Contact.”

“There’s this scene where Jodie Foster and Matthew McConaughey walk into the White House to get money from the president so they can do outer space exploration. And I was like, how would I feel growing up in DC knowing that they took money out of our schools for art. Kids ain’t got books, you know we’re struggling out here and they want to take millions of dollars away for space exploration,” Morgan said.

He told the audience how he took that energy and applied it to the scene. Morgan said his line was impromptu and not in the script.  When asked by the director to repeat the scene, he said again, “get a real job, don’t waste my tax dollars!”

Sophomore Amber Carter asked Morgan what was the toughest obstacle he faced.

“The toughest obstacle is getting the job,” Morgan said. “I’ve had situations where somebody said, I wrote this script just for you. Then it gets to the producers, and we don’t want Rob,” Morgan said.

Morgan said that he never lets rejection beat him down or dampen his spirits. He just continues to look for something that fits him.

Rob Morgan is currently appearing in Lawmen: Bass Reeves on Paramount.