NEW YORK (CNN) — Actor Geoffrey Owens has found a silver lining after being thrust into the spotlight for simply doing his job. 

Owens played Elvin Tibideaux on “The Cosby Show” from 1985 to 1992. 

He’s a graduate of Yale University and has been an actor for nearly three decades. 

Recently he made headlines after photos of him bagging groceries at a New Jersey Trader Joe’s were published by The Daily Mail. 

Owens said the outpouring of support he has received in response to the attention has him hoping for a lasting change in attitudes. 

“The fact that I as the guy from ‘The Cosby Show’ was shamed about working at Trader Joe’s, that story is going to move on. That’s going to pass. But what I hope doesn’t pass is this new recognition now, this current sensitivity that people are feeling about work and people working. I hope what continues to resonate is the idea that one job is not better than another. A certain job might pay more. It might have better benefits. It might look better on paper but that essentially one kind of work is not better, superior than another kind of work, and that we reevaluate that whole idea and we start just honoring the dignity of work and respecting the dignity of the working person.”

Since the attention, Owens said he has left his job at Trader Joe’s. 

Entertainment industry figures like Tyler Perry have taken to social media to offer him work, but Owens says he doesn’t want anyone in this industry to just give him a job. 

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