With 82 roles and counting on his résumé, “Grey’s Anatomy” star James Pickens Jr. has become of one of Hollywood’s busiest and most recognized character actors. His latest project, “Gospel! Gospel! Gospel!,” is a step away from the top-rated medical drama he is best known for; it finds him both on stage and behind the scenes for a musical play tracing three centuries of the African-American story, by way of what Pickens calls “an inspirational, hand-clapping, foot-stomping journey of gospel music from slavery to the present day,” by about 30 performers whose work “ultimately represents the preservation of Black history.” Also starring Vickie Winans, Chante Moore, Kenny Lattimore and Loretta Devine, the production is being staged by Pickens’ own organization, at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre on May 15 and 16. In an exclusive interview, the 54-year-old performer opens up about his new foundation, the level of talent found in a recent open casting call, and his vision for giving back to the community.

How did the idea for the stage play come about?
Well it was the idea of an incredibly talented gentleman named Otis Sallid. I’ve known Otis for close to 30 years, we go back to the New York stage days.  He is an incredible choreographer, director and producer. He had this idea several years ago. I got to see it in its early, early stages over at a small church in Inglewood. He asked what we thought about it — me and my wife went to see it — and we thought it was good. It only had eight singers at that time, a narrator and one piano and that was literally it. A couple years after that he came to me again and said ‘I want to do this thing again would you like to be involved in some kind of way?’ I never produced anything like that so I said ‘Sure, what do you want me to do?’ Invest some money in it, and that was pretty easy.

You sought out amateur performers with an open casting call for “Gospel! Gospel! Gospel!” Why was it so important to take this route?
Because my foundation [The James Pickens Jr. Foundation], one of our missions was to be as involved with the community as much as possible and reach out to them in various ways. We thought that one great way to do that was to get folks who may have never had the chance to audition for a piece like this or any for that matter, but a piece where they may get a chance to work with some talented people, some celebrities and stuff. So, we wanted to open it up to the community and that’s why we did it.

What kind of talent did you stumble upon during that process?
We got about maybe 32-33 folks who came through, and we saw some who were obviously new at it; really inexperienced, but they wanted to give it a shot. Then there were maybe five or six folks who were really good. Ultimately it was the director’s decision on whether he was going to use anyone from the open call or not, but we got a chance to see a few talented folks.

How did you get your first break in the entertainment industry?
I never intended on being an actor, it was the furthest thing from my mind. I have a degree in art, I was an artist originally. I didn’t know what I really wanted to do with that, I didn’t want to change. I was kind of at a crossroads but as fate would have it, a gentleman walked up to me one day while I was still in college and introduced himself. He was working on his doctorate, he was a theater major and he was directing a play. He had cast all the roles but one and couldn’t find anybody to do it. He walked up to me one day and introduced himself and said ‘you look like an actor, would you like to audition for this play I am doing and directing?’ I said ‘Oh, I don’t know if I can help you.’ He was very convincing and I said ‘OK, I will give it a shot.’ And the rest is history as they would say.

What has your acting experience been like?
Acting for me has been an incredible journey and it has allowed me to travel the places I probably never would have traveled to otherwise. I’ve met some incredible, interesting people and have worked with some of the most talented artists in this business. It has afforded me — now, with the success of the series over the last few years — to try and give back. I have been so blessed in my career. With many blessings come responsibility as well. I want to do my part.

What advice can you give Black actors trying to break into the business?
They have to follow their hearts. They have to understand that it is one of the toughest businesses that you can get into. You have to look at yourself in the mirror and say ‘Do I really want to do this? Do I really have a love for it? Am I ready to sacrifice for this art? Do I understand that a lot of times there will be more valleys than peaks?’ But it is one of the most fulfilling careers that I know of, I’ve had an incredible time. It’s about just staying in there, not getting frustrated and understanding that it’s not personal when you’re not given a particular job and that you have to stay focused and try to make your dream come true. That’s about all you can do.

Tell me about the James Pickens, Jr. Foundation.
It is a foundation that my wife and I started literally a couple of months ago … It’s basically a foundation where we are trying to give back to the community, to this generation and generations to come. There are a couple of entities that we reach out to; in particular, an organization by the name of GAP, which is Grandparents as Parents. It’s an organization that helps facilitate services for grandparents who have now taken on the responsibility of raising their grandchildren. There is a big epidemic in our country now where grandparents that have to come out of being empty nesters to raising their grandchildren for whatever reason. They may be at-risk youth, it may be that a parent has had some kind of substance abuse problem and can no longer care for their children. So, the grandparents have to step up otherwise they will be sent to social services. We experienced that first hand with our granddaughter and this organization was invaluable in their help to us.

How do you keep your life balanced?
I need more than one of me. I need about five of me. I have an incredible wife who is just a whirlwind. She really is the heart behind all of this stuff. I’m just kind of the face on the page but she’s the real backbone. And we have great folks working with us.