# Morris Chestnut

Morris Lamont Chestnut (born January 1, 1969) is an American actor. He first came to prominence for his role as Ricky in the 1991 film Boyz n the Hood. He has appeared in feature films such as G.I. Jane, The Brothers, Like Mike, Ladder 49, The Game Plan, The Call, and Kick-Ass 2. He has also played Lance Sullivan in The Best Man, reprising the role in the sequel film The Best Man Holiday, and follow-up series The Best Man: The Final Chapters.
His television roles have included Ryan Nichols in ABC's V, Ike Prentiss in Showtime's Nurse Jackie, the lead role of Beaumont Darius Rosewood, Jr. in Fox's Rosewood, Hakeem Rashad in Prime Video's Goliath, and Barrett Cain in Fox's The Resident. He currently plays the title character in the CBS drama series Watson.
Chestnut has been nominated for six NAACP Image Awards, winning for Nurse Jackie and The Best Man: The Final Chapters. His body of work has seen him receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

## Early life

Chestnut was born on January 1, 1969, in Cerritos, California, the son of Morris and Shirley Chestnut. His mother was a teacher, while his father worked as a medical salesman. He studied finance and drama at California State University, Northridge. Chestnut worked as a bank teller prior to being an actor.

## Career
### Boys n the Hood and breakout

Chestnut's first professional acting role was as Jason in Freddy's Nightmares – A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Series, season 2, episode 19 ("A Family Affair"), which aired on February 18, 1990. His first feature film role was as Ricky Baker in Boyz n the Hood (1991). He followed that up with roles in various TV movies, notably including the Peabody Award winning Disney Channel film The Ernest Green Story, in which he played Ernest Green. Chestnut also appeared in Patti LaBelle's short-lived sitcom Out All Night. His career continued to rise steadily with co-starring roles in standard big-budget studio films such as Under Siege 2: Dark Territory (1995) with Steven Seagal and Katherine Heigl, and G.I. Jane (1997) with Demi Moore. He was also a regular cast member on C-16, in the role of Special Agent Mal Robinson, from 1997 to 1998.

### The Best Man and other films

In 1999, Chestnut starred in The Best Man with Taye Diggs and Nia Long, as Lance Sullivan, a professional football player on the eve of his wedding. The Best Man earned positive reviews from the press and did well at the box office. For his performance, Chestnut earned an NAACP Image Award nomination. He again played a football player in Disney's The Game Plan (2007), co-starring opposite Dwayne Johnson.
Chestnut starred in The Brothers (2001), a film centering on the themes of fidelity and success among young Black professionals. That same year, he portrayed Keith Fenton, the love interest of Vivica A. Fox, in the romantic comedy Two Can Play That Game and appeared as basketball player Tracey Reynolds in 2002 film Like Mike. In 2004, he played firefighter Tommy Drake in Ladder 49, opposite John Travolta and Joaquin Phoenix.
He has worked with Steven Seagal three times: Under Siege 2: Dark Territory (1995) as his reluctant partner and lead male villain in Half Past Dead (2002) and Prince of Pistols (2008).
Chestnut appeared in four films in 2013: Identity Thief, The Call, Kick-Ass 2 (playing Omari Hardwick's character from the first film), and The Best Man sequel The Best Man Holiday, in which he reprised his role as Lance Sullivan, earning him another NAACP Image Award nomination.
Recent cinema work includes The Perfect Guy, Heist (both 2015) and When the Bough Breaks (2016).

### Television work

In recent years, the majority of Chestnut's work has been in television.
From 2009 to 2011, Chestnut starred in the ABC science fiction drama V, based on the classic 1983 miniseries. In 2011, he recurred as Luke in the first season of American Horror Story, and in 2013, he joined the cast of Showtime's medical dramedy Nurse Jackie as war veteran Dr. Ike Prentiss, staying for two seasons. For his performance in the latter, he won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. Shortly afterward, he co-starred in the TNT crime drama Legends opposite Sean Bean.
From 2015 to 2017, Chestnut played the starring role of pathologist Dr. Beaumont "Rosie" Rosewood Jr. in the Fox crime procedural Rosewood, receiving another NAACP Image nomination as a result.
Chestnut had main roles in the second season of Prime Video's Goliath, and NBC's The Enemy Within. He played cold-hearted neurosurgeon Barrett Cain in seasons three and four of the Fox medical drama The Resident, and appeared as Raymond Dupont in the short-lived Our Kind of People, also for Fox.
In 2022, he once again played Lance Sullivan in the Peacock limited series The Best Man: The Final Chapters, winning his second NAACP Image Award. As of 2023, he hosts the OWN docuseries Rebuilding Black Wall Street, produced by Sunwise Media. In 2024, he starred opposite Diarra Kilpatrick in the BET+ mystery-dramedy Diarra from Detroit, and joined the main cast for the second season of Hulu's legal drama Reasonable Doubt. For the latter, he earned his sixth NAACP Image Award nomination.
In 2025, Chestnut began starring in the CBS medical-mystery series Watson, playing Dr. Watson from the Sherlock Holmes stories.

## Personal life and other work

Chestnut has been married to Pam Byse-Chestnut since 1995. The couple have two children, son Grant and daughter Paige. Chestnut was raised in the Baptist church, and he is a practicing Christian.
In 1998, Chestnut won the annual Madden Bowl video game competition.
To prepare to reprise his role as professional football player Lance Sullivan in the movie The Best Man Holiday, Chestnut had to get into shape. His fitness training experience with celebrity fitness trainer Obi Obadike inspired him to become Obadike's co-author on the health and fitness book, The Cut. Published on April 18, 2017, the book contains exercise drills and recipes.
People magazine named Chestnut as one of the "Sexiest Men Alive" in 2015.
In March 2022, Chestnut was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame with a star that was unveiled in his presence.
In 2024, Chestnut reunited with The Best Man director Malcolm D. Lee, and co-stars Harold Perrineau and Taye Diggs, to found Sable Bourbon, a spirits brand.
On December 9, 2024, Chestnut and actress Mindy Kaling announced the nominations for the 82nd Golden Globe Awards. At the ceremony itself, Chestnut and Kaley Cuoco presented Best Screenplay award.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1991 | Boyz n the Hood | Ricky Baker | |
| 1991 | The Last Boy Scout | Locker Room Kid | |
| 1992 | In the Line of Duty: Street War | Prince Franklin | TV movie |
| 1993 | The Ernest Green Story | Ernest Green | TV movie |
| 1994 | The Inkwell | Harold Lee | |
| 1995 | Higher Learning | Track Anchor | |
| 1995 | Under Siege 2: Dark Territory | Bobby Zachs | |
| 1997 | G.I. Jane | McCool | |
| 1997 | Firehouse | Andre | |
| 1999 | The Best Man | Lance Sullivan | |
| 2001 | The Brothers | Jackson Smith | |
| 2001 | Two Can Play That Game | Keith Fenton | |
| 2001 | Scenes of the Crime | Ray | |
| 2001 | The Killing Yard | Shango | TV movie |
| 2002 | Like Mike | Tracy Reynolds | |
| 2002 | Half Past Dead | Donny Johnson / 49ner One | |
| 2003 | Confidence | Travis | |
| 2004 | Breakin' All the Rules | Evan Fields | |
| 2004 | Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid | Gordon Mitchell | |
| 2004 | Ladder 49 | Tommy Drake | |
| 2005 | The Cave | 'Top' Buchanan | |
| 2007 | The Game Plan | Travis Sanders | |
| 2007 | The Perfect Holiday | Benjamin | |
| 2008 | The Prince of Motor City | Leo Moore | TV movie |
| 2009 | Not Easily Broken | Dave Johnson | |
| 2009 | Love in the Nick of Tyme | Marcelles Wynters | Video |
| 2012 | Think Like a Man | James Merrill | |
| 2013 | Identity Thief | Detective Reilly | |
| 2013 | The Call | Officer Phillips | |
| 2013 | Kick-Ass 2 | Detective Marcus Williams | |
| 2013 | The Best Man Holiday | Lance Sullivan | |
| 2015 | The Perfect Guy | Dave | |
| 2015 | Heist | Derrick 'Dog' Prince | |
| 2016 | When the Bough Breaks | John Taylor | |
| 2017 | Girls Trip | Himself | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1990 | Freddy's Nightmares | Jason Woodman | Episode: "A Family Affair" |
| 1992–1993 | Out All Night | Jeff Carswell | Main Cast |
| 1994 | Soul Train | Himself/Guest Host | Episode: "Patti LaBelle/Sounds of Blackness/Simple E" |
| 1994 | Living Single | Hamilton Brown | Recurring Cast: Season 1 |
| 1997–1998 | C-16: FBI | Special Agent Mal Robinson | Main Cast |
| 2000 | ER | ICU Nurse Frank 'Rambo' Bacon | Guest Cast: Season 6-7 |
| 2005 | Bones | Agent Oakes | Episode: "The Man in the Wall" |
| 2006 | In the Mix | Himself | Episode: "Xmas in March...." |
| 2009–2011 | V | Ryan Nichols | Main Cast |
| 2011 | American Horror Story | Luke | Recurring Cast: Season 1 |
| 2013 | American Dad! | Craig (voice) | Episode: "For Black Eyes Only" |
| 2013–2014 | Nurse Jackie | Dr. Ike Prentiss | Main Cast: Season 5-6 |
| 2014–2015 | Legends | Tony Rice | Main Cast: Season 1, Recurring Cast: Season 2 |
| 2015–2017 | Rosewood | Dr. Beaumont Rosewood Jr. | Main Cast |
| 2016–2017 | Live with Kelly and Mark | Himself/Guest Co-Host | Guest Co-Host: Season 28, Recurring Guest Co-Host: Season 29 |
| 2018 | Unsung Hollywood | Himself | Episode: "The Best Man" |
| 2018 | Goliath | D.D.A. Hakeem Rashad | Main Cast: Season 2 |
| 2019 | Being Mary Jane | Beau Mercer | Episode: "Becoming Pauletta" |
| 2019 | The Enemy Within | FBI Agent Will Keaton | Main Cast |
| 2019–2021 | The Resident | Dr. Barrett Cain | Main Cast: Season 3-4 |
| 2021 | Our Kind of People | Raymond Dupont | Main Cast |
| 2022 | Celebrity Game Face | Himself | Episode: "Cedric The Entertainer Busts Kevin's Chops" |
| 2022 | The Best Man: The Final Chapters | Lance Sullivan | Main Cast |
| 2022–2023 | All American | Rick Barnes | 4 episodes |
| 2023 | The Talk | Himself/Guest Co-Host | Recurring Guest Co-Host: Season 13 |
| 2023 | Rebuilding Black Wall Street | Himself/Host | Main Host |
| 2024 | Diarra from Detroit | Swa | Main Cast |
| 2024 | Reasonable Doubt | Corey Cash | Main Cast: Season 2 |
| 2025–present | Watson | Dr. John Watson | Lead Role |
Key :
| † | Denotes series/miniseries that have not yet been released |

### Music videos

| Year | Song | Artist |
| 2003 | "Dance with My Father" | Luther Vandross |

## Theatrical performances

* Love In The Nick of Tyme (2007)
* What My Husband Doesn't Know (2011)
* The Nutcracker (2013)

## Published work

* Chestnut, Morris (2017). The Cut: Lose Up to 10 Pounds in 10 Days and Sculpt Your Best Body. Hachette Book Group, Inc. ISBN 978-1455565238.

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Awards | Category | Recipient | Outcome |
| 2000 | NAACP Image Award | NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture | The Best Man | Nominated |
| 2014 | Acapulco Black Film Festival | Acapulco Black Film Festival Award for Best Acting Ensemble | The Best Man Holiday | Won |
| 2014 | Acapulco Black Film Festival | Acapulco Black Film Festival Award for Best Actor | The Best Man Holiday | Nominated |
| 2014 | NAACP Image Award | NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture | The Best Man Holiday | Nominated |
| 2014 | NAACP Image Award | NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series | Nurse Jackie | Won |
| 2016 | NAACP Image Award | NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series | Rosewood | Nominated |
| 2023 | NAACP Image Award | NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special | The Best Man: The Final Chapters | Won |
| 2025 | NAACP Image Award | NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series | Reasonable Doubt | Nominated |