Morris Chestnut

Morris Chestnut

Chestnut at the San Diego Comic-Con International in July 2010
Born Morris Lamont Chestnut[1]
(1969-01-01) January 1, 1969
Cerritos, California, United States
Occupation Actor
Years active 1990–present
Spouse(s) Pam Byse Chestnut (m. 1996)
Children 2

Morris Lamont Chestnut (born January 1, 1969) is an American actor. He currently stars in the Fox TV series, Rosewood. Chestnut plays the title role, a private high-level pathologist named Dr. Beaumont Rosewood Jr., who works in Miami, Florida, assisting local law enforcement's murder investigations. The series premiered on Fox on September 23, 2015.

Chestnut is also known for his roles in the films Boyz n the Hood (1991), The Best Man (1999) and its sequel The Best Man Holiday (2013), The Brothers (2001), Two Can Play That Game (2001), Like Mike (2002), Ladder 49 (2004), The Perfect Holiday (2007), Not Easily Broken (2009), Think Like A Man (2012), and TV series V (2009). He co-starred on the short-lived Patti LaBelle 1992–1993 NBC sitcom Out All Night as Jeff Carswell. He was the host of the BET show Vindicated.

Early life

Chestnut was born in Cerritos, California, the son of Shirley and Morris Chestnut, Sr.[2] He graduated from Richard Gahr High School in 1986, and subsequently studied finance and drama at California State University, Northridge.

Career

Chestnut's first professional acting role was as Jadon 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. Chestnut also played a role on 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) and G.I. Jane (1997).

In 1998, he won the annual Madden Bowl video game competition. In 1999, Chestnut starred in The Best Man with Taye Diggs and Nia Long, as 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 The Game Plan (2007). In 2001, he starred in The Brothers, a film centering on the themes of fidelity and success among young professionals. In 2004, he appeared as a firefighter in Ladder 49.

He has worked with Steven Seagal three times. In Under Siege 2: Dark Territory (1995), Chestnut is Seagal's reluctant partner. In both Half Past Dead (2002) and Prince of Pistols (2008), he co-stars as the main villain.

Personal life

Chestnut married Pam Byse in summer 1996[3] and they have two children.[4][5]

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 Television film
1993 The Ernest Green Story Ernest Green Television film
1994 The Inkwell Harold Lee
1995 Under Siege 2: Dark Territory Bobby Zachs
1995 Higher Learning Track Anchor Uncredited
1997 G.I. Jane McCool
1997 Firehouse Andre Television film
1999 The Best Man Lance Sullivan Nominated—NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture
2001 The Brothers Jackson Smith
2001 Two Can Play That Game Keith Fenton
2001 Scenes of the Crime Ray
2002 The Killing Yard Shango Television film
2002 Like Mike Tracy Reynolds
2002 Half Past Dead Donald Robert Johnson
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
2009 Not Easily Broken Dave Johnson
2012 Think Like a Man James Merrill
2013 Identity Thief Detective Reilly
2013 The Call Officer Phillips
2013 Kick-Ass 2 Marcus Williams
2013 The Best Man Holiday Lance Sullivan Acapulco Black Film Festival Award for Best Acting Ensemble
Nominated—Acapulco Black Film Festival Award for Best Actor
Nominated—NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture
2014 That Awkward Moment Harold
2015 The Perfect Guy Dave
2016 Heist Derrick "Dog" Prince Completed
2016 When the Bough Breaks John Taylor Filming
2016 The Best Man Wedding[6][7][8] Lance Sullivan Announced

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1990 Freddy's Nightmares Jason Woodman Episode: "A Family Affair"
1992–1993 Out All Night Jeff Carswell 19 episodes
1994 Living Single Hamilton Brown 3 episodes
1997–1998 C-16: FBI Mal Robinson 12 episodes
2000 ER ICU Nurse Frank 'Rambo' Bacon 2 episodes
2005 Bones Agent Oakes Episode: "The Man in the Wall"
2009–2011 V Ryan Nichols 22 episodes
2011 American Horror Story: Murder House Luke 6 episodes
2013 American Dad! Craig Episode: "For Black Eyes Only"
2013–2014 Nurse Jackie Dr. Prentiss 17 episodes
NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
2014 Legends Tony Rice 9 episodes
2015–present Rosewood Dr. Beaumont Rosewood, Jr. 10 episodes
Pending—NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series

Theatrical performances

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Morris Chestnut.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Thursday, March 17, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.