Who is Morris Chestnut?
Morris Lamont Chestnut is a popular American actor. Chestnut first became famous for his role as Ricky in the 1991 movie Boyz n the Hood. He has then appeared in feature movies and on television series such as the starring role of FBI agent Will Keaton in the NBC TV series The Enemy Within.
Morris Chestnut Career
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”. The series aired on February 18, 1990. Morris’s first feature movie role was as Ricky Baker in Boyz n the Hood (1991). He then followed that up with roles in several TV movies. Chestnut played a role on Patti LaBelle’s short-lived sitcom Out All Night His career went on to rise steadily with co-starring roles in standard big-budget studio movies including Under Siege 2: Dark Territory (1995) alongside Steven Seagal and Katherine Heigl and G.I. Jane (1997) alongside Demi Moore.
Morris was also a regular cast member on C-16, in the role of Special Agent Mai Robinson, from 1997 to 1998. He won the annual Madden Bowl video game competition in 1998. Chestnut then starred in The Best Man alongside Nia Long and Taye Diggs, as a professional football player on the eve of his wedding in 1999. The Best Man received positive reviews from the press and did well at the box office. For his performance, he received an NAACP Image Award nomination. He then again played a football player in The Game Plan (2007).
2002-present
He starred in The Brothers (2001) a movie centering on the themes of fidelity and success among young professionals. In the same year, Chestnut played Keith Fenton, the love interest of Vivica A. Fox in Two Can Play That Game. He also appeared as basketball player Tracey Reynolds in the 2002 movie Like Mike. Chestnut then played a firefighter named Tommy Drake in Ladder 49 in 2004.
Chestnut has worked with Steven Seagal 3 times in Under Siege 2: Dark Territory (1995) as Seagal’s reluctant partner and the lead male villain in Half Past Dead (2002), and Prince of Pistols (2008). He then joined the cast of Nurse Jackie in 2013, playing war veteran Dr. Ike Prentiss. The next year, Chestnut won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.
In 2015, he portrayed Derrick Dog Prince in the film Heist. People magazine then named him one of the ”Sexist Men Alive” the same year. So as to prepare for his role as a professional football player, Lance Sullivan, in the film The Best Man Holiday, he had to get back into shape. Chestnut’s fitness training experience with Celebrity Fitness Trainer Obi Obadike inspired him to become Obadike’s co-author of the health and fitness book, The Cut. The book published on April 18, 2017, contains exercise drills and recipes. He earned himself an NAACP Image Award nomination for acting in the sequel. Chestnut then played the lead role of Pathologist Dr. Beaumont Rosewood Jr. in Rosewood, earning another NAACP Image Award nomination. He later appeared as Raymond Dupont in the short-lived drama Our Kind of People.
How old is Morris Chestnut?
Morris Lamont Chestnut is aged 53 years as of 2022, having been born on January 1, 1969, in Cerritos, California, U.S. He shares his birthday with famous people including Ice Spice, Moosa Mostafa, Jenn Carter, Colin Morgan, Christine Lagarde, Jack Wilshere, Emily Sears, Nicole Young, Meryl Davis, Jennifer Lauret, Gary Johnson, and many more.
Morris Chestnut Family
Who are Morris Chestnut’s parents?
Morris Lamont Chestnut was born in Cerritos, California to Morris Chestnut and Shirley Chestnut. His father served as a medical salesman, while his mother was a teacher.
Does Morris Chestnut have siblings?
Chestnut has not shared information about his family and siblings, but it is known that he has five siblings.
Morris Chestnut Education
Chestnut attended California State University, in Northridge, where he studied finance.
Morris Chestnut Interests
Chestnut worked as a bank teller before becoming an actor. He was brought up in the Baptist church and is a practicing Christian. He was inducted to the Hollywood Walk of Fame with a star that was unveiled in his presence in March 2022.
Morris Chestnut Wife
Chestnut is currently married to his beautiful and loving wife Pam Byse-Chestnut from 1995 to date. The couple has been happily married and is blessed with two children
Morris Chestnut Kids
Chestnut and Byse have been together for some time now and have two children together. The couple has a son named Grant Chestnut and a daughter named Paige Chestnut.
Morris Chestnut Height
Chestnut has a well-built, muscular, and physically fit body with a height of 5 ft 11 in (1.83 m) and a weight of 84 kg (185 lbs).
Morris Chestnut Net Worth
American professional actor, Chestnut has been active from 1990 to the present and has appeared in numerous films and series. He has been able to gather an accumulative net worth of approximately $8 million as of 2022.
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Boyz n the Hood | Ricky Baker | |
| The Last Boy Scout | Locker Room Kid | ||
| 1994 | The Inkwell | Harold Lee | |
| 1995 | Higher Learning | Track Anchor | |
| Under Siege 2: Dark Territory | Bobby Zachs | ||
| 1997 | G.I. Jane | McCool | |
| Firehouse | Andre | ||
| 1999 | The Best Man | Lance Sullivan | |
| 2001 | The Brothers | Jackson Smith | |
| Two Can Play That Game | Keith Fenton | ||
| Scenes of the Crime | Ray | ||
| 2002 | Like Mike | Tracy Reynolds | |
| Half Past Dead | Donny Johnson / 49ner One | ||
| 2003 | Confidence | Travis | |
| 2004 | Breakin’ All the Rules | Evan Fields | |
| Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid | Gordon Mitchell | ||
| Ladder 49 | Tommy Drake | ||
| 2005 | The Cave | ‘Top’ Buchanan | |
| 2007 | The Game Plan | Travis Sanders | |
| The Perfect Holiday | Benjamin | ||
| 2009 | Not Easily Broken | Dave Johnson | |
| Love in the Nick of Tyme | Marcelles Wynters | Video | |
| 2012 | Think Like a Man | James Merrill | |
| 2013 | Identity Thief | Detective Reilly | |
| The Call | Officer Phillips | ||
| Kick-Ass 2 | Detective Marcus Williams | ||
| The Best Man Holiday | Lance Sullivan | ||
| 2015 | The Perfect Guy | Dave | |
| 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 | In the Line of Duty: Street War | Prince Franklin | TV movie |
| 1992–93 | Out All Night | Jeff Carswell | Main cast |
| 1993 | The Ernest Green Story | Ernest Green | TV movie |
| 1994 | Living Single | Hamilton Brown | 2 episodes |
| 1997–98 | C-16: FBI | Special Agent Mal Robinson | Main cast |
| 2000 | ER | ICU Nurse Frank ‘Rambo’ Bacon | 2 episodes |
| 2001 | The Killing Yard | Shango | TV movie |
| 2005 | Bones | Agent Oakes | Episode: “The Man in the Wall” |
| Dante | Dante | TV movie | |
| 2008 | The Prince of Motor City | Leo Moore | TV movie |
| 2009–11 | V | Ryan Nichols | Main cast |
| 2011 | American Horror Story | Luke | Recurring cast (season 1) |
| 2013 | American Dad! | Craig (voice) | Episode: “For Black Eyes Only” |
| 2013–14 | Nurse Jackie | Dr. Prentiss | Main cast (season 5–6) |
| 2014–15 | Legends | Tony Rice | Main cast (season 1), guest (season 2) |
| 2015–17 | Rosewood | Dr. Beaumont Rosewood Jr. | Main cast |
| 2018 | Goliath | Deputy District Attorney Hakeem Rashad | Main cast (season 2) |
| 2019 | Being Mary Jane | Beau Mercer | Episode: “Becoming Pauletta” |
| The Enemy Within | FBI Agent Will Keaton | Main cast | |
| 2019–21 | The Resident | Dr. Barrett Cain | Main cast (season 3–4), Recurring cast (season 5) |
| 2021 | Our Kind of People | Raymond Dupont | Main cast |
| TBA | The Best Man: The Final Chapters | Lance Sullivan | Main cast |
