A Saturday basketball game in the gym brought Morris Chestnut to Reasonable doubt in its first season.
“Usually, when guys are in the gym, they're talking about a lot of stupid, irrelevant things, like a sports game or something. But all of a sudden, one of the guys was like, 'Damn, have you seen this show? Reasonable doubt?'” recalls Chestnut The Hollywood Reporter.
The enthusiasm of his friend, a known fan of the Hulu court series' lead actress Emayatzy Corinealdi, who plays Jax Stewart, a skilled defense attorney with a troubled personal life, convinced Chestnut to give the series a try.
“It was so weird, because that's not what guys normally talk about in the gym. So it was like, well, I have to check it out,” he adds. “Let me see what he's talking about. And it was great.”
After an immediate liking to the series, creator Raamla Mohamed and executive producer Larry Wilmore approached Chestnut about joining the cast as Corey Cash, an equally skilled lawyer with his own personal and professional demons, in season two.
The answer was a simple yes.
“I knew I wanted to do the show. I just wasn't sure what the character was,” Chestnut explains. “And then Raamla sent me a character arc for the entire season, and I was like, 'This is pretty cool.' After I read it, and after I met with Raamla and Larry and another producer, I was like, I'm in.”
Below, Chestnut, who is also the main character in the BET+ dark comedy-drama Diarra from Detroit and the lead character in the upcoming CBS drama Watsontalks about being introduced with a sex scene in Reasonable doubtplaying good guys and getting more opportunities than ever, now after a 30-year career.
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Your character makes quite a big entrance into the series in the second episode. What did you think when you saw the script and read that first scene?
(Laughter) So, obviously I watched the first season, so I knew what the show was about. But then when I read the first scene, I was like, “Oh, so this is what we're doing. Okay, let's go.” You know, it was fun. I was really excited. It's a strong, smart, sexy kind of show. And it gave me a great introduction.
What's it like coming into a show in its second season as a newcomer, even though I've seen your co-stars call you “Morris Thee Chestnut” in interviews?
It's so interesting to come into an established show, because these people have been working together for so long and, really, it's like coming into a family. When you do a show, you're on set and you work more than you do at home. You work 12, 13, 14 hours a day. You don't see your family. So it's always interesting to come in. You never know how people are going to react to certain things. You never know the different dynamics. The way I do it, I'm respectful to everyone. I don't step on anyone's toes. “Thank you for having me.” And that's how I felt. And this show, thanks to Raamla and Emayatzy and Kerry [Washington]they really built a really strong family. They were all very welcoming. Everyone was kind and genuine. They made it a pleasure and a joy to come to work.
I don’t think Jax is a character we’ve seen on screen before. As someone who’s had many female co-stars over the years, what specifically stands out to you about that character?
Oh, wow. So much. What I love about Jax is that he’s smart, he’s strong, he’s attractive. Obviously, we know fashion, he might have his own fashion line. But the way the show is written, it’s really a collaborative effort between Raamla, Kerry, and Emayatzy. There’s so much depth behind what’s happening with the show and, mostly, realism. Emayatzy’s character, she’s conflicted. It’s not this Pollyanna kind of lifestyle where everything is just great. She makes mistakes, she deals with mistakes, she has challenges at work, she has challenges at home. She can chill with her friends. Now the friend she chills with is on trial. This is real life stuff that everyone can relate to.
Also, for example, Corey. The thing I love about Corey, it could have just been, “Hey, my friend Jax wants me to come out here to L.A. to help her get her friend out of the case. Boom. But no, it's my friend Jax who's giving me the opportunity to come out here to L.A. so I can redeem myself for something that happened in the past. And in the process of helping her friend get out of this big case, I'm going to redeem myself. And then now he's even helped me deal with my family life that I haven't dealt with in years. So there are so many layers to Corey. And that's what Raamla does.
Every episode I start out skeptical of Corey and thinking, “This is where we're going to see another side of him.” But after six episodes, he actually seems to have genuine intentions, which got me thinking: Do you have a clause in your contracts that says only the good guys?
(Laughs)) That’s why they come to me. I actually had a movie, now it’s in turnaround, on Netflix, where I wasn’t. But I’m drawn to positive characters. When we read scripts and play characters, everything a character does for an actor is justified. If a character kills someone, in their mind, they justify doing it. So most of the time, they don’t see it as wrong. But I think that’s how Hollywood sees me, and they give me a lot of opportunities. And I’m drawn to that. When people watch movies, and watch them over and over again, or watch hours of a TV show (this one’s 10 hours), those images have an impact. Sometimes big, sometimes small. It can have an impact on a million people. It can have an impact on one person, but it’s still going to have an impact. And I’m conscious of the image and the message that people get from my characters.
That doesn't mean I'll always be the “good guy,” but honestly, that's how I was introduced to the world in Neighborhood boys where I was the good son, the son that everyone was rooting for. And when we talk about impact, it's a movie that people still watch today. There have been shows and characters before where I've said, “You know what? I don't really want the character to do that. I want to be positive.” But that doesn't mean I won't do something that isn't necessarily the good guy, that isn't necessarily positive, as long as it has a strong message.
You are currently the main character of three different TV series. How do you feel about this season of your career?
It’s a blessing. It’s awesome to be able to be out there like this and have this opportunity. Because when you think about it, there really haven’t been that many opportunities for most of my career. And I don’t take that for granted. I’m trying to do the best I can with what I have. I’m just going to keep moving forward.
Reasonable doubt releases new episodes every Thursday on Hulu and Disney+.