Morris Chestnut loves the adulation fans give him. But he’s more than a handsome face, great body and million-dollar smile. He’s an actor trying to hone his craft. That’s exactly what he told fans Friday at an ESSENCE Fest screening of his new Fox drama Rosewood at the New Orleans Convention Center.
“When I read the script, it was about an intelligent doctor who helps solve cases,” said Morris, a husband and father best known for his roles in The Best Man Holiday and Boyz N the Hood. “It was something I couldn’t pass up. If I want to do a TV show, week after week after week, I want to have fun with it and they let me have a lot of fun with the character.”
After excitedly adding that actress Lorraine Toussaint (Orange Is the New Black) is joining the cast of Rosewood, Chestnut, 46, asked fans what they thought of the series adding, “I’ve got thick skin so you can tell me.”
Unfortunately for Chestnut, the mostly female audience wasn’t interested in constructive criticism. They wanted to talk about his body. One woman said she liked his shirtless running scene and another asked if he lives in Atlanta because one time she saw him at a Life Time Fitness gym in the southern city.
Hopefully, when Rosewood debuts this fall, critical reviews and tweets will give Chestnut the feedback he craves.
Rosewood premieres September 23 on Fox.