Morris Chestnut Biography

Morris L. Chestnut (born January 1, 1969) is an American film and television actor. He is known for his roles as teenage father Ricky Baker in the 1991 film Boyz n the Hood, groom-to-be Lance Sullivan in the 1999 film The Best Man, Jackson Smith in the 2001 film The Brothers, Keith Fenton in the 2001 film Two Can Play That Game, NBA star Tracy Reynolds in the 2002 film Like Mike, tillerman Tommy Drake in the 2004 film Ladder 49, Benjamin in the 2007 film The Perfect Holiday, Dave Johnson in the 2009 film Not Easily Broken, and James in the 2012 film Think Like A Man.

His best-known television role is as the Visitor Ryan in the 2009 reboot TV series V.

Early life

Chestnut, born in Cerritos, California, is the son of Morris Chestnut, Sr. and his wife Shirley. 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 (1995) and G.I. Jane (1997).

In 1998, he won the annual Madden Bowl videogame 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 Pamela Byse in 1995. They have a son Grant (1997) and a daughter Paige (1998). He also has an older son from a previous relationship.

Chestnut is a fan of the Philadelphia Eagles, Los Angeles Lakers, and USC Trojans. He is an avid poker player and has a sponsorship arrangement with the online poker room Full Tilt Poker.

Filmography

Film
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1991	Boyz n the Hood	Ricky Baker
1991	The Last Boy Scout	Locker room kid
1992-1993	Out All Night	Jeff Carswell	19 episodes
1992	In the Line of Duty: Street War	Prince Franklin
1993	The Ernest Green Story	Ernest Green	TV movie
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
1997-1998	C-16: FBI	Mal Robinson	12 episodes
1999	The Best Man	Lance Sullivan	Nominated-NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture
1999	The Brothers	Jackson Smith
2001	Two Can Play That Game	Keith Fenton
2001	Scenes of the Crime	Ray
2002	The Killing Yard	Shango	Nominated-Black Reel Award for Best Actor in a Television movie or Mini-series
2002	Like Mike	Tracy Reynolds
2003	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
2009-2010	V	Ryan Nichols	22 episodes
2011	American Horror Story	Luke	6 episodes
2012	Think Like a Man	James
2013	Identity Thief	Detective Reilly
2013	The Call	Officer Phillips
2013	Kick-Ass 2	Marcus Williams
2013	The Best Man Holiday
2013	Nurse Jackie	Dr. Prentiss	10 episodes

Theatrical performances

• Love In The Nick of Tyme
• What Your Husband Doesn't Know (2011)