Executive Producer/Actor Morris Chestnut seen at “When the Bough Breaks” photo call at The London West Hollywood on Aug. 27, 2016 in West Hollywood, Calif. (Photo Credit: Dan Steinberg/2016 CTMG, Inc./Sony Pictures Entertainment, Inc.).
Morris Chestnut Becoming Go-To Guy for Hollywood Thrillers
With critically acclaimed performances in movies like “The Call” and “The Perfect Guy,” actor Morris Chestnut is laying claim to the title “king of thrillers.”
With “When the Bough Breaks,” opening in theaters on Sept. 9, Chestnut looks to further state his claim for the throne.
In “When the Bough Breaks,” Morris Chestnut and Regina Hall play an affluent New Orleans couple that cannot naturally conceive a child.
After they invite their unstable surrogate, played by newcomer Jaz Sinclair, into their home, all hell breaks loose.
RegalMag.com recently “chopped it up” with Chestnut on his method for choosing roles, and the difference between shooting for the big screen versus the small screen.
Regal Mag: Morris, RegalMag.com has interviewed numerous Black celebrities in the past and many say they do not like to have their films labeled a “Black film” because the films do not travel well, or sell well overseas. Recently, you’ve done a lot of movies that were universal like “The Perfect Guy” and even your TV project, “Rosewood.” So what goes into your decision-making process when choosing a role?
Morris Chestnut: I like to start on the material, the script. I always say, “Hollywood never sets out to make a bad movie.” Most of the times, scripts they have different revisions and it’s all about execution. Regarding Black films…that is a challenge because I wish people would just look at films as they are. People come out of seeing films whether it’s a good film or a bad film, they want to see a thriller or they want to see a comedy. I wish it didn’t have that label, a Black thriller or a Black comedy. With that being said, I’m very fortunate to be able to work in Hollywood and have this opportunity to do films.
Regal Mag: “When the Bough Breaks” was shot very quickly in 35 days. John Cassar who has extensive experience in shooting for television, which requires a quicker pace, directed the film. For those who do not know, can you explain the difference between approaching roles for television versus film?
Morris Chestnut: When you’re doing a television show, you really have eight days to shoot 45 minutes. Here we had 35 days for one hundred plus minutes. Say for instance, when we’re on a TV show like “Rosewood” where I have tons of dialogue each week, I literally forget dialogue right after the scene is over. It’s like cramming for a test. Cram, cram, cram to get the dialogue in. Film provides you the luxury of being able to take your time and really dig deep into a character and become the character, where television moves so fast in a one-hour drama that it is very difficult to immerse yourself into a character.
