Actor Morris Chestnut was born on January 1, 1969 in Cerritos, California. He graduated from California State University–Northridge, where he took up finance and drama. He initially wanted to play professional football, but later gave it up to pursue an acting career. He made his debut in an episode of Freddy’s Nightmares in 1990; a year later, he made an impressive film debut as promising athlete Ricky Baker in Boyz N the Hood. The film earned much critical praise, including two Oscar nominations.
Chestnut continued appearing on a handful of films, mostly action flicks such as G.I. Jane and Under Siege 2: Dark Territory. He also took on several regular television roles, first in the short-lived sitcom Out All Night in 1992, and later in the action series C-16: FBI. Most of his later credits centered in films such as The Brothers, Like Mike, Confidence, Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid, The Game Plan and The Perfect Holiday.
In 2009, Chestnut was cast in ABC's V, a re-imagining of the 1983 miniseries created by Kenneth Johnson. On the series, he plays Ryan Nichols, a Visitor posing as human who tries to undermine the insidious plans of the Visitors.