Zooey Deschanel says it’s impossible to think about it New girl without Lamorne Morris, but there was a minute when he could not play with Winston Bishop.
During a recent appearance at The Zach Sang ShowDeschanel said she and her co-stars had to “fight” to bring the now Emmy Award-winning actor to the comedy. Morris originally auditioned for the role of Coach (played by Damon Wayans Jr.). Once the role of Winston, a former basketball player and Nick’s childhood friend, was created, Deschanel knew they already had their man.
“What about Lamorne? This guy is so good,” Deschanel recalls saying after reading the role of Winston with “so many” guys. “Jake loved him. Max loved him. They all knew him because they all auditioned together originally.”
He was the one that “everyone was like, oh, I don’t know,” Deschanel continued. “So we kind of did it where I wrote to the heads of the studio and the channel. Everyone wrote to someone else. So we all said, ‘Just to put my two cents in, you know… we think Lamorne is the best, best, best for this character, and (would) be such a great addition.’ I thought, I don’t see anyone else playing this role.”
Created by Elizabeth Meriwether, New girl aired from 2011 to 2018 on Fox and starred Deschanel, Morris, Jake Johnson, Max Greenfield and Hannah Simone. In 2024, Morris won an Emmy Award for his role as Deputy Whitt Farr on the FX series. Fargo.