Zooey Deschanel has recalled the lengths she went to ensure Lamorne Morris was cast as Winston in New Girl.
Deschanel, 46, starred in the beloved seven-season sitcom as Jessica Day, a newly single school teacher who moves in with three single men: Nick (Jake Johnson), Schmidt (Max Greenfield) and Coach (Damon Wayans Jr.).
Appearing on a recent episode of the Zach Sang Show, the Elf star revealed that Morris, 42, had originally auditioned for the part of Coach, before it ultimately went to Wayans Jr., who was already known for his performance on Happy Endings.
Wayans Jr.’s time on New Girl, however, was short-lived once Happy Endings was renewed. Following the pilot episode, Coach was written out of the show. While Wayans Jr. later returned for a guest arc in seasons three and four and made occasional appearances in the remaining seasons, his departure paved the way for the character Winston.
Deschanel said she read scenes with several actors auditioning for the role, but Morris stood out.
“I was just like, ‘What about Lamorne? That guy’s so good. He’s so talented,’” Deschanel said, adding that Johnson and Greenfield were equally enthusiastic about Morris.
Rather than leaving the decision to chance, the 500 Days of Summer actor wrote the studio heads to advocate for Morris’s casting.
“I wrote to the heads of the studio and the network… Jake wrote… like, everyone was writing to somebody different,” Deschanel revealed. “So we were all like, ‘Just putting my two cents in, you know… we think Lamorne is the best, best, best for this character, and [would be] such a great addition.’”
Morris joined New Girl in the second episode of season one and remained a member of the main cast for the rest of the show’s run, which lasted from 2011 to 2018.
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He previously opened up about struggling with a bout of depression during production on the show’s iconic “Prince” episode.
“I just remember doing a scene, then going in my trailer and just crying for no reason,” Morris said on a 2024 episode of the Podcrushed podcast.
“Work was going great. Everybody was healthy in my family. It was like, ‘What am I complaining about?’” he said. “I didn’t know. I couldn’t pinpoint it to anything.”
It was only when Morris’s then-girlfriend helped him change his diet, cooked him healthy foods and made him “fresh juice in the morning” that Morris noticed his mood had “shifted.”
“Before I know it, those [depressive] days are over,” he said.
