How does Mrs. Chestnut find the humor in her husband snuggling up to the iconic Halle Berry as well as other beautiful co-stars like Gabrielle Union and Taraji P. Henson? “My wife knows that she’s number one,” he says seriously. “And this is just work. They are beautiful people and they’re beautiful women, some of them inside and out, but I just definitely keep it professional,” he says, ending any speculation.
Intrigued by the script as well as the chance to work with Berry, Chestnut explains that The Call focuses on a 911 call center. “The movie used to be called ’The Hive’ and the Hive is basically the call center for 911 calls and, whenever you place a 911 call, it goes to one central location and basically she’s a 911 operator,” he says. “She gets a call about a child abduction and finds out that there’s a murderer on the loose and I play her boyfriend who is a police officer. While she’s stuck in the call center, I’m out on the road pursuing the murderer.”
In preparation for the role, Chestnut actually did a ride along with the notorious LAPD. “It was really kind of interesting,” he shares. “We stumbled upon an attempted murder, a domestic situation where a woman tried to kill her husband. We were the first on the scene.”
He admits that seeing that side of the LAPD made him a little more sympathetic toward the officers during the Christopher Dorner rampage. “I can definitely relate to some of these officers because he knew where they would be. If they were trying to pursue him, he knew how they would try to pursue him. One of the veterans and a rookie he just stumbled upon, ambushed and shot them. He probably knew where they would be resting and taking a break.”
