If there’s one thing that The Best Man Holiday proved, it’s that Morris Chestnut is still one of the biggest sex symbols in Hollywood. And though the hunky actor is well aware that he’s the stuff of fantasies for many fans, he also admits that he didn’t always see himself as attractive because of his dark skin.
In a recent interview with The Griot, Chestnut talked about his early struggles of being a dark-skinned actor in industry.
“When I was coming up, it was difficult. When I was first starting out many, many years ago, the gang genre was in. There was some type of skin issue to where they would see the darker-skinned actors for the gang members. The lighter-skinned actors were kinda always the good guys,” Chestnut revealed.
As his loyal fans know, Chestnut got his big break playing a doomed football player in the classic Boyz N the Hood, and although he didn’t play a gangster in the film, he still suffered the same lethal fate as one.
However, by the late ‘90s, Chestnut had gone from just a supporting cast member to playing hunks and heartthrobs in films. And according to Chestnut, he has pioneering black actor Wesley Snipes to thank for opening the doors for other dark-skinned actors.
“It wasn’t until, really, Wesley Snipes came and kinda just busted the mold open. He did play the gang member in New Jack City, but when he was in Mo’ Better Blues and he was on the balcony doing his thing, women started saying, ‘Hmmm. That’s kinda sexy.’ Wesley kinda ushered it in for us,” he said.
And just as Snipes opened the door for Chestnut, Chestnut has certainly opened the door for many dark-skinned actors behind him to not only find diverse roles in the industry but also be seen as beautiful and sexy as well. Although there’s still work to be done when it comes to colorism both on and off camera, Chestnut has definitely helped to bring some progress to film and TV.
Check out some other dark-skinned celebs who have struggled with their skin tone below. –nicholas robinson
