Lamorne Morris: Before The Emmy, Before Spider-Noir
Episode notes
Before the Emmy. Before Spider-Noir. Before becoming Winston on New Girl… Lamorne Morris was fighting to survive in Hollywood.
In the premiere episode of No Matter What, It’s OK, Lamorne sits down with KY for an honest, hilarious, and inspiring conversation about growing up on Chicago’s South Side, navigating BET’s legendary New Faces era, struggling financially while chasing his dreams, and the unbelievable audition story that changed his life forever.
From culture shock in the suburbs and church plays that sparked his love for comedy, to working with Nicolas Cage on Spider-Noir and building one of television’s most beloved characters on New Girl, Lamorne opens up about perseverance, purpose, rejection, friendship, and trusting the process.
This is the side of success people rarely hear about.
00:00 Intro & Welcoming Lamorne Morris
00:45 Growing Up On Chicago’s South Side
02:00 Life At Home & Family Struggles
04:00 Everybody Wanted To Be Michael Jordan
05:30 Moving From Chicago To The Suburbs
07:10 The Lotion Story 😂
09:00 Discovering Bigger Possibilities
10:40 Realizing Basketball Wasn’t The Dream
12:15 When Lamorne Realized He Was Funny
14:30 Church Plays Changed Everything
17:00 Discovering Acting & Comedy
19:30 Second City & Learning The Craft
22:00 Getting Sent To Detention For Comedy
24:00 How Lamorne Found His Purpose
26:30 BET’s Legendary New Faces Competition
29:00 Meeting Terrence J, Roxy & Future Stars
31:45 The BET Audition Stories
34:00 Being Sick During The Entire Competition
36:30 Getting Picked By BET
39:00 Spring Bling, Hosting & Early Fame
42:00 The Reality Of BET Salaries
44:30 Looking Successful While Broke
47:00 Moving To New York & Struggling Financially
49:30 How Commercials Paid More Than TV
51:30 The Real Hollywood Grind
54:00 How Lamorne Morris REALLY Got Cast On New Girl
57:00 The Phone Call That Changed Everything
59:30 Why Winston Was Created
1:02:00 Working With Nicolas Cage On Spider-Noir
1:05:00 Why Spider-Noir Is Unlike Any Spider-Man Project
1:07:00 Final Thoughts & Closing Conversation