A small role on A Different World helped Morris Chestnut realize he wanted to pursue acting as a career.
During the October 13 episode of the “R&B Money” podcast, the actor, 57, looked back on auditioning for the sitcom early in his career. The series ran for six seasons from 1987 to 1993 and featured stars including Jasmine Guy and Kadeem Hardison.
Chestnut recalled how a few classmates helped him get his foot in the door.
“So I had a couple of dudes from my acting class say, ‘Hey, let’s try this.’ We started going out, trying to get agents and stuff. So I got an agent — and here’s when I knew this was what I wanted to do. He was sending me out for stuff, and so I went to an audition for A Different World,” he said.
The part was relatively small. Chestnut said he was supposed to stand behind a counter serving food and greet students who approached him. “So I did that in the audition. I smiled and said hi, and so that was it,” he explained.
His agent called a few days later to tell him he’d gotten the role, but Chestnut was especially surprised when he learned the weekly rate.
“They said, ‘If you do the job, it’s going to pay $1500 per week’ — and all I heard was 1500. I said, ‘How much?’ He said, ‘I said $1500 per week. You get this, you get that.’ So I start doing my math and I’m like, ‘Wait a minute, so if I’m saying hi for $1500, what is Dwayne Wayne getting? What is Whitley Gilbert getting?’”
Despite booking the part, Chestnut’s scene was cut before the episode aired. That didn’t stop him from trying out for other parts on A Different World.
“I remember there were a couple times when I did go back to A Different World and I’ll never forget, when I went to this audition Martin [Lawrence] wasn’t Martin yet but he was there at the audition and he was in outside — everyone’s got their papers outside — and of course he’s holding court with all the comedy and everything,” he recalled.
“There were [a few] roles on A Different World that I didn’t get. There were a lot of roles that I didn’t get,” he concluded.
Chestnut isn’t the only actor to share what they earned on the sitcom. Guy discussed her salary during a 2022 appearance on Ryan Cameron‘s “Uncensored” podcast.
“We didn’t own it, you know. I didn’t have any position to ask for nothing. I was like, ‘I’m making $6,000. I’d never seen that,” she said.
Guy explained that she initially signed a limited contract for seven episodes, alongside Hardison, and earned $6,000 a week.
“When I first got to A Different World, I had a contract, and I got $6,000 a week, and I had a limited contract for seven episodes, me and Kadeem. So when we came on to the show, by episode 6, he was like, ‘What do you think?’ I was like, ‘I don’t know. I didn’t give up my apartment.’”