Zooey Deschanel says it’s impossible to think of New Girl without Lamorne Morris but there was a minute when he wasn’t a lock to play Winston Bishop.

During a recent appearance on the Zach Sang Show, Deschanel said she and her fellow castmates had to “fight” to get the now Emmy-winning actor on the comedy. Morris had initially auditioned for the role of Coach (played by Damon Wayans Jr.). Once the part of Winston, a former basketball player who was a childhood friend of Nick’s, was created, Deschanel knew they already had their man.

“What about Lamorne? That guy is so good,” Deschanel remembers saying after reading with “so many” guys for the role of Winston. “Jake loved him. Max loved him. They all knew him because they had all been in the audition process together originally.”

He was the one that “everybody was like, oh, I don’t know,” continued Deschanel. “So we kind of did this thing where I wrote to the heads of the studio and the network. Everyone was writing to somebody different. 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. I was like, I can’t see anyone else playing this part.”

Created by Elizabeth Meriwether, New Girl aired from 2011 to 2018 on Fox and starred Deschanel, Morris, Jake Johnson, Max Greenfield and Hannah Simone. In 2024, Morris won an Emmy for playing Deputy Witt Farr on FX’s Fargo.