When Lamorne Morris got the call from “Fargo” showrunner Noah Hawley offering him a leading role in Season 5, he was confused at first. “You want Winston in this?” he recalls thinking, referring to the character he played for seven seasons on Fox’s eminently bingeable “New Girl,” sensitive prankster and cat lover Winston Bishop.

For the audience to connect with “Fargo” character deputy Witt Farr, Hawley knew he needed somebody with Morris's rare skill for communicating simple human kindness. The role has now earned Morris his first Emmy Award nomination. During our "Salon Talks" conversation, Morris called the new recognition "a blessing" and explained how he naturally folded comedy into performing with his co-stars.

The actor once dubbed “sweetest man alive" by Edible Arrangements told me about the enduring impact of Winston, filling in for Jimmy Kimmel the night President Biden dropped out of the 2024 race, and the surprising truth about his real deal with cats.

Watch my "Salon Talks" with Lamorne Morris here on YouTube or read our conversation below.

This transcript has been edited for clarity and length.

Let's start with “Fargo.” You were a fan, and you were watching it when you got the call about being on the show?

Yeah. In my phone, I had a list of shows to watch. “Fargo” was at the top of that list. I think I was on season three when I got the call. So I started watching everything, I was like, maybe I'll get calls about all kinds of shows, maybe they’ll put me on “Game of Thrones.”

When I got the call, it was very surreal because it wasn't an audition. It was an offer, and the director Noah Hawley wanted to meet with me. I've never been more grateful, because it's such a departure from anything you'd seen me do prior to that. “New Girl” was a bit more comical and whimsical, and “Woke,” and some of the movies. But this one, the stakes are a lot higher, it's a bit more grounded, it's dramatic. So when I got that call, I was so confused. I kept asking him, "Do you want Winston in this? Do you want this to be a 'New Girl'-y thing?"

"I'm looking for the day that somebody hires me to play a villain"

He said, "No, it is your interpretation of the script and the character, and I want your kindness to show through." He's like, "That's what we need from this character, and we need someone who's just genuinely kind." I was like, "Oh, thank you very much. I appreciate that." So they gave me the job, and then here we are, Emmy-nominated, which is a blessing.

Well, the kindness is your thing. You've already won some accolades, you were Edible Arrangement's “Sweetest Man Alive.”

Thank you for saying so, that means a lot.

As a guy who is known for his sweet roles, do you ever just want to play an absolute monster?

I do. I'm looking for the day that somebody hires me to play a villain in a horror movie. I want to do that so bad. I think it would work, I know it would work. I'm just waiting for that call.

Your character, he's the heart of this season. Winston in “New Girl” became a policeman, and now you get to be an officer of the law again in “Fargo.” What did you bring from your life and your experience to this character?

Yeah, a lot. There were a lot of things in there to unpack. [For] the character itself, I had to look into my life and figure out folks that I know who may have behaved this way, or their personalities were centered the way Witt Farr's was. I tapped in with some family members, some friends who I know who are very soft-spoken, very driven. I definitely tapped into that. I'm from the Midwest, so I'm used to hearing the Minnesota accent. The heart of Chicago........

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