Lamorne Morris wasn't going to be Winston forever.
The actor, who starred on Fox's New Girl as fan favorite Winston for seven seasons, is getting his due for playing Keef on Hulu's Woke—it just took a little time.
"I think the cool thing about it is that folks are becoming aware of the show more," Morris told E! News. "A lot of folks are going back to watch the first season, which is just awesome. People who didn't know it existed are now talking about it."
In fact, Morris says people who look like him are now being called "Keef" instead of "Winston" in public.
On Woke, Morris stars as cartoonist Keef Knight, based on the real-life cartoonist Keith Knight. The show's second season, premiering April 8 on Hulu, finds Keef at a difficult crossroads: What to do when you've finally found your voice?
"That is the age old question with anything that we do. 'What are you going do now?'" Morris pondered. "You know, sometimes you have this goal, you have these aspirations, and then you get there and you go, 'Is this it? Or am I supposed to do more with it?' I think there's always a social responsibility. With him, that is his primary focus."
At the end of season one, Keef stood up to the white police officer who assaulted him in the show's premiere episode. The second season finds him trying—and sometimes failing—to take on a life of political activism.
"Does he know how to do it? Does he does he know what he's talking about? A lot of times with folks, the answer is no," Morris told E! News. "With Keef, that could be the answer, too. You don't have to have it all figured out. A lot of times folks think they do. People love to be social justice warriors."
However, Morris argues, there's beauty to be found in that process.
"I wanted to see him squirm. I love the idea that he doesn't have it figured out. I wanted to play that," Morris said. "What happens when you do have some money? Are you going to be the same person? When you watch the show, you see him go through this crazy up and down, this crazy rollercoaster."
Woke—which also stars Sasheer Zamata, Blake Anderson and Aimee Garcia—is not afraid to ask the hard questions, both about the show's characters and society.
Keef is "driven to do something great, but it's the total wrong thing at times. I love that. It's not a very linear journey in life," Morris shared. "We do this a lot. We go backwards a lot. You have to figure out where you went wrong and then come back. Life is a constant transition. In season two, you'll see that."
All eight episodes of the second season of Woke are streaming on Hulu now.