Nicole Beharie on The Morning Show: Embracing both Vulnerability, and Power

When Nicole Beharie joined the third season of Apple TV+’s The Morning Show as Chris Hunter,n a former Olympic athlete turned morning news anchor, she entered a world where personal truth and public image are constantly at oddsBeharie opened up about the evolution of her character, her creative process, and how she approached some of the show’s most emotional and controversial storylines.

Beharie shared, played a pivotal role in her preparation, connecting her with none other than Gayle King. “Gayle talked a lot about how it’s a privilege to do this kind of work,” Beharie recalled. “To be part of history as it’s being made, and to share that with the community.” That insight helped her ground Chris’s composure and grace amid the chaos of The Morning Show’s newsroom.

“She’s not someone who can just switch off her emotions,” Beharie explained. “Chris brings a sense of color and sincerity where others might be more guarded. She’s still learning how to navigate that balance between the public and private self.”

One of the defining aspects of Chris is her athletic past, a trait that mirrors Beharie’s own disciplined approach to her craft. “Athletes work their entire lives for just a few seconds that really count,” she said. “That mindset of preparation, focus, and resilience was something I tried to carry into Chris. It’s about honoring the privilege of the moment.”

Filming during the Olympics during this season only deepened that connection. “We were watching the Games in real time as we shot,” Beharie laughed. “It was almost like life imitating art.”

Coming into the new season, Beharie said both she and Chris returned with more confidence but also more complexity. “Chris comes back a rock star,” she said. “She’s got a Barbie doll, she’s planning the Olympics coverage, it’s a dream come true. But it’s also misleading, because this season gets pretty grimy and sticky for her.”

Beharie praised the writing’s nuance. “Every character has so much to do, and Chris is more complicated than people might expect. She’s forced to confront the very image she’s built for herself.”

In one of the season’s most powerful arcs, Chris faces social media backlash and public scrutiny unlike anything before. “It hits her much harder this time,” Beharie said. “She’s questioning her priorities and whether being so public, after everything she’s gone through, still makes sense for her.”

That inner reckoning becomes deeply personal when Chris publicly discusses a painful miscarriage. “I spoke to women I know, friends who had gone through it,” Beharie shared. “It’s something so many people experience and then go to work on Monday like nothing happened. I wanted to honor that truth and let Chris’s mask slip for a moment to show her remembering what it’s like to want something so badly and lose it.”

Throughout The Morning Show, Chris maintains a polished exterior down to the sweater she wears on air. “Everything about her is calculated,” Beharie said. “It’s her armor. But when something goes wrong, that’s devastating. She’s built a brand that she can’t fully live inside.” Beharie likens that duality to the life of a dancer. “They look effortless on stage, but when they take off their shoes, their feet are bruised and bloody. That’s Chris. She looks like she’s gliding through life, but underneath, it’s been hard.”

Beharie’s performance stands out for its emotional honesty. “Ultimately,” she said, “it’s about finding grace in imperfection about what happens when the person you’ve built meets the person you actually are.”

Wath the conversation below:

Q&A on the Apple TV+ series The Morning Show with actor Nicole Beharie. Moderated by Mara Webster, In Creative Company.