Morris Chestnut isn’t one to show his emotions — unless it’s for a character.

Sitting down to chat with PEOPLE for One Last Thing, the actor, 56, had to think when asked about the last time he was moved to tears. “I don’t cry,” he says. “The last time was in 2019 when my father passed away. I just don’t like people to see me in that state unless it’s for a role.”

Chestnut insists he has always been that way. “Yeah, I just always held certain feelings [in] and I just have never really been a crier,” he explains. “Just being a father and the head of the household. There may have been moments where I felt like letting it go, but I would just suck it up and do what I got to do.”

In fact, Chestnut has been able to release — and channel — any pent-up emotion through his acting. “I think what’s helped me throughout the years is crying for a character because it’s not like I held things in for decades,” he says. “I’ve cried. Crying in movies. I think me holding it in, for as long as you do take after take, after take, I always had that resource.”

Chestnut, who plays Dr. John Watson on CBS’ new medical drama Watson, shared more of his “lasts” with the magazine:

Last DIY project
I don’t do DIY. When I was a child, I used to cut people’s grass. My father would do it for extra money, and I’d say, “I want to get a job where I don’t have to do this again.” It’s a little trigger for me.  

Last moment of bliss
Probably a few weeks ago. My wife [Pam] doesn’t like to travel with me because she’s afraid of flying. But she agreed to go, and we had dinner — and then the [Philadelphia] Eagles won [the Super Bowl]. 

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Last moment of nostalgia
I was driving around Beverly Hills and saw this building that was a corner restaurant where I had at least four meetings when I was just starting out. It was vacant, and the sign wasn’t even there. That one took me back 20 years.

Last time I danced
I did a little move when I was in the gym, but no one saw; I was in the corner. It was prompted by music. Well, someone probably did see me, but I was just feeling it.  

Watson airs Sundays on CBS at 9 p.m. ET/PT.