Morgan Freeman
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Notes
Not to be confused with film director Morgan J Freeman.
In 1993, Freeman was presented with the sixth annual William Shakespeare Award for Classical Theatre presented by The Shakespeare Theatre in recognition of a singular contribution that strengthens the tradition of classical theater in America.
Biography
By the time he was famous, it seemed as though actor Morgan Freeman already had a long and venerable career. While he worked hard for years in small basement productions in New York City and on public television's early morning kid's show "The Electric Company" (PBS, 1971-77) - which, to his chagrin, was his most widely-recognized role for many years - Freeman would not gain widespread exposure until he landed the Oscar-nominated role of the volatile pimp Fast Black in "Street Smart" (1987). Because of that performance, Freeman catapulted into national prominence, quickly becoming a household name and one of Hollywood's most distinguished performers. He was nominated again just two years later for his portrayal of Hoke Coleburn in "Driving Miss Daisy" (1989), a role reprised from a previous off-Broadway stint. A third nomination for "The Shawshank Redemption" (1994) further cemented Freeman's already esteemed image as a quality actor. Though it took another decade to actually win an Academy Award - his performance in Clint Eastwood's "Million Dollar Baby" (2004) finally earned him the golden statue - Freeman had by then firmly established himself as one of the finest and most revered performers of his generation. Other highly acclaimed roles would follow: he played Lucius Fox in Christopher Nolan's "Batman" trilogy, starting with "Batman Begins" in 2005. He also starred in Clint Eastwood's "Invictus" (2009), in which he played Nelson Mandela. Other projects included heist caper "Now You See Me" (2013) and its 2016 sequel, as well as a remake of "Ben Hur" (2016). He also began producing non-fiction programming for TV, including "The Story of Us with Morgan Freeman" (National Geographic Channel, 2017- ) and "The Story of God with Morgan Freeman" (National Geographic Channel, 2016- ), both of which he also hosted.
Born on June 1, 1937 in Memphis, TN, Freeman moved around with his family, making stops in Charleston, MS and Chicago, IL before finally settling in Greenwood, MS. Years spent watching countless movies - especially ones with horses and someone carrying a gun - prompted Freeman to want to be an actor. Encouraged by teachers at Greenwood High School from which he graduated in 1955, Freeman pursued acting only after attempting to become a fighter pilot in the Air Force. But since it was the mid-1950s, he encountered a military unwilling to allow blacks to fly. The only job available to him was radar mechanic. Though racism certainly discouraged Freeman from his dream, his realization that flying combat planes meant possibly killing others was the main reason he refocused his goals for good. After leaving the Air Force in 1961, he headed to Los Angeles, CA where he enrolled at Los Angeles City College and began his career in earnest.
At LACC, Freeman developed his signature mellifluous vocal tone with the help of diction lessons. Meanwhile, he accepted whatever job came his way, including dancer at the 1962 World's Fair in Seattle. Back in New York, he gained his first major exposure in 1967 in an off-Broadway production of George Tabori's "The Niggerlovers," followed by a stint as Rudolph in an all-black version of "Hello, Dolly!" But the parts in those days were few and far between for Freeman - a lack of extensive connections forced him to ping-pong from coast to coast in search of roles and various odd jobs. In 1971, Freeman became Easy Reader on "The Electric Company" - a cool and hip (for back then) reading guru who performed song and dance numbers to teach kids to read. Despite anticipating only doing the show for a couple years, Freeman managed to stick around for six. He returned to the stage after "The Electric Company," winning critical acclaim and several awards - including a Drama Desk Award and the Clarence Derwent Award - for his performance as the rebellious wino Zeke in "The Mighty Gents" in 1978. He also received a Tony Award nomination for the same role.
Despite the widespread acclaim, "The Mighty Gents" closed after only one week. He regained his stride with his next performance, earning considerable acclaim and an Obie Award for his outstanding turn as The Bard's exiled Roman general Coriolanus at the New York Shakespeare Festival. He won another Obie - this time for "Mother Courage" - but quickly found himself in the midst of a two year dry spell brought about by his reputation at the time for being difficult to work with. But he emerged in 1984 with another Obie-winning performance, playing The Messenger in Lee Breuer's "Gospel at Colonus" at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. The same role earned him a Dramalogue Award in 1985. Yet another Obie was added to his trophy shelf with a tour-de-force performance as Hoke Colburn in the staged version of "Driving Miss Daisy," a role he would revive two years later in Bruce Beresford's Oscar-winning film.
Though he made his big screen debut in "Who Says I Can't Ride a Rainbow?" (1971), Freeman was absent from movies for another nine years when he played a crazed inmate in the prison drama, "Brubaker" (1980), a role praised by famed New Yorker critic Pauline Kael. While excelling on stage, Freeman languished in routine roles in mediocre movies, including "Teachers" (1985) and "MARIE: A True Story" (1985). But his first Oscar nominated performance in "Street Smart" permanently changed his fortunes. After getting a second Oscar nomination with his reprisal of Hoke Colburn in "Driving Miss Daisy" (1989), Freeman gave a standout performance in "Glory" (1989), the heart wrenching saga of the first unit of black soldiers to serve for the United States during the Civil War. He followed with a forgettable appearance as the sympathetic Judge White in "The Bonfire of the Vanities" (1990), before returning to form with a solid turn as the mysterious, but loyal Moor Azeem in "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" (1991). Already a venerable actor of considerable heft, Freeman had yet to reach his zenith.
Most often cast in supporting roles, Freeman routinely outshined his leading co-stars, as was the case in "Unforgiven" (1992), the Oscar-winning anti-Western directed by old friend Clint Eastwood. Freeman played Ned Logan, former gunslinger-gone-straight who is convinced by a former outlaw (Eastwood) to help right the wrong done to a prostitute. Freeman's roles in both "Unforgiven" and "Robin Hood" allowed Freeman opportunity to play characters not typically conceived as black; a trend he continued when playing the roles of President of the United States and God later in his career. Meanwhile, Freeman made his directorial debut with the story of a black South African policeman and his son divided by apartheid in "Bopha!" (1993) - the strain and stress of which made him vow to never direct again. In 1994, Freeman earned a third Oscar nomination for his portrayal of Red, a man serving a life sentence in prison who can access everything on the inside except hope, in the moving drama "The Shawshank Redemption."
As Freeman earned considerable prestige and respect, he was able to shake off years of struggle, though never his playing Easy Reader on "The Electric Company." He received more praise for his role as a world-weary cop tracking a serial killer with novice partner (Brad Pitt) in "Seven" (1995). Freeman then appeared as the mysterious Hibble - a character not in the original novel - in the screen adaptation of "Moll Flanders" (1996), then as the enigmatic benefactor of a university's research project in "Chain Reaction" (1996). The following year, Freeman had the rare opportunity to headline a film, playing police detective and psychologist Alex Cross in the above-average thriller "Kiss the Girls" (1997). Meanwhile, Steven Spielberg utilized the actor's innate moral rectitude for the role of an former slave turned abolitionist in "Amistad" (1997), while director Mimi Leder saw him as the perfect figure to lend dignity and leadership to a world in crisis as the U.S. President coping with an impending meteor crash in "Deep Impact" (1998).
Freeman added a producer credit to his resume with the based-on-fact television drama "Mutiny" (NBC, 1999), which detailed the behind-the-scenes actions that led to the landmark decision to integrate the U.S. military. Both Freeman and actor Gene Hackman served double duty as co-producers and co-stars in the cat and mouse drama "Under Suspicion" (2000), a remake of the French thriller "Garde a Vue" (1982). Later that year, Freeman offered a splendid performance as a hit man who obsesses over the woman (Rene Zellweger) he has targeted to kill in "Nurse Betty," one of the most affecting and offbeat roles of his career. Following his reprise of detective Alex Cross in the prequel "Along Came a Spider" (2001) opposite Monica Potter, the actor rejoined "Kiss the Girls" co-star Ashley Judd in the middlebrow thriller "High Crimes" (2002), then played the director of the CIA in "The Sum of All Fears" (2002). Freeman turned in an otherwise effective performance as the mentor to a young Jack Ryan (Ben Affleck) in a disappointingly lackluster adaptation of the Tom Clancy bestseller.
The following year, Freeman turned in an unusually exaggerated performance as an obsessive alien-fighting military officer in the supernatural thriller "Dreamcatcher" (2003), an artistic and critical disaster based on the novel by Stephen King. The actor was next seen as a genial God in the hit comedy "Bruce Almighty," starring Jim Carrey (2003), then as a Hawaiian lawman in the meandering Elmore Leonard-derived caper "The Big Bounce" (2004). Freeman next appeared in the critically acclaimed "Million Dollar Baby" (2004), an exquisite and subtle film directed by old friend Clint Eastwood. As Scraps, an aged boxer full of frustration and regret and blind in one eye, Freeman gave a fine performance that earned him a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor, his first since "The Shawshank Redemption." The actor won at the Screen Actors Guild, and on his fourth go-round at the Oscars Freeman at last claimed the Best Supporting Actor trophy at the Academy Awards.
Never one to rest on his laurels, Freeman maintained a steady output of work after his Oscar win. He followed up with an appearance in "Unleashed" (2005) as a blind piano tuner who helps a trained fighter (Jet Li) escaped from the confines of his trainer's prison basement to start a new life. The combination of martial arts and blunt sentimentality earned the action thriller plenty of critical kudos. The venerable actor thrilled comic book fans when he winningly played Bruce Wayne's right-hand man Lucius Fox - the "Q"-like character with the keys to all of the Dark Knight's exotic, high-tech tools - in "Batman Begins" (2005), a prequel to the popular film franchise that focused on the superhero's shadowy origins. He also lent his gravitas-heavy vocals to narrate a pair of disparate projects: "March of the Penguins" (2005), the Americanized version of the p tic French nature documentary "La Marche de L'empereur," and Steven Spielberg's riveting remake of the sci-fi classic "War of the Worlds" (2005). Freeman's next release, director Lasse Hallstrom's long-delayed "An Unfinished Life" (2005), cast the actor in a role that ech d his "Million Dollar Baby" turn despite being filmed first, playing the plain-spoken best friend of a cantankerous rancher (Robert Redford).
Though he made his career as the upholder of moral authority and dignified voice of reason in most of his roles, Freeman did break form to play the occasional villain. In "Lucky Number Slevin" (2006), a post-Tarantino thriller about a case of mistaken identity, Freeman was a New York City crime boss waging war against his cross-street rival (Ben Kingsley) while trying to get an innocent man (Josh Hartnett) new to the Big Apple to pay up on an outstanding debt. After serving as executive producer and starring in "10 Items or Less" (2007), a bittersweet comedy about an aging Hollywood icon who forms an unlikely friendship with a caustic checkout clerk (Paz Vega), Freeman revisited his role as the Man Upstairs in "Evan Almighty" (2007).
Meanwhile, Freeman reprised Lucius Fox for the highly anticipated follow up, "The Dark Knight" (2008), which opened to rave reviews and record-breaking box office. While reveling in the commercial and artistic success of "The Dark Knight," Freeman suffered a near-tragic event when he was involved in a car accident near his home in Mississippi. Freeman was driving down a rural highway, where it left the road, flipped several times and landed in a ditch. Though he was lucid - talking to and joking with rescue workers - Freeman and his passenger Demaris Meyer were pried from the vehicle with the jaws of life. The actor was then airlifted to Regional Medical Center in Memphis, TN, where he was listed in serious condition. Just days after the accident, Freeman's business partner told "Access Hollywood" (Syndicated, 1996- ) that the actor and his wife, costumer Myrna Colley-Lee, were in the midst of divorce proceedings and had been separated since December 2007. At the hospital, Freeman had surgery to reconnect nerves in his left arm and hand, and was reportedly doing well. Returning to work, Freeman bounced back nicely with his next film, "Invictus" (2009), directed by old friend Clint Eastwood. He played South African president Nelson Mandela, who joins forces with white rugby star, Francois Pienaar (Matt Damon), to inspire a subpar team to win the 1995 Rugby World Cup and unite a fractured nation. Freeman's stirring portrayal of Mandela earned him nominations at the Golden Globes, Screen Actors Guild and Academy Awards for Best Actor.
The following year, Freeman joined the cast of fellow veteran actors playing retired secret operatives, including Bruce Willis and Helen Mirren, for the hit action movie "Red" (2010), and he also indulged his scientific curiosities by narrating the TV series "Through the Wormhole" (Science, 2010- ). After appearing in the sunny, uplifting movies "Dolphin Tale" (2011) and "The Magic of Belle Isle" (2012), Freeman returned to the role of Lucius Fox for the third and final time in "The Dark Knight Rises" (2012), which proved to be another huge success and a fitting close to the series. Numerous Freeman projects saw the light of day in 2013, including the sci-fi film "Oblivion," starring Tom Cruise, and "Last Vegas," a comedy co-starring Robert De Niro and Michael Douglas, but most notable was the heist caper "Now You See Me," featuring Mark Ruffalo and Jesse Eisenberg, which proved to be a surprise blockbuster.
Filmography
Director (Feature Film)
Cast (Feature Film)
Producer (Feature Film)
Music (Feature Film)
Cast (Special)
Cast (TV Mini-Series)
Misc. Crew (TV Mini-Series)
Life Events
1965
Worked as an extra on the feature film "The Pawnbroker"
1967
Made off-Broadway debut as Creampuff opposite Viveca Lindfors in "The Niggerlovers"
1967
Broadway debut, played Rudolph in all-black production of "Hello, Dolly!" with Pearl Bailey and Cab Calloway at the St James Theatre
1970
Played the title role in "Purlie!" when it was staged by the American National Theater Academy in New York
1971
Played Easy Reader on TV's "The Electric Company" (PBS)
1971
Made film acting debut as Afro in "Who Says I Can't Ride a Rainbow?"
1978
Had featured role in the Broadway play "The Mighty Gents"; received rave reviews and a Tony nomination, but play closed after nine performances
1978
Acted in the ABC miniseries "Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry"
1980
Appeared in support of Robert Redford in "Brubaker"
1980
Co-starred in the ABC movie "Attica"
1984
Originated role of the Messenger in the off-Broadway staging of "The Gospel at Colonus"; reprised role in the 1985 PBS TV adaptation
1985
Had featured role in the CBS miniseries "The Atlanta Child Murders"
1986
Originated role of the black chauffeur hired to take around an elderly Jewish woman in the Pulitzer-winning, off-Broadway hit "Driving Miss Daisy"
1987
Earned a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for turn as the pimp Fast Black in "Street Smart"
1989
Cast in first starring film role, as New Jersey high school principal Joe Clark in "Lean on Me"
1989
Reprised the role of chaffeur Hoke, opposite Jessica Tandy in "Driving Miss Daisy," the film version of the award-winning play; received Best Actor Academy Award nomination
1989
Co-starred as a Union soldier in an all-black unit in "Glory"
1990
Cast as the Judge in "Bonfire of the Vanities," Brian De Palma's screen version of Tom Wolfe's novel
1991
Portrayed Azeem the Moor, friend to the title character in "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves"
1992
Cast opposite Clint Eastwood's gunslinger William Munny in the Oscar-winning Best Picture "Unforgiven"
1993
Made feature directorial debut with "Bopha!"
1994
Earned second Best Actor Oscar nomination as inmate Ellis 'Red' Redding in "The Shawshank Redemption"; film was adapted from a short story by Stephen King
1995
Co-starred with Brad Pitt as homicide detectives in David Fincher's "Se7en"
1996
Played the enigmatic project head in "Chain Reaction"
1996
Formed Revelations Entertainment with Lori McCreary
1997
Tapped by Steven Spielberg to portray an abolitionist in "Amistad"
1997
Portrayed police detective Alex Cross in "Kiss the Girls"; film based on James Patterson's novel; Ashley Judd co-starred
1998
Portrayed the U.S. President coping the imminent destruction of Earth by an oncoming meteor in "Deep Impact"
1999
Made debut as an executive producer with the NBC TV-movie "Mutiny," based on the real-life Port Chicago Mutiny
2000
With Gene Hackman, co-executive produced and co-starred in "Under Suspicion"
2001
Reprised role of Alex Cross in "Along Came a Spider"
2002
Portrayed the director of the CIA in "The Sum of All Fears"; adapted from the Tom Clancy best-seller
2002
Reteamed with Ashley Judd in "High Crimes"
2003
Played God in the feature "Bruce Almighty"
2003
Starred as the villain in "The Dreamcatcher"; adapted from a Stephen King novel
2004
Co-starred with Owen Wilson in "The Big Bounce"
2004
Cast as Eddie Scrap-Iron Dupris opposite Hilary Swank in "Million Dollar Baby"; directed by Clint Eastwood who also co-starred
2005
Cast as Wayne Enterprises inventor Lucius Fox opposite Christian Bale's Bruce Wayne/Batman in Christopher Nolan's "Batman Begins"
2006
Played 'The Boss' opposite Josh Hartnett in the thriller "Lucky Number Slevin"
2006
Cast as a nameless actor in Brad Silberling's low-budget feature "10 Items or Less"
2007
Reprised his role as God in "Evan Almighty," the sequel to "Bruce Almighty" starring Steve Carell in the lead role
2007
Played a Boston Police Chief in Ben Affleck's feature directing debut "Gone, Baby, Gone"
2008
Returned to Broadway in a Mike Nichols directed revival of Clifford Odets's play "The Country Girl"
2008
Cast as an assassin in the comic book adaptation "Wanted"
2008
Reprised role of Lucius Fox opposite Christian Bale in the Nolan directed sequel "The Dark Knight"
2009
Portrayed former South African President Nelson Mandela in Clint Eastwood's "Invictus," about the 1995 Rugby World Cup in South Africa
2010
Co-starred with Bruce Willis in "Red," an adaption of the comic book mini-series of the same name
2011
Narrated the fantasy action feature "Conan the Barbarian," starring Jason Momoa in the title role
2011
Co-starred with Harry Connick Jr. and Ashley Judd in the family drama "Dolphin Tale"
2012
Reprised role of Lucius Fox in Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight Rises"
2013
Featured in the sci-fi movie "Oblivion"
2013
Appeared in the crime caper "Now You See Me"
2013
Starred in "Last Vegas" with Robert De Niro and Michael Douglas
2013
Played the Speaker of the House in action thriller "Olympus Has Fallen"
2014
Appeared opposite Diane Keaton in New York apartment-hunting drama "5 Flights Up"
2015
Played Patrick Meighan in Ted 2
2016
Reprised his role from "Olympus Has Fallen" for the sequel "London Has Fallen"
2016
Reprised role of Thaddeus Bradley in "Now You See Me 2"
2018
Narrated the historical adventure "Alpha"
2018
Played Drosselmeyer in Disney's "The Nutcracker and the Four Realms"
Videos
Movie Clip
Trailer
Family
Companions
Bibliography
Notes
Not to be confused with film director Morgan J Freeman.
In 1993, Freeman was presented with the sixth annual William Shakespeare Award for Classical Theatre presented by The Shakespeare Theatre in recognition of a singular contribution that strengthens the tradition of classical theater in America.
In September 2000, announced plans to open the restaurant Mididi in Clarksdale, Mississippi.
"I've always been a ladies' man. A momma's boy. I grew up among women and always had better relationships with them."---Morgan Freeman quoted in The Daily Telegraph, January 2, 2001.
"Those career-move actors are looking for something else... stardom," says Freeman. "People say to me these days, 'Well, now that you can pick and choose,' hey, you can ALWAYS choose. There's always a choice, and for that, life exacts a payment. You pay it up front or afterward. Those who seem not to have to pay are not to be envied. A lot of them die off because there's nothing controlling them from the danger of believing their own press. They're thinking about matinee-idol things, a level to which I've never aspired. I don't want to have a look. I prefer to be unrecognizable. I'd like to be able to walk past an audience when I walk out."---From Premiere, December 1989.
"So he [Freeman] said, 'Let's pick something from the Bible. How about Genesis?' But we figured there's a band, there's a game, there are too many things called Genesis. So we went to the other end of the Bible, the book of Revelations. The name is a play on words for us, because we want to do movies that are revelatory."--- Lori McCreary on how they came up with a name for their (Morgan Freeman) company to TV Guide, 2002.
"... in my 20 years in the theater I never got to see myself except through the reaction of the audience, so I was under the impression that I was really hot shit. But the minute you actually see yourself, the bubble is burst forever."---Freeman quoted in Premiere April 2003.
"You've got five really outstanding works, so why would four of them turn out to be losers? That's how the press looks at it, that's how they refer to it. Okay, fine. I think the biggest thing you can get is the nomination for an Academy Award. After that, it's just arbitrary."---Freeman on getting his fourth nomination for "Million Dollar Baby" to Venice magazine, February 2005.
