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Morgan Freeman (born June 1, 1937) is an Academy Award, Golden Globe, and Screen Actors Guild Award winning American actor, film director, and film narrator. Noted for his reserved demeanor and authoritative speaking voice, Freeman has become one of Hollywood's most popular and respected actors. 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 – 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. Freeman was born in Memphis, Tennessee, the son of Mayme Edna (née Revere), a cleaner, and Morgan Porterfield Freeman, Sr., a barber who died in 1961 from liver cirrhosis. He was sent as an infant to his paternal grandmother in Charleston, Mississippi. He has three older siblings. Freeman's family moved frequently during his childhood, living in Greenwood, Mississippi, Gary, Indiana, and finally Chicago, Illinois. Freeman made his acting debut at age eight, playing the lead role in a school play. At age twelve, he won a statewide drama competition, and while in high school performed in a radio show based in Nashville, Tennessee. In 1955, he turned down a partial drama scholarship from Jackson State University, opting to work as a mechanic in the United States Air Force. 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. Freeman moved to Los Angeles in the early 1960s and worked as a transcript clerk at Los Angeles Community College. During this period, he also lived in New York City, working as a dancer at the 1964 World's Fair, and in San Francisco, where he was a member of the Opera Ring music group. Freeman acted in a touring company version of The Royal Hunt of the Sun, and also appeared as an extra in the 1965 film, The Pawnbroker. He made his off-Broadway debut in 1967, opposite Viveca Lindfors in The Nigger Lovers (about the civil-rights era "Freedom Riders"), before debuting on Broadway in 1968's all-black version of Hello, Dolly!, which also starred Pearl Bailey and Cab Calloway. Although his first credited film appearance was in 1971's Who Says I Can't Ride a Rainbow?, Freeman first became known in the American media through roles on the soap opera Another World and the PBS kids' show The Electric Company, (notably as Easy Reader and Vincent the Vegetable Vampire) which he claimed he should have left earlier than he did. It was my idea to just do The Electric Company for a couple of years and go on. But, you get trapped by that money thing. It's golden handcuffs. It gets a lot of people, including soap opera actors and commercial actors. Then, they don't want to see you in serious work. That was going to be me, having people come up to me saying "My kids love you!". I was there three years too long. Beginning in the mid-1980s, Freeman began playing prominent supporting roles in many feature films, earning him a reputation for depicting wise and fatherly characters. As he gained fame, he went on to bigger roles in films such as the chauffeur Hoke in Driving Miss Daisy, and Sergeant Major Rawlins in Glory (both in 1989). In 1994 he portrayed Red, the redeemed convict in the acclaimed The Shawshank Redemption. His star power was already confirmed as he starred in some of the biggest films of the 1990s, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Se7en, and Deep Impact. In 1997, Freeman, together with Lori McCreary, founded the movie production company Revelations Entertainment, and the two co-head its sister online movie distribution company ClickStar. Freeman also hosts the channel Our Space on ClickStar, with specially crafted film clips in which he shares his love for the sciences, especially space exploration and aeronautics. 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.” After three previous nominations – a supporting actor nomination for Street Smart (1987), and leading actor nominations for Driving Miss Daisy (1989), and The Shawshank Redemption (1994) – he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Million Dollar Baby at the 77th Academy Awards, Freeman is recognized for his distinctive voice, making him a frequent choice for narration. In 2005 alone, he provided narration for two of the most successful films of the year, War of the Worlds and the Academy Award-winning documentary film March of the Penguins In 1991, Morgan Freeman was offered a lead role in Jurassic Park. Unsure that dinosaurs could make for interesting co-stars, Freeman traveled to the Museum of Natural History to see the “damn beasts” in person. In a 2007 interview with Atlanta Radio Correspondent Veronica Waters, Freeman revealed that he was stunned when he learned that birds descended from dinosaurs. While he turned down the role, Freeman spent the next summer reading books on Ornithology. This would later lead to his desire to narrate the documentary March of the Penguins. 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 poetic 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 echoed 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). Freeman has recently been well known for his role as God in the hit movie Bruce Almighty and its sequel, Evan Almighty, as well as his role as Lucius Fox in the critical and commercial success Batman Begins and its upcoming sequel, The Dark Knight. He starred in Rob Reiner's 2007 film The Bucket List, opposite Jack Nicholson, playing terminal cancer patients who must fulfill their lists of goals. He teams with Christopher Walken and William H. Macy in the comedy The Lonely Maiden, due out in late 2008. In April '08, Freeman will return to Broadway in a Mike Nichols directed revival of Clifford Odets's play The Country Girl. The play will also star Frances McDormand and Peter Gallagher. Freeman was married to Jeanette Adair Bradshaw from October 22, 1967, until 1979. He has been married to Myrna Colley-Lee since June 16, 1984. He has two sons, Alfonso and Saifoulaye, from previous relationships. He adopted his first wife's daughter, Deena, and the couple also had a fourth child, Morgana. Freeman lives in Charleston, Mississippi, and New York City. He has a private pilot's license which he gained aged 65, and co-owns and operates Madidi, a fine dining restaurant, and Ground Zero, a blues club, both located in Clarksdale, Mississippi. His pilot’s license was suspended in 2004 for 45 days for failing to maintain altitude on approach. Freeman has publicly criticized the celebration of Black History Month and does not participate in any related events, saying, "I don't want a black history month. Black history is American history."[8] He says the only way to end racism is to stop talking about it, and he notes that there is no "white history month". Freeman once said on an interview with 60 Minutes' Mike Wallace: "I am going to stop calling you a white man and I'm going to ask you to stop calling me a black man." Freeman supported the defeated proposal to change the Mississippi state flag, which echoes the Confederate "Stars and Bars" flag. On October 28, 2006, Freeman was honored at the first Mississippi's Best Awards in Jackson, Mississippi, with the Lifetime Achievement Award for his works on and off the big screen. He received an honorary degree of Doctor of Arts and Letters from Delta State University during the school's commencement exercises on May 13, 2006. In 2008 Freeman's family history was profiled on the PBS series African American Lives 2. A DNA test showed that he is descended from the Songhai and Tuareg peoples of Niger. Freeman has endorsed Barack Obama's candidacy for the United States presidential election, 2008, although he has stated that he will not be joining Obama's campaign. |
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