Morgan freeman biography cortado
Morgan Freeman
American actor and producer (born )
For the director, see Morgan J. Freeman.
Morgan Freeman[2] (born June 1, ) is an American actor, producer, and narrator. In a career spanning five decades, he has received numerous accolades, including an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award, as well as a nomination for a Tony Award.
He was honored with the Kennedy Center Honor in , an AFI Life Achievement Award in , the Cecil B. DeMille Award in , and Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award in He is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of all time.[3][4]
Born in Memphis, Tennessee, Freeman was raised in Mississippi, where he began acting in school plays.
He studied theater arts in Los Angeles and appeared in stage productions in his early career.
Morgan freeman childhood pictures The film gained a mixed-to-positive reception; Peter Hartlaub of San Francisco Chronicle was confused with the genre and thought Freeman's character interrupted the narrative. Retrieved March 11, Atlanta, Georgia. Archived from the original on March 7,He rose to fame in the s for his role in the children's television series The Electric Company. Freeman then appeared in the Shakespearean plays Coriolanus and Julius Caesar, the former of which earned him an Obie Award. In , he was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his role as Zeke in the Richard Wesley play The Mighty Gents.
Freeman received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as a former boxer in Clint Eastwood's sports drama Million Dollar Baby (). He was Oscar-nominated for Street Smart (), Driving Miss Daisy (), The Shawshank Redemption (), and Invictus (). Other notable roles include in Glory (), Lean on Me (), Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (), Unforgiven (), Se7en (), Amistad (), Gone Baby Gone (), and The Bucket List ().
He also portrayed Lucius Fox in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Trilogy (–) and starred in the action films Wanted (), Red (), Oblivion (), Now You See Me (), and Lucy ().
Known for his distinctive voice, he has narrated numerous documentary projects including The Long Way Home (), March of the Penguins (), Through the Wormhole (–), The Story of God with Morgan Freeman (–), Our Universe () and Life on Our Planet ().
He made his directorial debut with the drama Bopha! (). He founded the film production company Revelations Entertainment with business partner Lori McCreary in , under which they produced numerous projects, including the CBS political drama Madam Secretary from to
Early life
Freeman was born on June 1, in Memphis, Tennessee.[5] He is the son of Mamie Edna (née Revere; –), a teacher,[6] and Morgan Porterfield Freeman (July 6, – April 27, ),[2] a barber, who died of cirrhosis in [7] He has three older siblings.[8] Some of Morgan's great-great-grandparents were enslaved people who migrated from North Carolina to Mississippi.
He later discovered that his white maternal great-great-grandfather had lived with and was buried beside Freeman's black great-great-grandmother in the segregated South, as the two could not legally marry at the time.[6] The DNA test suggested that among all of his African ancestors, a little over one-quarter came from the area that stretches from present-day Senegal to Liberia and three-quarters came from the Congo-Angola region.[9]
As an infant, Freeman was sent to his paternal grandmother in Charleston, Mississippi.[10][11] He moved frequently during his childhood, living in Greenwood, Mississippi; Gary, Indiana; and finally Chicago.[11] He made his acting debut aged nine, playing the lead role in a school play.
He then attended Broad Street High School, a building which serves today as Threadgill Elementary School in Greenwood.[12] At the age of 12, he won a statewide drama competition, and while settling into school, discovered music and theater. When Freeman was 16 years old, he contracted pneumonia.[13]
Freeman graduated high school in , but turned down a partial drama scholarship from Jackson State University, opting instead to enlist in the United States Air Force.[7] He served as an Automatic Tracking Radar repairman, rising to the rank of airman first class.[14] After serving from to , he moved to Los Angeles and took acting classes at the Pasadena Playhouse.[7] He also studied theater arts at Los Angeles City College, where a teacher encouraged him to embark on a dance career.[15]
Career
– Early work and rise to prominence
Freeman worked as a dancer at the World's Fair and was a member of the Opera Ring musical theater group in San Francisco.[16] He acted in a touring company version of The Royal Hunt of the Sun, and also appeared as an extra in Sidney Lumet's drama film The Pawnbroker starring Rod Steiger.[16] Between acting and dancing jobs, Freeman realized that acting was where his heart lay.
"After [The Royal Hunt of the Sun], my acting career just took off," he later recalled.[16] Freeman made his Off-Broadway debut in , opposite Viveca Lindfors in The Niggerlovers, a show about the Freedom Riders during the American Civil Rights Movement,[17] before debuting on Broadway in 's all-black version of Hello, Dolly! that also starred Pearl Bailey and Cab Calloway.[18] In , Freeman also performed on stage in The Dozens.[19]
Beginning in , Freeman starred in the PBS children's television show The Electric Company, which gave him financial stability and recognition among American audiences.[11] His work on the show was tiring, so he quit in [15] Television producer Joan Ganz Cooney said that Freeman loathed appearing in The Electric Company, saying "it was a very unhappy period in his life".[20] Freeman later acknowledged that he does not think about the show, but he was grateful to have been a part of it.[21] His first credited appearance in a feature film was in 's Who Says I Can't Ride a Rainbow!, a family drama starring Jack Klugman.[19] Also that year, Freeman performed in a theater production of Purlie.[22] After a short career break, he returned to work in , appearing in two stage productions: 's The Mighty Gents, winning a Drama Desk Award and a Clarence Derwent Award for his role as a wino,[23] and White Pelicans.[24] Freeman continued to work in theater and a year later, appeared in the Shakespearean tragedies Coriolanus, receiving the Obie Award in for the title role[16] as well as Julius Caesar.[25]
In , he had a small role as Walter in the drama Brubaker, which starred Robert Redford as a prison warden.[26] Freeman next appeared in the television film, Attica (), which is about the Attica Prison riot and its aftermath.[27] A year later he had a lead role in Peter Yates' Eyewitness with co-stars William Hurt and Sigourney Weaver.[28] From to , Freeman was a cast member of the soap opera Another World, playing architect Roy Bingham.[29] After several small roles in dramas, he starred in Marie (), a film adaptation of Marie: A True Story by Peter Maas; he portrayed Charles Traughber.[30] He also appeared in the miniseries The Atlanta Child Murders.[31] Freeman also had a small role in the drama That Was Then This Is Now, based on the novel of the same name by S.
E. Hinton.[32] In the mids, he began accepting prominent supporting roles in feature films, earning him a reputation for depicting wise, fatherly characters.[11]
In addition to television films, in , Freeman played a violent street hustler, a role that diverged from his previous roles, in Street Smart co-starring Christopher Reeve and Kathy Baker.
Freeman's performance was praised by film critics, including Roger Ebert who wrote: "Freeman has the flashier role, as a smart, very tough man who can be charming or intimidating-whatever's needed Freeman creates such an unforgettable villain."[33] Freeman's performance earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.[34] He later said that he considered Street Smart to be his breakthrough role.[21] In his next film, he played Craig in the drama Clean and Sober with co-stars Michael Keaton and Kathy Baker.
Although the film was not a box-office hit, it gained fair reviews; Roger Ebert gave the film 41&#;2 out of 5 stars and called the performances "superb".[35] Freeman also received Obie Awards for his roles as a preacher in the musical The Gospel at Colonus, and as Hoke Colburn in the play Driving Miss Daisy, respectively.[16]
– Hollywood breakthrough
Freeman had four film releases in In the first, he starred as Sergeant Major John Rawlins in Glory, directed by Edward Zwick, about the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, the Union Army's second African-American regiment in the American Civil War.
Writing for The Washington Post, Desson Thomson praised Freeman and co-star Denzel Washington for their "warming sense of fraternity".[36]Glory was nominated for five Academy Awards and won three: Best Supporting Actor for Washington, Best Cinematography, and Best Sound.[37] Next, Freeman starred in the comedy-drama Driving Miss Daisy, alongside Jessica Tandy and Dan Aykroyd.
Based on Alfred Uhry's play of the same name in which Freeman had appeared previously, he reprises his role of Hoke Colburn, chauffeur for a Jewish widow.
The film was a commercial success and grossed US$ million worldwide.[38] Film critics were mainly positive; Henry Sheehan from The Hollywood Reporter opined that Freeman and Tandy's performances complemented each other while retaining their "individual star-quality".[39] The film was nominated for nine Academy Awards (and received four, Best Picture being one of them), including Best Actor for Freeman.[37]
His third release was the biographical drama Lean on Me, in which he portrays the principal of an under-performing and drug- and crime-ridden New Jersey high school.
Jane Galbraith of Variety magazine thought Freeman's casting was "wonderful".[40] Lastly in , he starred in Walter Hill's Johnny Handsome, a crime drama in which he plays a New Orleans police officer.[41] In a interview, Freeman said that Glory was one of his favorite releases—"The Black legacy is as noble, is as heroic, is as filled with adventure and conquest and discovery as anybody else's.
It's just that nobody knows it."[15] In , Freeman provided the voice of Frederick Douglass in The Civil War, a televisionminiseries about the American Civil War.[42] In the same year he starred in the critically panned The Bonfire of the Vanities. According to the review aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 16% based on 51 reviews.[43] In the summer of , he played Petruchio, a role he had been thinking about for six years, in Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew, which opened at Delacorte theater in New York City.
"[Petruchio] seems to have a lot of fun in life," he said.[44] In , Freeman had a supporting role in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, an action-adventure starring Kevin Costner.
The film was a commercial success,[45] but garnered mixed reviews from critics; The New York Times'Vincent Canby thought Freeman played Azeem with "wit and humor" despite the "muddled" plot.[46]
Freeman also narrated The True Story of Glory Continues, a documentary about the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment.[47] In , he appeared in Clint Eastwood's western Unforgiven, which won four Academy Awards including Best Picture.[48] The film depicts William Munny (Eastwood), an aging outlaw and killer who takes on one more job with old friend Ned Logan (Freeman).
Unforgiven was widely acclaimed, with one critic calling Freeman's performance "outstanding".[49] Also in Freeman starred in the John G. Avildsen directed drama The Power of One acting opposite Stephen Dorf and John Gielgud in a loose adaptation of Bryce Courtenay's novel of the same name, in which he plays boxing coach Geel Piet.[50] In , Freeman made his directorial debut with the drama Bopha!, which tells the story of a black policeman (Danny Glover) during South Africa's apartheid era.
Bopha! was well-received, in particular for Freeman's directing. Hal Hinson of The Washington Post wrote: "Freeman lays out the father-son dynamics with great skill and very little fuss. There's no hysteria in his approach; instead, he sticks to the facts, relying on his cast to provide the emotion. The result is a surprisingly powerful, insightful film."[51]Kenneth Turan from Los Angeles Times also complimented Freeman's direction but thought the film was "more predictable than powerful".[52]
In , Freeman portrayed Red, the redeemed convict in Frank Darabont's acclaimed drama The Shawshank Redemption, with co-star Tim Robbins.
It is based on the Stephen King novella Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption. Freeman was cast at the suggestion of producer Liz Glotzer, despite the novella's character of a white Irishman.[53] Filming proved to be challenging, mainly because of Darabont's need for multiple takes. Freeman said, "The answer [I'd give him] was no having to do something again and again for no discernible reason tends to be a bit debilitating to the energy."[53] Nevertheless, his performance was described as "quietly impressive" and "moving" by The New York Times.[54] At the 67th Academy Awards the film received Academy Award nominations for Best Picture and a nomination for Freeman for Best Actor losing to Tom Hanks in Forrest Gump ().[55] Since its release, The Shawshank Redemption has remained popular among audiences.[53] In , Freeman served as a member of the jury at the 44th Berlin International Film Festival.[56]
Outbreak (), a medical thriller directed by Wolfgang Petersen, was Freeman's next film.
He played General Billy Ford, a doctor dealing with an outbreak of a fictional virus in a small town. The film stars Dustin Hoffman, Rene Russo, and Donald Sutherland. Outbreak was a box-office success, grossing $ million worldwide,[57] but gained a mixed critics' response.[58]Mick LaSelle of the San Francisco Chronicle credited Freeman for his performance which may have been unappreciated by viewers.[59] In , Freeman starred with Brad Pitt in David Fincher's crime thriller Seven, the story of two detectives who attempt to identify a serial killer who bases his murders on the Christian seven deadly sins.
Freeman's performance generated a positive response; Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly wrote: "Freeman plays nearly every scene in a doleful hush; he makes you lean in to hear his words, to ferret out the hints of anger and regret that haunt this weary knight."[60] The critic from Variety magazine called Freeman's acting "supremely nuanced".[61]
While filming Outbreak, Freeman expressed an interest in starting a film production company.
He turned to McCreary, the producer of Bopha!, to be his business partner. Freeman explained that he wanted to achieve representation on screen, explore challenging issues and reveal hidden truths, so they chose to name their firm Revelations Entertainment.[62] A year later, he appeared in Chain Reaction as Paul Shannon, a science-fiction thriller co-starring Keanu Reeves and Rachel Weisz.
The film was a critical and commercial disappointment.[63][64] Next, he was cast opposite Robin Wright in 's Moll Flanders, a period drama based on the novel of the same name. The film received a mixed reception; Greg Evans from Variety magazine said Freeman gave a "sweet" performance,[65] while The New York Times critic thought he was miscast.[66]
– Critical success and established actor
In , Freeman narrated the Academy Award-winning documentary The Long Way Home, about Jewish refugees' liberation after World War II and the establishment of Israel.[24] He also appeared in Steven Spielberg's historical epic Amistad alongside Djimon Hounsou, Anthony Hopkins, and Matthew McConaughey.
Based on the events in aboard the slave ship La Amistad, the film was mostly well-received and earned four nominations at the Academy Awards.[67][68] The critic from Salon magazine, however, thought the film lacked inspiration and Freeman's role was "utterly cryptic".[69] In that same year, he was cast as psychologist Alex Cross in Kiss the Girls, a thriller based on James Patterson's novel of the same name.
In a mixed review, Peter Stack of San Francisco Chronicle thought Freeman and co-star Ashley Judd gave strong performances despite the lengthy plot.[70]
Freeman went on to star in Deep Impact (), a science-fiction disaster film in which he played President Tim Beck.[71] The story depicts humanity's attempt to destroy a 7-mile (11&#;km) wide comet set to collide with Earth and cause a mass extinction.
The film was a box-office hit, despite competition from Armageddon, another summer blockbuster of the year.[72] Continuing with the disaster genre, he then starred opposite Christian Slater in 's Hard Rain, centering on a heist and man-made treachery amidst a natural disaster in a small Indiana town.
The film was unpopular with critics; Lawrence Van Gelder of The New York Times called the characters "one-dimensional" and the film "routine".[73] Freeman returned to the screen in with the lead role of Charlie in the comedy Nurse Betty, featuring Renée Zellweger, Chris Rock, and Greg Kinnear.
The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival to mainly positive reviews; the critic from Variety magazine thought Freeman and Rock had "wonderful chemistry".[74] Next, he appeared in Under Suspicion (), a thriller remake of the French film Garde à vue. The film had been "carting round" for twelve years before Freeman was able to produce it under Revelations Entertainment.[75] He co-starred with Gene Hackman; "Working with Gene was wonderful.
I didn't find it too hard working with an icon I so respected," Freeman said.[75] Upon release, Under Suspicion was met with lukewarm reception;[76]CNN's Paul Tatara praised the actors but thought the film was "too tawdry to be completely entertaining, and too static to generate much excitement".[77]
In , Freeman reprised his role of Alex Cross in Along Came a Spider, a sequel to 's Kiss the Girls.
The film received mixed-to-negative reviews.[78] Susan Wloszczyna of USA Today observed that "Freeman strides with noble authority" but thought the overall film was unmemorable.[79] In , Freeman was cast opposite Ben Affleck in the spy thriller The Sum of All Fears.
It is based on Tom Clancy's novel of the same name, about a plot by an Austrian Neo-Nazi to trigger a nuclear war between the United States and Russia, so that he can establish a fascist superstate in Europe. The Sum of All Fears received moderate reviews,[80] but was a commercial success, grossing $ million worldwide.[81] Next, Freeman starred alongside Ashley Judd and Jim Caviezel in High Crimes (), a legal thriller based on Joseph Finder's novel of the same name.
The story follows lawyer Claire (Judd), whose husband (Caviezel) is arrested and placed on trial for the murder of villagers while he was in the Marines. Although several critics were unimpressed with the story, they credited Freeman and Judd for their chemistry and performances.[82][83] In , Freeman appeared as God in the hit comedy Bruce Almighty with Jim Carrey and Jennifer Aniston.[84]
Next, he starred in the science fiction horror Dreamcatcher, adapted from Stephen King's novel of the same name.
The film was a box-office flop,[85] and garnered mostly negative reviews; Dreamcatcher has an approval rating of 28% on review aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes.[86] Also in , Freeman starred in two other dramas that were not widely seen, Levity and Guilty by Association.[87][88] His releases were comedy The Big Bounce and sports drama Million Dollar Baby.[89][90] In the latter, directed by Clint Eastwood, Freeman portrayed an elderly former boxer.
Morgan freeman family tree So when I watch me, all I see is me. Avildsen directed drama The Power of One acting opposite Stephen Dorf and John Gielgud in a loose adaptation of Bryce Courtenay 's novel of the same name , in which he plays boxing coach Geel Piet. Archived from the original on July 16, Jeanette Adair Bradshaw October 22, - November 18, divorced, 2 children.The film won four Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress (Hilary Swank), and Best Supporting Actor, earning Freeman his first Academy Award.[11] Freeman was also nominated for a Golden Globe Award in the same category.[91] Roger Ebert complimented Freeman's "flat and factual" narration,[92] and Timeout magazine thought the cast fully inhabited their roles.[93]
– Documentaries and thriller films
Freeman made six appearances in various films in In the drama An Unfinished Life, Freeman plays Mitch, a neighbor of a Wyoming rancher (Robert Redford).
The film had a mixed response; The Guardian critic thought it was amiable but questioned the purpose of Freeman's "sidekick" role.[94] Freeman's authoritative voice led to his narration of two documentaries; Steven Spielberg's War of the Worlds and the Academy Award-winning March of the Penguins.[24] He also appeared in Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins, the first installment in what would become The Dark Knight Trilogy, as the fictional Lucius Fox.[95] After this, he co-starred with Jet Li in the action-thriller Unleashed, playing Sam, a blind piano tuner who helps Li's character turn his life around.
The film gained a mixed-to-positive reception; Peter Hartlaub of San Francisco Chronicle was confused with the genre and thought Freeman's character interrupted the narrative.[96] Freeman's next role was in the thriller Edison, which bombed at the box office.[97] In his last release of , he provided the voice of Neil Armstrong in the documentary Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon 3D.[98]
Freeman starred in 's The Contract, as assassin Frank Carden opposite John Cusack.
The film was released direct-to-video, which critic John Cornelius suggests was unsurprising, considering the generic formula of the thriller.[99] Freeman next appeared in Lucky Number Slevin (), a crime thriller directed by Paul McGuigan. Starring a principal cast of Josh Hartnett, Bruce Willis, Lucy Liu, Stanley Tucci, and Ben Kingsley, the film garnered mixed reception.[] David Mattin of BBC wrote: "Kingsley and Freeman shine individually, but their inevitable, climactic clash of heads lacks force.
Like its leading man [Hartnett], this movie presents a charming façade with nothing much underneath."[] Next, Freeman portrayed himself in the low-budget comedy 10 Items or Less opposite Paz Vega.[] Two weeks after its theatrical release, 10 Items or Less was made available for download from ClickStar, a film distribution company that Freeman co-founded that year.[]
In , Freeman reprised his role as God in Evan Almighty, a sequel to 's Bruce Almighty, with Steve Carell.
Evan Almighty was a box-office failure[] and negatively received;[]The Guardian critic wrote: "A cast full of people who have been frequently funny elsewhere flounder in this deluge of sentimentality and CGI. Avoid like the Ten Plagues."[] The drama Feast of Love was Freeman's second release of It is based on the novel The Feast of Love by Charles Baxter, about a group of friends living in suburban Oregon who come into contact with a free spirit who changes their outlook on life; Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian sarcastically remarked that it was great to see Freeman in a challenging role.[] Freeman had a supporting part in Gone Baby Gone (), a mystery thriller that was also Ben Affleck's directorial debut.
Adapted from the novel of the same name by Dennis Lehane, Freeman plays Captain Jack Doyle of the Boston Police Department.
Morgan freeman on sesame street Orlando, Florida. The film was released direct-to-video , which critic John Cornelius suggests was unsurprising, considering the generic formula of the thriller. Freeman worked as a dancer at the World's Fair and was a member of the Opera Ring musical theater group in San Francisco. Black history is American history.The story and cast performances were positively received; Time Out magazine called it "flawed but impressive".[] Afterward, he starred in Rob Reiner's comedy The Bucket List opposite Jack Nicholson.[] The plot follows two terminally ill men on a road trip with a list of things to do before they die.
The film grossed $ million worldwide.[]
In , Freeman was cast in the action-thriller Wanted, a loose adaptation of the comic book miniseries by Mark Millar and J. G. Jones. The plot revolves around Wesley Gibson (James McAvoy), a frustrated account manager who discovers that he is the son of a professional assassin and decides to join the Fraternity, a secret society of which Sloan (Freeman) is the leader.
Principal photography took place in Chicago; co-star rapperCommon remarked on the set atmosphere: "Freeman is a cool guy. He’d be walking around joking and singing and just dancing. You know, artists are free and I just felt the freedom in him."[] The film received generally favorable reviews; Peter Howell of Toronto Star thought it was original and one of Freeman's bolder performances to date.[] Freeman narrated The Love Guru (),[] before appearing in The Dark Knight (), the second installment of Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight Trilogy, in which he reprised his role as Lucius Fox.[] Freeman returned to Broadway in after an eighteen-year absence to co-star with Frances McDormand and Peter Gallagher in Clifford Odets' play, The Country Girl, directed by Mike Nichols.[]
Freeman continued to accept roles in a diverse range of genres.
In , Freeman starred opposite Antonio Banderas in the heist movie Thick as Thieves.[] Next, he collaborated with Christopher Walken and William H. Macy for the comedy The Maiden Heist. For some time, Freeman expressed a desire to do a film based on Nelson Mandela. Initially, he wanted to adapt Mandela's autobiography Long Walk to Freedom into a screenplay, but plans were never finalized.[] Instead, he purchased the film rights to John Carlin's book: Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Made a Nation.[] The book was adapted into a film which Clint Eastwood directed, Invictus, starring Freeman as Mandela and Matt Damon as rugby team captain Francois Pienaar.[] The biographical drama received positive reviews for Freeman's performance; Roger Ebert wrote: "Freeman does a splendid job of evoking the man Nelson Mandela He shows him as genial, confident, calming, over what was clearly a core of tempered steel."[] Freeman received Best Actor nominations at the Academy Awards and Golden Globes, as well as a nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor at the Screen Actors Guild Awards.[][][] The same year he provided the narration for Janet Langhart's Anne and Emmett, a play featuring an imaginary conversation between Emmett Till and Anne Frank, both killed as young teenagers because of racial persecution.[]
Freeman's sole film release of was Red with co-stars Bruce Willis, Helen Mirren, and John Malkovich.[]Red is loosely adapted from the comic-book seriesRed, created by Warren Ellis and Cully Hamner and published by the DC Comics imprint Homage.
Freeman plays CIA mentor Joe, who helps retired fellow agent Frank (Willis) to uncover some assassins. The film was a critical and commercial success;[] writing for Melbourne's The Age, Jim Schembri praised Freeman and the cast who "bring an infectious comic energy to their roles".[]
Besides film, Freeman worked on other projects.
In January , he replaced Walter Cronkite as the voiceover introduction to the CBS Evening News presented by Katie Couric.[] CBS gave the need for consistency in introductions for regular news broadcasts and special reports as the basis for the change.[] Deborah Myers, head of Science Channel, approached Freeman to be the presenter of Through the Wormhole (–17). She had heard that he was "really interested in space and the universe,", and the pair agreed to develop the series together.[]
In , Freeman narrated the fantasy Conan the Barbarian and appeared in the family drama Dolphin Tale, as prosthetic specialist Dr.
McCarthy.[] Returning to theater in , Freeman was featured with John Lithgow in the Broadway debut of Dustin Lance Black's play, 8, a staged reenactment of Perry v. Brown, the federal trial that overturned California's Proposition 8 ban on same-sex marriage. Freeman played Attorney David Boies.[] The production was held at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre in New York City to raise money for the American Foundation for Equal Rights.[][] Freeman had a lead role in the drama The Magic of Belle Isle, as an alcoholic novelist trying to write again.
The film fared poorly with critics, gaining only a 29% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.[] Lastly in , Freeman reprised his role as Lucius Fox for the third time in The Dark Knight Rises.[]
A number of box office hits were released in Freeman appeared in the action-thriller Olympus Has Fallen, the first installment in what would become the Has Fallen film series;[] he portrays Speaker of the House Allan Trumbull.
The San Francisco Chronicle critic gave Olympus Has Fallen 3 out of 4 stars and opined that Freeman gave an amicable supporting performance.[] He then starred in the science fiction drama Oblivion, with co-star Tom Cruise, as veteran soldier Malcolm Beech,[] and appeared in the thriller Now You See Me, as an ex-magician.[] Lastly, he played a retiree in Last Vegas, with co-stars Michael Douglas, Robert De Niro, Kevin Kline, and Mary Steenburgen.[] Filmed in Las Vegas and Atlanta,[]Last Vegas was praised for its cast's chemistry, and one critic thought Freeman brought the most amusement.[]
–present: Continued success
In , Freeman voiced the character Vitruvius in The Lego Movie, a commercially successful 3D animation.[] He starred in Transcendence, a science fiction thriller directed by Wally Pfister in his directorial debut, in which Freeman plays scientist Joseph Tagger.
Critic reviews of the film were generally mixed, according to Metacritic.[] Next, he co-starred in the action Lucy (), about a woman (Scarlett Johansson) who gains psychokinetic abilities when a nootropic drug is absorbed into her bloodstream. Freeman plays Professor Samuel Norman, who helps her research the condition.
Producer Virginie Silla wanted Freeman for the part because of his experience in portraying a character of wisdom.[] "He was the perfect actor," she said.[] Upon the release of Lucy, critical reception ranged from mixed-to-positive.[] In the same year Freeman appeared in Dolphin Tale 2, the sequel to 's Dolphin Tale,[] and 5 Flights Up, a comedy-drama.[] At the end of , Freeman appeared as himself, among other celebrities, in the documentary Lennon or McCartney.[]
Kazuaki Kiriya's action-thriller Last Knights was Freeman's first film of , starring opposite Clive Owen.
The plot centers on a band of warriors who seek to avenge the loss of their master at the hands of a corrupt minister.
Morgan freeman biography cortado Skip to main content Skip to footer. Archived from the original on April 17, The Nation. Reserved for Oscar.Reviews were largely underwhelming;[] Sara Stewart of New York Post called it "bloody bad", adding: "Once-proud box office names are its first casualties."[] Freeman next joined the cast of Ted 2, a comedy sequel to Ted, directed by Seth MacFarlane. The story follows the talking teddy bear Ted as he fights for civil rights in order to be recognized as a person.
Freeman portrays Patrick Meighan, a highly respected civil rights attorney.[] A television series, Madam Secretary, also occupied Freeman's time. He played Chief Justice Frawley of the United States Supreme Court in a recurring role in the series. He and his producing partner Lori McCreary were executive producers.[] Freeman directed the first episode; McCreary remarked of his directing style, "What's riveting is that he can achieve a complete tonal change in performance with the least amount of direction Everybody behaves better when Morgan is there but he's very fun."[] At the end of , Freeman played a U.S.
senator in the thriller Momentum.[]
Reprising his role as Allan Trumbull, Freeman appeared in London Has Fallen, the sequel to Olympus Has Fallen. The film follows a plot to assassinate the world leaders of the G7 as they attend the British Prime Minister's funeral in London, as well as Secret Service agent Mike Banning's efforts to protect U.S.
President Benjamin Asher (Aaron Eckhart) from being killed. The film was a commercial success;[] however, writing for The A.V. Club, Ignatiy Vishnevetsky criticized the cheap filmmaking, saying: "The movie periodically cuts to overqualified supporting actors—including Freeman, Melissa Leo, and Robert Forster (As it turns out, it's possible to write something that will sound like garbage even when spoken in Freeman's sonorous voice.)"[] Next, Freeman reprised his role as Thaddeus Bradley, starring in Now You See Me 2 (),[] the sequel to Now You See Me, the sequel grossing a successful $ million worldwide.[] Finally, he had a leading role in the historical drama Ben-Hur, the fifth film adaptation of the novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ by Lew Wallace.
Freeman expressed interest in playing Sheik Ilderim, a wealthy Nubiansheik, stating: "This character has quite a bit of power in the story. And I like playing power. It's something about my own personal ego."[]Ben-Hur turned out to be one of 's biggest box-office bombs.[][]
In , Freeman appeared in two comedies: Going in Style and Just Getting Started. The first one is a remake of the film with the same name, co-starring Michael Caine and Alan Arkin; in it they play bank robbers after their pensions are canceled.[] It opened to a mixed response;[]The Telegraph's Robbie Collin thought the trio of actors looked tired before the end of it.[]Just Getting Started, in which Freeman starred with Tommy Lee Jones and Rene Russo, was critically panned by reviewers.[] The plot follows an ex-FBI agent (Jones) who must put aside his personal feud with a former mob lawyer (Freeman) at a retirement home when the mafia comes to kill the pair.
Morgan freemans wives: Internet Broadway Database. Archived from the original on July 26, He is also a co-owner of the Ground Zero blues club in Clarksdale, Mississippi. Avoid like the Ten Plagues.
Freeman also hosted the National GeographicThe Story of God with Morgan Freeman and The Story of Us with Morgan Freeman, in and , respectively.[]
In , Freeman narrated Alpha, a historical drama set in the last ice age. He then starred in Disney's The Nutcracker and the Four Realms, a retelling of E.
T. A. Hoffmann's short story "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King" and Marius Petipa's and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's ballet The Nutcracker.[] Finally he had an uncredited role as Jerome in the biographical drama Brian Banks, a high-school football player who was falsely accused of rape and upon his release attempted to fulfill his dream of making the NFL.[] In , Freeman starred opposite John Travolta in The Poison Rose, an adaptation of the novel by Richard Salvatore.[] In Angel Has Fallen, Freeman reprised his role as Allan Trumbull, the third installment in the Has Fallen film series, following Olympus Has Fallen and London Has Fallen.
Although critical reception was mixed,[] the film was a box office success, earning $ million worldwide.[]
Freeman next appeared alongside an ensemble cast in George Gallo's crime comedy The Comeback Trail () and in Coming 2 America (), a sequel to the film.[] On November 20, , Freeman performed with Ghanim Al-Muftah at the opening ceremony of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar.[][]
Other ventures
Environmental activism
In , Freeman helped form the Grenada Relief Fund to aid people affected by Hurricane Ivan on the island of Grenada.
The fund has since become PLANIT NOW, an organization that seeks to provide preparedness resources for people living in areas affected by hurricanes and severe storms.[] In , he narrated a clip titled What's Possible which had its debut at the United Nations climate summit.[] Freeman has donated to the Mississippi Horse Park in Starkville, Mississippi, part of Mississippi State University and Freeman has several horses that he takes there.[]
After learning about the decline of honeybees, Freeman decided to turn his acre ranch into a bee sanctuary in July beginning with 26 beehives.[]
Political activism
In , Freeman criticized the celebration of Black History Month, saying: "I don't want a black history month.
Black history is American history."[] He opined that the only way to end racism is to stop talking about it, and he noted that there is no "white history month".[] In an interview with 60 Minutes's Mike Wallace, Freeman said: "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 incorporated the Confederatebattle flag at the time.[][] In an interview on CNN's Piers Morgan Tonight, Freeman drew controversy when he accused the Tea Party movement of racism.[][][] Regarding the Baltimore protests, Freeman said he was "absolutely" supportive of the protesters.
"That unrest [in Baltimore] has nothing to do with terrorism at all, except the terrorism we suffer from the police Because of the technology—everybody has a smartphone—now in reaction to the death of Freddie Gray we can see what the police are doing. We can show the world, 'Look, this is what happened in that situation.' So why are so many people dying in police custody?
And why are they all Black? And why are all the police killing them white? What is that? The police have always said, 'I feared for my safety.' Well, now we know. OK. You feared for your safety while a guy was running away from you, right?"[]
During the presidential election, Freeman endorsed Barack Obama's presidential bid, although he said he would not join Obama's campaign.[] He provided the voice of the narrator for Disney World's The Hall of Presidents when Obama was added to the exhibit,[][] and when The Hall of Presidents re-opened on July 4, , at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida.[] On day four of the Democratic National Convention, Freeman provided the voiceover for the video introduction of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.[][] On September 19, , Freeman appeared in a video by the Committee to Investigate Russia group,[][] in which he declared "we [United States] are at war" and accusing Russia of "launching cyber attacks and spreading false information".[][]
In June he and Linda Keena, a professor at University of Mississippi donated $1 million to the university establishing the Center for Evidence-Based Policing and Reform.[]
Business ventures
In , Freeman and business partner Lori McCreary founded Revelations Entertainment, a film production company.
They also founded ClickStar in , a film download company, with investment from Intel Corporation.[] ClickStar ceased operations in [] Freeman owns and operates Ground Zero, a blues club in Clarksdale, Mississippi; he is the former co-owner of Madidi, a fine dining restaurant in the same city.[]
Personal life
Freeman was married to Jeanette Adair Bradshaw from October 22, , until November 18, ;[] he married Myrna Colley-Lee on June 16, [] The couple separated in December [] and divorced on September 15, [] Freeman has four children: Alfonso, Deena, Morgana, and Saifoulaye.[] Freeman and Colley-Lee also raised Freeman's step-granddaughter from his first marriage, E'dena Hines.
On August 16, , year-old Hines was murdered in New York City.[]
Freeman resides in Charleston, Mississippi and maintains a home in New York City.[][] He earned a private pilot's license at the age of 65[] and owns or has owned at least three private aircraft, including both a Cessna Citation and Cessna as well as an Emivest SJ[][][]
When asked if he believed in God, Freeman said: "It's a hard question because as I said at the start, I think we invented God.
So if I believe in God, and I do, it's because I think I'm God."[] He later said that his experience working on The Story of God with Morgan Freeman did not change his views on religion.[] In , it was reported that Freeman found religion in Zoroastrianism.[]
On the evening of August 3, , Freeman was injured in an automobile crash when his Nissan Maxima was involved in a rollover near Ruleville, Mississippi.
He and his passenger, Demaris Meyer, had to be cut free from the vehicle with hydraulic tools. Freeman was conscious after the crash and joked with a photographer at the scene.[] He was taken via helicopter to The Regional Medical Center (The Med) hospital in Memphis.[]