1. Morgan Freeman was born on June 1,1937 and is an American actor, producer, and narrator.
115 Facts About Morgan Freeman
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Morgan Freeman was honored with the Kennedy Center Honor in 2008, an AFI Life Achievement Award in 2011, the Cecil B DeMille Award in 2012, and Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award in 2018.
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Morgan Freeman studied theater arts in Los Angeles and appeared in stage productions in his early career.
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Morgan Freeman rose to fame in the 1970s for his role in the children's television series The Electric Company.
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Morgan Freeman then appeared in the Shakespearean plays Coriolanus and Julius Caesar, the former of which earned him an Obie Award.
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Morgan Freeman received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor playing a former boxer in Clint Eastwood's sports drama Million Dollar Baby.
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Morgan Freeman was Oscar-nominated for his roles in Street Smart, Driving Miss Daisy, The Shawshank Redemption, and Invictus.
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Morgan Freeman acted in Glory, Lean on Me, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Unforgiven, Se7en, Amistad, Deep Impact, Gone Baby Gone, and The Bucket List.
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Morgan Freeman portrayed Lucius Fox in Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy and acted in the action films Wanted, Red, Oblivion, Now You See Me, and Lucy.
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Morgan Freeman founded the film production company Revelations Entertainment with business partner Lori McCreary in 1996, under which they produced numerous projects, including the CBS political drama Madam Secretary from 2014 to 2019.
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Morgan Freeman was born on June 1,1937 in Memphis, Tennessee.
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Morgan Freeman is the son of Mamie Edna, a teacher, and Morgan Porterfield Freeman, a barber, who died of cirrhosis in 1961.
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Some of Morgan Freeman's great-great-grandparents were slaves who migrated from North Carolina to Mississippi.
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Morgan Freeman 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.
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Morgan Freeman moved frequently during his childhood, living in Greenwood, Mississippi, Gary, Indiana, and finally Chicago.
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Morgan Freeman made his acting debut aged nine, playing the lead role in a school play.
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Morgan Freeman then attended Broad Street High School, a building which serves today as Threadgill Elementary School in Greenwood.
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Morgan Freeman graduated high school in 1955, but turned down a partial drama scholarship from Jackson State University, opting instead to enlist in the United States Air Force.
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Morgan Freeman served as an Automatic Tracking Radar repairman, rising to the rank of airman first class.
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Morgan Freeman studied theater arts at Los Angeles City College, where a teacher encouraged him to embark on a dance career.
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Morgan Freeman worked as a dancer at the 1964 World's Fair and was a member of the Opera Ring musical theater group in San Francisco.
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Morgan Freeman acted in a touring company version of The Royal Hunt of the Sun, and appeared as an extra in Sidney Lumet's 1965 drama film The Pawnbroker starring Rod Steiger.
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Between acting and dancing jobs, Morgan Freeman realized that acting was where his heart lay.
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Television producer Joan Ganz Cooney said that Morgan Freeman loathed appearing in The Electric Company, saying "it was a very unhappy period in his life".
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Morgan Freeman later acknowledged that he does not think about the show, but he was grateful to have been a part of it.
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Also that year, Morgan Freeman performed in a theater production of Purlie.
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Morgan Freeman continued to work in theater and a year later, appeared in the Shakespearean tragedies Coriolanus, receiving the Obie Award in 1980 for the title role as well as Julius Caesar.
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Morgan Freeman next appeared in the television film, Attica, which is about the 1971 Attica Prison riot and its aftermath.
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From 1982 to 1984, Morgan Freeman was a cast member of the soap opera Another World, playing architect Roy Bingham.
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Morgan Freeman appeared in the miniseries The Atlanta Child Murders.
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Morgan Freeman had a small role in the drama That Was Then.
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Morgan Freeman later said that he considered Street Smart to be his breakthrough role.
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Morgan Freeman 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.
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Jane Galbraith of Variety magazine thought Morgan Freeman's casting was "wonderful".
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In 1991, Morgan Freeman had a supporting role in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, an action-adventure starring Kevin Costner.
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The film was a commercial success, but garnered mixed reviews from critics; The New York Times Vincent Canby thought Morgan Freeman played Azeem with "wit and humor" despite the "muddled" plot.
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Morgan Freeman narrated The True Story of Glory Continues, a documentary about the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment.
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Also in 1992 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 1989 novel of the same name, in which he plays boxing coach Geel Piet.
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In 1994, Morgan Freeman portrayed Red, the redeemed convict in Frank Darabont's acclaimed drama The Shawshank Redemption, with co-star Tim Robbins.
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Morgan Freeman was cast at the suggestion of producer Liz Glotzer, despite the novella's character of a white Irishman.
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In 1994, Morgan Freeman served as a member of the jury at the 44th Berlin International Film Festival.
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Morgan Freeman played General Billy Ford, a doctor dealing with an outbreak of a fictional virus in a small town.
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In 1995, Morgan 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.
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Morgan 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.
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The film received a mixed reception; Greg Evans from Variety magazine said Morgan Freeman gave a "sweet" performance, while The New York Times critic thought he was miscast.
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In 1997, Morgan Freeman narrated the Academy Award-winning documentary The Long Way Home, about Jewish refugees' liberation after World War II and the establishment of Israel.
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Morgan Freeman appeared in Steven Spielberg's historical epic Amistad alongside Djimon Hounsou, Anthony Hopkins, and Matthew McConaughey.
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The critic from Salon magazine thought the film lacked inspiration and Morgan Freeman's role was "utterly cryptic".
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Morgan Freeman went on to star in Deep Impact, a science-fiction disaster film in which he played President Tim Beck.
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Morgan Freeman returned to the screen in 2000 with the lead role of Charlie in the comedy Nurse Betty, featuring Renee Zellweger, Chris Rock, and Greg Kinnear.
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The film had been "carting round" for twelve years before Morgan Freeman was able to produce it under Revelations Entertainment.
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In 2001, Morgan Freeman reprised his role of Alex Cross in Along Came a Spider, a sequel to 1997's Kiss the Girls.
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In 2002, Morgan Freeman was cast opposite Ben Affleck in the spy thriller The Sum of All Fears.
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In 2003, Morgan Freeman appeared as God in the hit comedy Bruce Almighty with Jim Carrey and Jennifer Aniston.
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Also in 2003, Morgan Freeman starred in two other dramas that were not widely seen, Levity and Guilty by Association.
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Morgan Freeman was nominated for a Golden Globe Award in the same category.
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Morgan Freeman appeared in Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins, the first installment in what would become The Dark Knight Trilogy, as the fictional Lucius Fox.
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The film gained a mixed-to-positive reception; Peter Hartlaub of San Francisco Chronicle was confused with the genre and thought Morgan Freeman's character interrupted the narrative.
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Morgan Freeman starred in 2006's The Contract, as assassin Frank Carden opposite John Cusack.
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Morgan Freeman next appeared in Lucky Number Slevin, a crime thriller directed by Paul McGuigan.
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Two weeks after its theatrical release, 10 Items or Less was made available for download from ClickStar, a film distribution company that Morgan Freeman co-founded that year.
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In 2007, Morgan Freeman reprised his role as God in Evan Almighty, a sequel to 2003's Bruce Almighty, with Steve Carell.
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Morgan Freeman had a supporting part in Gone Baby Gone, a mystery thriller that was Ben Affleck's directorial debut.
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In 2008, Freeman was cast in the action-thriller Wanted, a loose adaptation of the comic book miniseries by Mark Millar and J G Jones.
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Morgan 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.
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Morgan Freeman returned to Broadway in 2008 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.
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Morgan Freeman continued to accept roles in a diverse range of genres.
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In 2009, Morgan Freeman starred opposite Antonio Banderas in the heist movie Thick as Thieves.
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For some time, Morgan Freeman expressed a desire to do a film based on Nelson Mandela.
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Morgan Freeman plays CIA mentor Joe, who helps retired fellow agent Frank to uncover some assassins.
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Deborah Myers, head of Science Channel, approached Morgan Freeman to be the presenter of Through the Wormhole.
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Morgan Freeman had heard that he was "really interested in space and the universe", and the pair agreed to develop the series together.
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In 2011, Morgan Freeman narrated the fantasy Conan the Barbarian and appeared in the family drama Dolphin Tale, as prosthetic specialist Dr McCarthy.
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Morgan Freeman had a lead role in the 2012 drama The Magic of Belle Isle, as an alcoholic novelist trying to write again.
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Lastly in 2012, Morgan Freeman reprised his role as Lucius Fox for the third time in The Dark Knight Rises.
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Morgan 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.
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The San Francisco Chronicle critic gave Olympus Has Fallen 3 out of 4 stars and opined that Morgan Freeman gave an amicable supporting performance.
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Morgan Freeman 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.
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In 2014, Morgan Freeman voiced the character Vitruvius in The Lego Movie, a commercially successful 3D animation.
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Morgan Freeman starred in Transcendence, a science fiction thriller directed by Wally Pfister in his directorial debut, in which Freeman plays scientist Joseph Tagger.
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Morgan Freeman plays Professor Samuel Norman, who helps her research the condition.
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Morgan Freeman portrays Patrick Meighan, a highly respected civil rights attorney.
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Morgan Freeman played Chief Justice Frawley of the United States Supreme Court in a recurring role in the series.
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In 2017, Morgan Freeman appeared in two comedies: Going in Style and Just Getting Started.
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Just Getting Started, in which Morgan Freeman starred with Tommy Lee Jones and Rene Russo, was critically panned by reviewers.
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In 2018, Morgan Freeman narrated Alpha, a historical drama set in the last ice age.
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In 2019, Morgan Freeman starred opposite John Travolta in The Poison Rose, an adaptation of the novel by Richard Salvatore.
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Morgan 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 1988 film.
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On November 20,2022, Morgan Freeman performed with Ghanim Al-Muftah at the opening ceremony of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
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In 2004, Morgan Freeman helped form the Grenada Relief Fund to aid people affected by Hurricane Ivan on the island of Grenada.
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Morgan Freeman has donated to the Mississippi Horse Park in Starkville, Mississippi, part of Mississippi State University and Morgan Freeman has several horses that he takes there.
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Morgan Freeman 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 4,2009, at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida.
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On day four of the 2016 Democratic National Convention, Morgan Freeman provided the voiceover for the video introduction of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
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On September 19,2017, Morgan 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".
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Morgan Freeman endorsed his friend Bill Luckett, who unsuccessfully ran for Governor of Mississippi in 2011.
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Morgan 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.
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Morgan Freeman was married to Jeanette Adair Bradshaw from October 22,1967, until November 18,1979; he married Myrna Colley-Lee on June 16,1984.
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In December 2010, Morgan Freeman joined former President Bill Clinton, president of the United States Soccer Federation Sunil Gulati, and soccer player Landon Donovan in Zurich for a presentation to bid for the US hosting rights for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
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Morgan Freeman later reaffirmed this during his tribute speech at Nicole Kidman's AFI Life Achievement Award ceremony.
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In 2019, it was reported that Morgan Freeman found religion in Zoroastrianism.
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Morgan Freeman was conscious after the crash and joked with a photographer at the scene.
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Morgan Freeman was taken via helicopter to The Regional Medical Center hospital in Memphis.
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Morgan Freeman's publicist announced he was expected to make a full recovery.
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Since the incident, Morgan Freeman suffers from fibromyalgia, for which he wears a compression glove that supports blood circulation.
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Morgan Freeman said that his voice developed in this way while taking speech classes in college; he found that most people speak in a voice either too fast or too high and he developed a commanding voice by speaking in a lower octave and enunciating each word.
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On October 28,2006, Morgan Freeman was honored at the first Mississippi's Best Awards in Jackson, Mississippi with the Lifetime Achievement Award for his work in film and theater.
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Morgan Freeman received an honorary Doctor of Arts and Letters degree from Delta State University during the school's commencement exercises on May 13,2006.
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In 2008, Freeman was chosen as a Kennedy Center Honoree at the John F Kennedy Center in Washington DC In 2011, he received the AFI Life Achievement Award in recognition of his contribution to the film industry.
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Those who honored Freeman included Sidney Poitier, Samuel L Jackson, Forest Whitaker, Rita Moreno, Helen Mirren, Clint Eastwood, Cuba Gooding Jr.
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Prolific in film since 1964, Morgan Freeman is known for his roles in genres ranging from dramas, historical epics, thrillers, action adventure, science fiction, and comedies.
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Morgan Freeman's most acclaimed and highest-grossing films, according to the review aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes, include the following:.
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Morgan Freeman has been recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for the following performances:.
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Morgan Freeman has been nominated for five Golden Globe Awards, winning one for Best Actor in Driving Miss Daisy.
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Morgan Freeman has been nominated for three Screen Actors Guild Awards, winning one for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role in Million Dollar Baby.
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Morgan Freeman earned an Obie Award for each theater role in Coriolanus, Mother Courage and Her Children, and Driving Miss Daisy.