Morgan Freeman Played a Silly Prank on a Girl Which Changed his Life
One of the greatest actors of all time, Morgan Freeman, has appeared in some of the greatest films ever made, including The Shawshank Redemption, Seven, Bruce Almighty, Lucy, Red, and many more. The actor, who doesn’t need an introduction, is renowned for his divine voice and nuanced facial expressions.
The actor has been a part of the industry for almost four decades and is known not only for his work as an excellent actor but also well-known for his work as a narrator and voice actor. However, he only began receiving more challenging roles when he was in his 50s, which is pretty late in life comparatively.
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Morgan Freeman acted in a school play as a punishment
Actor Morgan Freeman’s discovery of the world of acting was not that he made a conscious choice to be a part of, but was made to act in a play in school by his teacher after he played a prank on a girl he had a crush on.
When he was 12 years old, the actor pulled off the chair beneath the girl he had a crush on to gain her attention and then he obviously was yelled at by his English teacher, but instead of taking him to the principal, the teacher asked him to participate in a play as a punishment and then there was no looking back for the actor.
After being a part of various small projects and small roles, in the mid-1980s, the actor started to take some prominent supporting roles in feature films, which earned him a reputation for depicting wise and loving characters on-screen. The actor’s graph kept growing from there and made him one of the most acclaimed actors not only in the industry but across the world.
Morgan Freeman’s promise to himself nearly halted his career
The actor had once mentioned in Oprah’s Master Class that he was really tired and upset with the sort of roles that were available for African Americans in the 1908s after which he promised himself that if he managed to get good movies, he would always speak about something that he didn’t find right which was the African Americans’ portrayal on-screen.
He explained, “I read the script, and I went back for the audition. The producer or director, one of those, said, ‘Did you read the script?… What did you think?’” Freeman recalled. I said, ‘Well, you’ve got 11 people at the South Pole. Eight of them are scientists. Then you have a cook, a mechanic, and something else; they’re all black. None of the scientists are. What do you think I think?’ Needless to say, I didn’t get that job.”
Morgan Freeman continued that there was a period in the early 80s when he did not get any work because he was speaking up against the norms until he was cast in Academy Award-winning Glory; the first all-African American formal military unit.
The actor said he was proud of that character, adding, “I was just floored, because I knew about the 54th Massachusetts Regiment. The History is there to draw upon, but we’ve got to ask ourselves — ‘we,’ me, black people — why don’t we figure more in it?” However the actor has not compromised with his values to date and explained that he needs to be a part of something that engages him, makes him sit up and think and he refuses to be a part of projects that is going to denigrate him.
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Morgan Freeman on being envious of Denzel Washington
The actor, during a rare interview with The Sunday Times, while talking about Zach Braff’s A Good Person, opened up about being envious of fellow actor Denzel Washington because he is doing what Freeman wanted to do.
He said during the interview that until Sidney Poitier entered the industry, there was no black actor he could look up to. He added, “And I spoke with Sidney way back. He said, ‘I wanted to be like you’.” However, he did add that he thinks that now the industry is moving ahead by leaps and bounds.
Talking about the characters that he plays on-screen now, Freeman says that the characters now will adapt themselves to the one playing rather than the other way round, so he takes up what piques his interests and sometimes it’s the money.
Source: The Sunday Times
