Morgan Freeman
Academy Award-winning actor Morgan Freeman is one of the most recognizable figures in American cinema. His works are among the most critically and commercially successful films of all time and Freeman himself ranks 10th among worldwide top-grossing actors of all time.
His films have earned over $3 billion in cumulative ticket sales. Whether a role requires an air of gravitas; a playful smile, twinkle of the eye or a world-weary, yet insightful soul, Freeman’s ability to delve to the core of a character and infuse it with a quiet dignity has resulted in some of the most memorable portrayals ever recorded on film.
Freeman won the Academy Award in 2005 for Best Supporting Actor for his role in “Million Dollar Baby.” In 1990 he won the Golden Globe for Best Actor for his performance in “Driving Miss Daisy.” Freeman also received an Academy Award nomination in 1987 for Best Supporting Actor for “Street Smart” and in 1994 for Best Actor for “The Shawshank Redemption.”
In 2000 Freeman was honored with the Hollywood Actor Award from the Hollywood Film Festival. Eight years later he received the coveted Kennedy Center Honor for his distinguished acting.
In 2010 he received an Academy Award nomination, a Golden Globe nomination and a Broadcast Critics Association nomination for his performance as Nelson Mandela in the acclaimed film “Invictus.” He also won the National Board of Review award for Best Actor and was the film’s executive producer. The picture was produced by Revelations Entertainment, the company he co-founded in 1996 with a mission to produce films that enlighten, express heart, and glorify the human experience. Other Revelations features include “Levity,” “Under Suspicion,” “Mutiny,” “Bopha!”, “Along Came a Spider,” “Feast of Love,” “10 Items or Less” and “Maiden Heist.”
Freeman’s most recent film credits include Alcon Entertainment’s “Dolphin’s Tale” and Summit Entertainment’s espionage thriller, “Red”.
His upcoming projects include Rob Reiner’s drama “Summer at Dog’s Dave,” a Revelations Entertainment drama.
Freeman is currently in production on “The Dark Knight Rises,” the third installment in Nolan’s Batman film series.
Freeman’s credits include “Born to be Wild 3D,” “The Dark Knight,” “The Bucket List,” “Glory,” “Clean and Sober,” “Lean on Me,” “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves,” “Unforgiven,” “Se7en,” “Kiss the Girls,” “Amistad,” “Deep Impact,” “Nurse Betty,” “The Sum of All Fears,” “Bruce Almighty, “Nurse Betty,” ”Coriolanus,” “Attica,” “Brubaker,” “Eyewitness,” “Death of a Prophet” and “Along Came a Spider.” He also narrated two Academy Award documentaries “The Long Way Home” and “The March of The Penguins.”
After beginning his acting career on the off-Broadway stage productions of “The Niggerlovers” and the all- African-American production of “Hello Dolly”, Freeman segued into television. Many people grew up watching him on the long-running Children’s Television Workshop classic “The Electric Company”, where he played several recurring characters. Looking for his next challenge, he set his sights on both The Great White Way and silver screen simultaneously and quickly began to fill his resume with memorable performances.
In 1978 Freeman won a Drama Desk Award his role as Zeke in “The Mighty Gents.” He also received a Tony Nomination for Best Performance by a Featured Actor.
His stage work continued to earn him accolades and awards, including Obie Awards in 1980, 1984 and 1987 and a second Drama Desk Nomination in 1987 for the role of Hoke Colburn which he created for the Alfred Uhry play “Driving Miss Daisy” and reprised in the 1989 movie of the same name.
In his spare time, Freeman loves the freedom of both sea and sky; he is a long-time sailor and has earned a private pilot’s license. He also has a love for the blues and seeks to keep it in the forefront through his Ground Zero club in Clarksville, Mississippi, the birthplace of the blues. In 1973 he co-founded the Frank Silvera Writers’ Workshop, now in its 37th season. The workshop seeks to serve successful playwrights of the new millennium. He is a member of the Board of Directors of Earth Biofuels, a company whose mission is to promote the use of clean-burning fuels. He also supports Artists for a New South Africa and the Campaign for Female Education.