Morgan Freeman
Born: 1937-06-01 in Memphis, Tennessee, USA
Known For: Acting
Biography
Morgan Freeman (born June 1, 1937) is an American actor, director, and narrator. Noted for his distinctive deep voice, Freeman is known for his various roles in a wide variety of film genres. Throughout his career spanning over five decades, he has received multiple accolades, including an Academy Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a Golden Globe Award. Born in Memphis, Tennessee, Freeman was raised in Mississippi where he began acting in school plays. He studied theatre arts in Los Angeles and appeared in stage productions in his early career. He rose to fame in the 1970s 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. His breakout role was in Street Smart (1987), playing a hustler, which earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. He achieved further stardom in Glory, the biographical drama Lean on Me, and comedy-drama Driving Miss Daisy (all 1989), the latter of which garnered him his first Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. In 1992, Freeman starred alongside Clint Eastwood in the western revenge film Unforgiven; this would be the first of several collaborations with Eastwood. In 1994, he starred in the prison drama The Shawshank Redemption for which he received another Academy Award nomination. Freeman also starred in David Fincher's crime thriller Se7en (1995), and Steven Spielberg's historical drama Amistad (1997). Freeman won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Clint Eastwood's 2004 sports drama Million Dollar Baby. In 2009, he received his fifth Oscar nomination for playing former South African President Nelson Mandela in Eastwood's Invictus. Freeman is also known for his performance as Lucius Fox in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Trilogy (2005–2012). In addition to acting, Freeman has directed the drama Bopha! (1993). He also founded film production company Revelations Entertainment with business partner Lori McCreary. He is the recipient of the Kennedy Center Honor, the AFI Life Achievement Award, the Cecil B. DeMille Award, and the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award. For his performances in theatrical productions, he has won three Obie Awards, one of the most prestigious honors for recognizing excellence in theatre.
Filmography
2026
- The Dinosaurs as Self - Narrator (voice)
- The Gray House ... (Executive Producer)
2025
- Now You See Me: Now You Don't as Thaddeus Bradley
- The American Revolution as (voice)
- Number One on the Call Sheet as Self
- Clint Eastwood : la légende as Self
- In Our Blood ... (Executive Producer)
- The Power of Chi as (narrator)
2024
- Gunner as Kendrick Ryker
- How to Rob a Bank as Azeem (archive footage)
- My Dead Friend Zoe as Dr. Cole
- Odysseus Returns as Narrator
- From the Balkans as (narrator)
2023
- Lioness as Secretary of State Edwin Mullins
- Life on Our Planet as Self - Narrator (voice)
- 100 Years of Warner Bros. as Self - Narrator (voice)
- The Muppets Mayhem as Morgan Freeman
- 57 Seconds as Anton Burrell
- The Ritual Killer as Dr. Mackles
- A Good Person as Daniel
- 761st Tank Battalion: The Original Black Panthers as Self
2022
- The Jennifer Hudson Show as Self - Guest
- Our Universe as Self - Narrator (voice)
- Sidney as Self
- Paradise Highway as Gerick
- The Minute You Wake Up Dead as Sheriff Thurmond Fowler
- Clint Eastwood: The Last Legend as Self (archive footage)
- Betty White: A Celebration as Self
- Power of Chi as Narrator (voice)
- Ogun Óla: War is Coming ... (Producer)
- Metro Boomin: Heroes & Villains
2021
- Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard as Senior
- Coming 2 America as Morgan Freeman
- Clint Eastwood: A Cinematic Legacy as Self
- Solos as Narrator (voice)
- Vanquish as Damon
- History's Greatest Escapes with Morgan Freeman as Self - Host
- The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain ... (Executive Producer)
- Oscar Micheaux: The Superhero of Black Filmmaking as Self
- Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It as Self
- Morgan Freeman: Breaking Barriers as Self
2020
- The Comeback Trail as Reggie Fontaine
- The Disney Family Singalong - Volume II as Self
- Meeting the Beatles in India as Narrator (voice)
- Into Nature's Wild as Narrator (voice)
2019
- Angel Has Fallen as Alan Trumbull
- Scooby-Doo and Guess Who? as Morgan Freeman (voice)
- The Poison Rose as Doc
- Brian Banks as Jerome Johnson (uncredited)
- Panama Canal in 3D a Land Divided a World United as Self
2018
- The Nutcracker and the Four Realms as Drosselmeyer
- Die Clint Eastwood Story as Self
- America's Musical Journey as Narrator (voice)
2017
- Going in Style as Willie Davis
- Just Getting Started as Duke
- The Words That Built America as Self - Reader: Declaration of Independence
- The Story of Us with Morgan Freeman as Self - Host
- John G. Avildsen: King of the Underdogs as Self
- Laddie: The Man Behind the Movies as Self
- March of the Penguins 2: The Next Step as Narrator (English voice)
- Monochrome: Black, White & Blue as Self
2016
- Now You See Me 2 as Thaddeus Bradley
- London Has Fallen as Alan Trumbull
- Ben-Hur as Sheik Ilderim
- The Story of God with Morgan Freeman as Self - Host
- The C Word as Narrator (voice)
2015
- The Late Show with Stephen Colbert as Self
- Ted 2 as Patrick Meighan
- Last Knights as Bartok
- Momentum as Senator
- JFK & LBJ: A Time for Greatness as Narrator (voice)
2014
- The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon as Self - Guest
- Late Night with Seth Meyers as Self
- Madam Secretary as Chief Justice Frawley
- Lucy as Professor Norman
- The Lego Movie as Vitruvius (voice)
- Transcendence as Joseph Tagger
- 5 Flights Up as Alex Carver
- Dolphin Tale 2 as Dr. Cameron McCarthy
- Island of Lemurs: Madagascar as Narrator (voice)
- Wish Wizard as Maxwell Omni
- We the People as Narrator (voice)
2013
- Now You See Me as Thaddeus Bradley
- Olympus Has Fallen as Alan Trumbull
- Oblivion as Beech
- Last Vegas as Archibald 'Archie' Clayton
- Eastwood Directs: The Untold Story as Self
- Tales from the Warner Bros. Lot as Self
- JFK: A President Betrayed as Narrator (voice)
- The Editor and The Dragon: Horace Carter Fights the Klan as Narrator (voice)
2012
- The Dark Knight Rises as Fox
- The Magic of Belle Isle as Monte Wildhorn
- Ending the Knight as Self
- Betty White's 90th Birthday: A Tribute to America's Golden Girl as Self
- B.B. King: The Life of Riley as Narrator (voice)
- Echoes 'Cross the Tracks as Self
- Le frontiere dell'Astronomia - EP-7 Vite aliene nel cosmo as Narratore
2011
- Conan the Barbarian as Narrator (voice)
- Curiosity as Self - Narrator (voice)
- Dolphin Tale as Dr. McCarthy
- Born to Be Wild as Narrator (voice)
- Clint Eastwood's West as Self
- Breaking the Taboo as Narrator (voice)
2010
- Through the Wormhole as Self - Host
- RED as Joe Matheson
- The Eastwood Factor as Self - Narrator (voice)
- The 16th Man as Narrator (voice)
- The President's Photographer: Fifty Years Inside the Oval Office as Narrator (voice)
2009
- 30 for 30
- The Jay Leno Show as Self
- Invictus as Nelson Mandela
- Thick as Thieves as Keith Ripley
- The Maiden Heist as Charles Peterson
- The People Speak as Self
- Live from Studio Five as Self
- Prom Night in Mississippi as Narrator (voice)
2008
- The Dark Knight as Lucius Fox
- Wanted as Sloan
- The Love Guru as Morgan Freemann (voice only) (uncredited)
- A Raisin in the Sun as Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
- Where the Water Meets the Sky
2007
- The Graham Norton Show as Self
- Evan Almighty as God
- Gone Baby Gone as Jack Doyle
- The Bucket List as Carter Chambers
- Feast of Love as Harry Stevenson
- All About Us as Self
- AFI: 100 Years... 100 Movies... 10th Anniversary Edition as Self
2006
- Lucky Number Slevin as The Boss
- The Contract as Frank Carden
- 10 Items or Less as 'Him'
- The Best of The Tony Awards: The Plays as Jaques (segment "As You Like It")
- Boffo! Tinseltown's Bombs and Blockbusters as Self
- The Electric Company's Greatest Hits & Bits as Self
- Greasy Rider
2005
- The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson as Self
- Batman Begins as Lucius Fox
- The Reichen Show as Self - Guest
- War of the Worlds as Narrator (voice)
- Unleashed as Sam
- An Unfinished Life as Mitch Bradley
- Edison as Ashford
- Slavery and the Making of America as Self - Narrator (voice)
- March of the Penguins as Narrator
- Nos Bastidores de Hollywood as Self (archive footage)
- Shelter from the Storm: A Concert for the Gulf Coast as Self
- Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon as Neil Armstrong (voice)
- Born to Fight as Self
- James Lipton Takes on Three as Self
- Blues Divas as Self
2004
- Million Dollar Baby as Eddie Scrap-Iron Dupris
- The Big Bounce as Walter Crewes
- America Beyond the Color Line as Self
- The Hunting of the President as Narrator (voice)
- Genius. A Night for Ray Charles as Self
- Survivors of the Shoah: Visual History Foundation
2003
- Jimmy Kimmel Live! as Self - Guest
- The Ellen DeGeneres Show as Self
- Bruce Almighty as God
- Dreamcatcher as Col. Abraham Curtis
- Levity as Miles Evans
- Declaration of Independence as Self
- Guilty by Association as Lt. Redding
2002
- The Sum of All Fears as DCI William Cabot
- High Crimes as Charlie Grimes
- All on Accounta Pullin' a Trigger as Self
- Partners of the Heart as Narrator (voice)
- Eastwood & Co.: Making 'Unforgiven' as Self
2001
- Along Came a Spider as Alex Cross
- Shawshank: The Redeeming Feature as Self
2000
- Under Suspicion as Captain Victor Benezet
- Nurse Betty as Charlie
- Clint Eastwood: Out of the Shadows as Narrator (voice)
1999
- Mark Twain Prize as Self
- Mutiny ... (Executive Producer)
- Stephen King: Shining in the Dark as Self
1998
- Parkinson as Self
- Deep Impact as President Tom Beck
- Hard Rain as Jim
- Scandalize My Name: Stories from the Blacklist as Self
1997
- The View as Self
- Kiss the Girls as Det. Alex Cross
- The Chris Rock Show
- Amistad as Theodore Joadson
- The Making of Se7en as Self
- The Long Way Home as Narrator (voice)
1996
- The Daily Show as Self
- Chain Reaction as Paul Shannon
- Moll Flanders as Hibble
- Cosmic Voyage as Narrator (voice)
- Blacklist: Hollywood on Trial as Edward G. Robinson
- Inside the White House as Narrator (voice)
1994
- The Shawshank Redemption as Ellis Boyd 'Red' Redding
- Inside the Actors Studio as Self
1993
- Late Night with Conan O'Brien as Self - Guest
- Bopha! ... (Director)
1992
- The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
- Unforgiven as Ned Logan
- HBO First Look
- Shelley Duvall's Bedtime Stories as Narrator (voice)
- The Power of One as Geel Piet
- Eastwood & Co.: Making 'Unforgiven' as Self
1991
- Pebble Mill as Self
- Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves as Azeem
- Robin Hood: The Myth, the Man, the Movie as Self
- The Massachusetts 54th Colored Infantry as Narrator (voice)
- The True Story of Glory Continues as Narrator (voice)
1990
- The Civil War as Frederick Douglass
- The Bonfire of the Vanities as Judge Leonard White
- The Earth Day Special as Walter Samson
- Night of 100 Stars III as Self
- Follow the Drinking Gourd as Narrator (voice)
- Rabbit Ears - The Savior is Born as Narrator (voice)
1989
- Glory as Sgt. Maj. John Rawlins
- Driving Miss Daisy as Hoke Colburn
- Lean On Me as Principal Joe Clark
- Johnny Handsome as Lt. A.Z. Drones
1988
- American Experience as Narrator (voice)
- LIVE with Kelly and Mark
- Clean and Sober as Craig
- Clinton and Nadine as Dorsey Pratt
1987
- Street Smart as Leo "Fast Black" Smalls, Jr.
- Fight for Life as Dr. Sherard
1986
- American Masters as Narrator (voice)
- Resting Place as Luther Johnson
1985
- The Twilight Zone as Tony (segment "Dealer's Choice")
- The Atlanta Child Murders as Ben Shelter
- Marie: A True Story as Charles Traughber
- That Was Then... This Is Now as Charlie Woods
- The Execution of Raymond Graham as Warden Pratt
- The Gospel at Colonus as Messenger
1984
- Goldene Kamera as Self
- Teachers as Lewis
- Harry & Son as Siemanowski
1981
- Eyewitness as Lieutenant Black
- Death of a Prophet as Malcolm X
- The Marva Collins Story as Clarence Collins
1979
- CBS News Sunday Morning as Self
- Hollow Image as Sweet Talk
1978
- The Kennedy Center Honors as Self
- Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry as Uncle Hammer
- Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry as Uncle Hammer
1975
- Saturday Night Live as Self - Cameo (uncredited)
1974
- Spidey Super Stories as Police officer
- Out to Lunch as Self / Croupier
- Energy Crisis as Self
1973
- The American Film Institute Salute to ... as Self
- Blade as Chris
1971
- Great Performances as Messenger
- The Electric Company as Mark /Easy Reader /Mel Mounds /Count Dracula /Mad Scientist /The Cop /Marcello
- Who Says I Can't Ride a Rainbow! as Afro
1970
1968
- 60 Minutes as Self
- Where Were You When the Lights Went Out? as Grand Central Commuter (uncredited)
1966
- A Man Called Adam as Party Guest (uncredited)
1965
- The Pawnbroker as Man on Street (Uncredited)
1956
- Tony Awards as Self - Performer
1953
- The Oscars as Self - Presenter
1952
- Today as Self
1951
- Hallmark Hall of Fame as Clarence
1944
- Golden Globe Awards as Self - Presenter