Morgan Freeman

Biography: With an authoritative voice, and calm demeanour, this ever popular African American actor has grown into one of the most respected figures in modern US cinema. Born in June 1937 in Memphis, Tennessee, the young Freeman attended Los Angeles Community College before serving several years in the US Air Force as a mechanic between 1955 and 1959. His first dramatic arts exposure was on the stage and he appeared in an off Broadway production of "The Nigger Lovers" and also in an all-African American production of the exuberant musical Hello, Dolly! (1969).

Freeman first appeared on TV screens as several characters including Easy Reader, Mel Mounds, and Count Dracula on the Children's Television Workshop (now Sesame Workshop) show "The Electric Company" (1971). He then moved into feature film with another children's adventure, Who Says I Can't Ride a Rainbow? (1971). Next there was a small role in the thriller Blade (1973); then he played Casca in _Julius Caesar (1979/II) (V)_ and
the title role in Coriolanus (1979). Regular work was coming in for the talented Freeman and he appeared in the prison dramas Attica (1980) (TV) and Brubaker (1980), the slow-moving Eyewitness (1981), and portrayed the final 24 hours of slain Malcolm X in Death of a Prophet (1981).

For most of the 1980s, Freeman continued to contribute decent enough performances in films that fluctuated in their quality. However, he really stood out, scoring an Oscar nomination as a merciless hoodlum in Street Smart (1987) , and then he dazzled audiences and pulled a second Oscar nomination as the patient and dignified chauffeur assisting moody pensioner Jessica Tandy in the delightful Driving Miss Daisy (1989). The same year, Freeman teamed up with youthful Matthew Broderick and fiery Denzel Washington in the epic Civil War drama Glory (1989) about freed slaves being recruited to form the first all-African American fighting brigade.

His star continued to rise, and the 1990s kicked off strongly with roles in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991) and The Power of One (1992). Freeman's next role was as gunman Ned Logan, wooed out of retirement by friend William Munny to avenge several prostitutes in the wild west town of Big Whiskey in Clint Eastwood's de-mythologized western Unforgiven (1992). The film was a critical and box-office smash and scored an acting Oscar for Gene Hackman, a directing Oscar for Eastwood, and the Oscar for best picture.

Freeman's work did not go unnoticed, more strong scripts came in, and he was back behind bars depicting a knowledgeable inmate (and obtaining his third Oscar nomination), befriending falsely accused banker Tim Robbins in the uplifting The Shawshank Redemption (1994). He was then back out hunting a religious serial killer in Se7en (1995), starred alongside Keanu Reeves in Chain Reaction (1996), and was pursuing another serial murderer in Kiss the Girls (1997).

Further praise followed for his role in the slave tale of Amistad (1997), he was a worried US President facing Armageddon from above in Deep Impact (1998), appeared in the loopy Neil LaBute black comedy Nurse Betty (2000), and reprised his role as "Alex Cross" in Along Came a Spider (2001). Now highly popular, he was much in demand with cinema audiences, and he co-starred in the terrorist drama The Sum of All Fears (2002), was a military officer in the Stephen King-inspired Dreamcatcher (2003), gave divine guidance as God to Jim Carrey in the very funny Bruce Almighty (2003), and played a minor role in the uneven comedy The Big Bounce (2004).

However, 2005 was finally to be Morgan Freeman's year, when again he teamed up with good friend Clint Eastwood to appear in the heart-wrenching drama, Million Dollar Baby (2004). Freeman's on-screen performance is simply world-class as ex-prize fighter Eddie "Scrap Iron" Dupris, who works in a run-down boxing gym alongside grizzled trainer Frankie Dunn, as the two work together to hone the skills of never-say-die female boxer Hilary Swank. Freeman received his fourth Oscar nomination and, finally, impressed the Academy's judges enough to win the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his performance.

In addition to his film work, his commanding yet mellifluous voice has also led Freeman to be cast to narrate or host dozens of first-rate television specials covering topics from the American Civil War, the American Film Institute, blues music, the White House, and many commemorative events involving the US film industry, most recently as the narrator of the American version of Marche de l'empereur, La (2005)
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Morgan Freeman's Scores

Average career score: 57
Highest Metascore:
Metascore: 86
Lowest Metascore:
Metascore: 35
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 17 out of 40
  2. Negative: 4 out of 40
40 movie reviews
Title: Year: Credit: User score:
Metascore: 80
The Shawshank Redemption
Sep 1, 1994 Ellis Boyd 'Red' Redding 9.2
Metascore: 82
The Dark Knight
Jul 18, 2008 Lucius Fox 9.0
Metascore: 82
Unforgiven
Aug 7, 1992 Ned Logan 8.7
Metascore: 70
Batman Begins
Jun 15, 2005 Lucius Fox 8.6
Metascore: 78
The Dark Knight Rises
Jul 20, 2012 Lucius Fox / Fox / Lucius Fox 8.4
Metascore: 65
Se7en
Sep 22, 1995 Detective Lt. William Somerset 8.3
Metascore: 58
Unleashed
May 13, 2005 Sam 8.2
Metascore: 53
Lucky Number Slevin
Apr 7, 2006 The Boss 8.1
Metascore: 79
March of the Penguins
Jun 24, 2005 Narrator 8.1
Metascore: 53
The Hunting of the President
Jun 18, 2004 Narrator 8.0
Metascore: 86
Million Dollar Baby
Dec 15, 2004 Eddie Scrap-Iron Dupris 7.9
Metascore: 72
Gone Baby Gone
Oct 19, 2007 Jack Doyle 7.6
Metascore: 42
The Bucket List
Dec 25, 2007 Carter Chambers 7.6
Metascore: 51
Feast of Love
Sep 28, 2007 Harry Stevenson 7.5
Metascore: 81
Driving Miss Daisy
Dec 15, 1989 Hoke Colburn 7.5
Metascore: 74
Invictus
Dec 11, 2009 Executive Producer / Nelson Mandela 7.1
Metascore: 66
Born to Be Wild
Apr 8, 2011 Narrator 7.1
Metascore: 54
Oblivion
Apr 19, 2013 Beech / Malcolm Beech 7.1
Metascore: 71
Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon 3D
Sep 23, 2005 Neil Armstrong 7.0
Metascore: 46
Kiss the Girls
Oct 3, 1997 Dr. Alex Cross 7.0
Metascore: 49
An Unfinished Life
Sep 9, 2005 Mitch Bradley 6.9
Metascore: 43
Under Suspicion
Sep 22, 2000 Executive Producer / Captain Victor Benezet 6.9
Metascore: 63
Amistad
Dec 10, 1997 Joadson 6.9
Metascore: 61
RED
Oct 15, 2010 Joe Matheson 6.9
Metascore: 42
Along Came a Spider
Apr 6, 2001 Executive Producer / Alex Cross 6.8
Metascore: 46
Bruce Almighty
May 23, 2003 God 6.8
Metascore: 45
Levity
Apr 4, 2003 Executive Producer / Miles Evans 6.6
Metascore: 64
Wanted
Jun 27, 2008 Sloan 6.5
Metascore: 45
The Sum of All Fears
May 31, 2002 DCI William Cabot 6.5
Metascore: 41
Olympus Has Fallen
Mar 22, 2013 Speaker Trumbull / Speaker Trumbull 6.5