Morgan Freeman

MorganFreeman, American stage,rift gold television, and motion-picture actor, best known for his critically acclaimed character roles. Born in Memphis, Tennessee, he began acting as a child, enlisted in the United States Air Force at 18, and later went back into acting while enrolled at Los Angeles City College. He then moved to New York City, where he perfected his craft in minor stage plays and appeared on the television soap opera “Another World.” He made his Broadway debut in 1968 in an all-black production of Hello Dolly! and went on to wina Tony Award nomination for his performance in The Mighty Gents (1978) and Obie Awards (given for off-Broadway work) for his roles in Coriolanus (1979), Mother Courage and Her Children (1980), and The Gospel at Colonus (1983).

Freeman’s film debut, in the low-budget children’s feature Who Says I Can’t Ride a Rainbow? (1971), led to a recurring role on the educational television series “The Electric Company” broadcast by the Public Broadcasting Service from 1971 to 1977. In his first Hollywood movie, Brubaker (1980), a prison reform drama directed by Robert Redford, Freeman made a strong impression in a small but important part as a death-row inmate. His breakthrough came in 1987, when his chilling performance as a pimp in Street Smart earned best supporting actor awards from the New York Film Critics Circle, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, and the National Society of Film Critics, in addition to an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actor.

Freeman was nominated for Academy Awards as best actor for his performances as a long-suffering chauffeur in the sentimental drama Driving Miss Daisy (1989) and as a prison inmate in The Shawshank Redemption (1994). In 1993 he made his directing debut with Bopha!,rift gold a drama set in South Africa under the country’s policy of strict racial segregation known as apartheid. His performance as a world-weary police detective in the 1995 thriller Seven won wide critical praise. Freeman’s other films include Clean and Sober (1988), Glory (1989), and Unforgiven (1992).