Morgan Freeman
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.
Known For
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
2014
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
2015
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
2015
Late Night with Seth Meyers
2014
The Daily Show
1996
Lioness
2023
Saturday Night Live
1975
Saturday Night Live
1975
The View
1997
The Graham Norton Show
2007
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson
2005
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
2003
Filmography
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
as Self - Guest · 2014
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
as Self · 2015
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
as Self - Guest · 2015
Late Night with Seth Meyers
as Self · 2014
The Daily Show
as Self · 1996
Lioness
as Secretary of State Edwin Mullins · 2023
Saturday Night Live
as Self - Cameo (uncredited) · 1975
Saturday Night Live
as Self (uncredited) · 1975
The View
as Self · 1997
The Graham Norton Show
as Self · 2007
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson
as Self · 2005
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
as Self - Guest · 2003
The Jennifer Hudson Show
as Self - Guest · 2022
LIVE with Kelly and Mark
· 1988
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
as Self - Guest · 1993
CBS News Sunday Morning
as Self · 1979
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
· 1992
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
as Self · 2003
Great Performances
as Messenger · 1971
American Experience
as Narrator (voice) · 1988
Golden Globe Awards
as Self - Presenter · 1944
Golden Globe Awards
as Self - Nominee · 1944
Golden Globe Awards
as Self · 1944
Golden Globe Awards
as Self - Cecil B. DeMille Award Recipient · 1944
Madam Secretary
as Chief Justice Frawley · 2014
Madam Secretary
as Chief Justice Wilbourne (uncredited) · 2014
Tony Awards
as Self - Performer · 1956
60 Minutes
as Self · 1968
The Shawshank Redemption
as Ellis Boyd 'Red' Redding · 1994
The Dark Knight
as Lucius Fox · 2008
The Twilight Zone
as Tony (segment "Dealer's Choice") · 1985
The Electric Company
as Mark /Easy Reader /Mel Mounds /Count Dracula /Mad Scientist /The Cop /Marcello · 1971
Parkinson
as Self · 1998
The Reichen Show
as Self - Guest · 2005
American Masters
as Narrator (voice) · 1986
The Dark Knight Rises
as Fox · 2012
LEGEND
· 2023
Pebble Mill
as Self · 1991
Se7en
as Somerset · 1995
Batman Begins
as Lucius Fox · 2005
The Oscars
as Self - Presenter · 1953
The Oscars
as Self · 1953
Now You See Me: Now You Don't
as Thaddeus Bradley · 2025
Today
as Self · 1952
The Jay Leno Show
as Self · 2009
Ted 2
as Patrick Meighan · 2015
30 for 30
· 2009
Now You See Me
as Thaddeus Bradley · 2013
Goldene Kamera
as Self · 1984
Scooby-Doo and Guess Who?
as Morgan Freeman (voice) · 2019
War of the Worlds
as Narrator (voice) · 2005
Number One on the Call Sheet
as Self · 2025
Olympus Has Fallen
as Alan Trumbull · 2013
Now You See Me 2
as Thaddeus Bradley · 2016
Bruce Almighty
as God · 2003
The Kennedy Center Honors
as Self · 1978
The Lego Movie
as Vitruvius (voice) · 2014
The Dinosaurs
as Self - Narrator (voice) · 2026
Angel Has Fallen
as Alan Trumbull · 2019
Deep Impact
as President Tom Beck · 1998
Oblivion
as Beech · 2013
The Chris Rock Show
· 1997
The Kominsky Method
as Morgan Freeman · 2018
Lucy
as Professor Norman · 2014
HBO First Look
· 1992
Evan Almighty
as God · 2007
100 Years of Warner Bros.
as Self - Narrator (voice) · 2023
The Sum of All Fears
as DCI William Cabot · 2002
The Muppets Mayhem
as Morgan Freeman · 2023
The Nutcracker and the Four Realms
as Drosselmeyer · 2018
Unforgiven
as Ned Logan · 1992
Wanted
as Sloan · 2008
Lucky Number Slevin
as The Boss · 2006
Million Dollar Baby
as Eddie Scrap-Iron Dupris · 2004
London Has Fallen
as Alan Trumbull · 2016
RED
as Joe Matheson · 2010
Conan the Barbarian
as Narrator (voice) · 2011
Kiss the Girls
as Det. Alex Cross · 1997
The Civil War
as Frederick Douglass / John Boston (voice) · 1990
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
as Azeem · 1991
Through the Wormhole
as Self - Host · 2010
Glory
as Sgt. Maj. John Rawlins · 1989
Chain Reaction
as Paul Shannon · 1996
Last Knights
as Bartok · 2015
Curiosity
as Self - Narrator (voice) · 2011
Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard
as Senior · 2021
The Bucket List
as Carter Chambers · 2007
Gone Baby Gone
as Jack Doyle · 2007
Hard Rain
as Jim · 1998
The American Film Institute Salute to ...
as Self · 1973
The American Revolution
as (voice) · 2025
High Crimes
as Charlie Grimes · 2002
Life on Our Planet
as Self - Narrator (voice) · 2023
Transcendence
as Joseph Tagger · 2014
Along Came a Spider
as Alex Cross · 2001
Going in Style
as Willie Davis · 2017
Outbreak
as General Billy Ford · 1995
An Unfinished Life
as Mitch Bradley · 2005
57 Seconds
as Anton Burrell · 2023
Coming 2 America
as Morgan Freeman · 2021
Invictus
as Nelson Mandela · 2009
Last Vegas
as Archibald 'Archie' Clayton · 2013
Unleashed
as Sam · 2005
Our Universe
as Self - Narrator (voice) · 2022
Mark Twain Prize
as Self · 1999
The Comeback Trail
as Reggie Fontaine · 2020
Solos
as Narrator (voice) · 2021
Solos
as Stuart · 2021
The Ritual Killer
as Dr. Mackles · 2023
Hallmark Hall of Fame
as Clarence · 1951
Hallmark Hall of Fame
as Luther · 1951
Dolphin Tale
as Dr. McCarthy · 2011
The Poison Rose
as Doc · 2019
A Good Person
as Daniel · 2023
Dreamcatcher
as Col. Abraham Curtis · 2003
Clint Eastwood: A Cinematic Legacy
as Self · 2021
The Story of God with Morgan Freeman
as Self - Host · 2016
Paradise Highway
as Gerick · 2022
Driving Miss Daisy
as Hoke Colburn · 1989
Shelley Duvall's Bedtime Stories
as Narrator (voice) · 1992
Ben-Hur
as Sheik Ilderim · 2016
The Love Guru
as Morgan Freemann (voice) (uncredited) · 2008
Nurse Betty
as Charlie · 2000
The Atlanta Child Murders
as Ben Shelter · 1985
5 Flights Up
as Alex Carver · 2014
The Power of One
as Geel Piet · 1992
The Contract
as Frank Carden · 2006
The Magic of Belle Isle
as Monte Wildhorn · 2012
10 Items or Less
as 'Him' · 2006
Feast of Love
as Harry Stevenson · 2007
Dolphin Tale 2
as Dr. Cameron McCarthy · 2014
Sidney
as Self · 2022
Edison
as Ashford · 2005
History's Greatest Escapes with Morgan Freeman
as Self - Host · 2021
Spidey Super Stories
as Count Dracula · 1974
Spidey Super Stories
as Easy Reader · 1974
Spidey Super Stories
as Police officer · 1974
Spidey Super Stories
as Umpire · 1974
Spidey Super Stories
as Mad Scientist · 1974
Spidey Super Stories
as Police Officer · 1974
Gunner
as Kendrick Ryker · 2024
The Bonfire of the Vanities
as Judge Leonard White · 1990
Under Suspicion
as Captain Victor Benezet · 2000
My Dead Friend Zoe
as Dr. Cole · 2024
Brubaker
as Walter · 1980
The Maiden Heist
as Charles Peterson · 2009
March of the Penguins 2: The Next Step
as Narrator (English voice) · 2017
Just Getting Started
as Duke · 2017
Moll Flanders
as Hibble · 1996
Monochrome: Black, White & Blue
as Self · 2017
Momentum
as Senator · 2015
Lean On Me
as Principal Joe Clark · 1989
March of the Penguins
as Narrator · 2005
Slavery and the Making of America
as Self - Narrator (voice) · 2005
Brian Banks
as Jerome Johnson (uncredited) · 2019
Thick as Thieves
as Keith Ripley · 2009
Born to Be Wild
as Narrator (voice) · 2011
Johnny Handsome
as Lt. A.Z. Drones · 1989
The Minute You Wake Up Dead
as Sheriff Thurmond Fowler · 2022
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
as Uncle Hammer · 1978
The Big Bounce
as Walter Crewes · 2004
Clint Eastwood: The Last Legend
as Self (archive footage) · 2022
Vanquish
as Damon · 2021
Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It
as Self · 2021
Clean and Sober
as Craig · 1988
America Beyond the Color Line
as Self · 2004
Resting Place
as Luther Johnson · 1986
Marie: A True Story
as Charles Traughber · 1985
Shelter from the Storm: A Concert for the Gulf Coast
as Self · 2005
Street Smart
as Leo "Fast Black" Smalls, Jr. · 1987
Nos Bastidores de Hollywood
as Self (archive footage) · 2005
The Disney Family Singalong - Volume II
as Self · 2020
Ending the Knight
as Self · 2012
The Words That Built America
as Self - Reader: Declaration of Independence · 2017
The Pawnbroker
as Man on Street (Uncredited) · 1965
Eyewitness
as Lieutenant Black · 1981
The People Speak
as Self · 2009
Inside the Actors Studio
as Self · 1994
The Earth Day Special
as Walter Samson · 1990
Night of 100 Stars III
as Self · 1990
The Story of Us with Morgan Freeman
as Self - Host · 2017
The Long Way Home
as Narrator (voice) · 1997
The Execution of Raymond Graham
as Warden Pratt · 1985
A Man Called Adam
as Party Guest (uncredited) · 1966
That Was Then... This Is Now
as Charlie Woods · 1985
A Raisin in the Sun
as Narrator (voice) (uncredited) · 2008
Eastwood Directs: The Untold Story
as Self · 2013
Where Were You When the Lights Went Out?
as Grand Central Commuter (uncredited) · 1968
Where Were You When the Lights Went Out?
as Grand Central Commuter · 1968
Levity
as Miles Evans · 2003
Clint Eastwood: Out of the Shadows
as Narrator (voice) · 2000
Clint Eastwood : la légende
as Self · 2025
Betty White: A Celebration
as Self · 2022
Odysseus Returns
as Narrator · 2024
Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon
as Neil Armstrong (voice) · 2005
Clinton and Nadine
as Dorsey Pratt · 1988
Live from Studio Five
as Self · 2009
Die Clint Eastwood Story
as Self · 2018
Breaking the Taboo
as Narrator (voice) · 2011
Teachers
as Lewis · 1984
John G. Avildsen: King of the Underdogs
as Self · 2017
A Century of Cinema
as Self · 1994
Laddie: The Man Behind the Movies
as Self · 2017
The Best of The Tony Awards: The Plays
as Jaques (segment "As You Like It") · 2006
The Marva Collins Story
as Clarence Collins · 1981
Robin Hood: The Myth, the Man, the Movie
as Self · 1991
Oscar Micheaux: The Superhero of Black Filmmaking
as Self · 2021
AFI: 100 Years... 100 Movies... 10th Anniversary Edition
as Self · 2007
Wish Wizard
as Maxwell Omni · 2014
Where the Water Meets the Sky
· 2008
Boffo! Tinseltown's Bombs and Blockbusters
as Self · 2006
Meeting the Beatles in India
as Narrator (voice) · 2020
Clint Eastwood's West
as Self · 2011
Tales from the Warner Bros. Lot
as Self · 2013
The Hunting of the President
as Narrator (voice) · 2004
The 16th Man
as Narrator (voice) · 2010
B.B. King: The Life of Riley
as Narrator (voice) · 2012
Harry & Son
as Siemanowski · 1984
Inside the White House
as Narrator (voice) · 1996
Power of Chi
as Narrator (voice) · 2022
Eastwood & Co.: Making 'Unforgiven'
as Self · 2002
America's Musical Journey
as Narrator (voice) · 2018
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
as Uncle Hammer · 1978
Island of Lemurs: Madagascar
as Narrator (voice) · 2014
Genius. A Night for Ray Charles
as Self · 2004
761st Tank Battalion: The Original Black Panthers
as Self · 2023
Metro Boomin: Heroes & Villains
· 2022
Stephen King: Shining in the Dark
as Self · 1999
Who Says I Can't Ride a Rainbow!
as Afro · 1971
Scandalize My Name: Stories from the Blacklist
as Self · 1998
Eastwood & Co.: Making 'Unforgiven'
as Self · 1992
Out to Lunch
as Self / Croupier · 1974
The Making of Se7en
as Self · 1997
The Gospel at Colonus
as Messenger · 1985
Rob Reiner Interviews the Stars: Morgan Freeman
as Self · 2008
Betty White's 90th Birthday: A Tribute to America's Golden Girl
as Self · 2012
Shawshank: The Redeeming Feature
as Self · 2001
Declaration of Independence
as Self · 2003
The C Word
as Narrator (voice) · 2016
All on Accounta Pullin' a Trigger
as Self · 2002
The Electric Company's Greatest Hits & Bits
as Self · 2006
Death of a Prophet
as Malcolm X · 1981
Hate to See You Go
as Sonny Bell
Blacklist: Hollywood on Trial
as Edward G. Robinson · 1996
Rode to Ruin
as Joseph Mulberry · 2027
The Massachusetts 54th Colored Infantry
as Narrator (voice) · 1991
All About Us
as Self · 2007
JFK: A President Betrayed
as Narrator (voice) · 2013
James Lipton Takes on Three
as Self · 2005
Panama Canal: A Land Divided ~ A World United
as Self · 2019
Follow the Drinking Gourd
as Narrator (voice) · 1990
Into Nature's Wild
as Narrator (voice) · 2020
Blade
as Chris · 1973
Morgan Freeman: Breaking Barriers
as Self · 2022
The Promised Land
as Narrator (voice)
Guilty by Association
as Lt. Redding · 2003
The Editor and The Dragon: Horace Carter Fights the Klan
as Narrator (voice) · 2013
Caught in the Middle
· 1970
Attica
as Hap Richards · 1980
Prom Night in Mississippi
as Narrator (voice) · 2009
Hollow Image
as Sweet Talk · 1979
Survivors of the Shoah: Visual History Foundation
· 2004
Partners of the Heart
as Narrator (voice) · 2002
Le frontiere dell'Astronomia - EP-7 Vite aliene nel cosmo
as Narratore · 2012
Cosmic Voyage
as Narrator (voice) · 1996
The Power of Chi
as (narrator) · 2025
Sniff
as Joe Mulwray
The True Story of Glory Continues
as Narrator (voice) · 1991
Echoes 'Cross the Tracks
as Self · 2012
Amistad
as Theodore Joadson · 1997
Nacrose
as Morgan Freeman · 2027
JFK & LBJ: A Time for Greatness
as Narrator (voice) · 2015
Rabbit Ears - The Savior is Born
as Narrator (voice) · 1990
VM-krönika 2022
as Self (archive footage) · 2022
Blues Divas
as Self · 2005
The Blues Live On! The Delta Blues Museum
as Narrator (voice)
Fight for Life
as Dr. Sherard · 1987
The Eastwood Factor
as Self - Narrator (voice) · 2010
Born to Fight
as Self · 2005
Energy Crisis
as Self · 1974
The President's Photographer: Fifty Years Inside the Oval Office
as Narrator (voice) · 2010
The Little Bedroom
Greasy Rider
· 2006
We the People
as Narrator (voice) · 2014
A New Birth of Freedom
as Narrator
From the Balkans
as (narrator) · 2024