Morgan Porterfield Freeman, Jr. is an American actor, film director, and narrator. He is noted for his reserved demeanor and authoritative speaking voice. Freeman has received Academy Award nominations for his performances in Street Smart, Driving Miss Daisy, The Shawshank Redemption and Invictus and won in 2005 for Million Dollar Baby. He has also won a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award. Morgan Freeman was born in Memphis, Tennessee, the son of Mayme Edna (née Revere) and Morgan Porterfield Freeman, Sr., a barber who died in 1961 from liver cirrhosis. Freeman was sent as an infant to his paternal grandmother in Charleston, Mississippi. He has three older siblings. Freeman's family moved frequently during his childhood, living in Greenwood, Mississippi; Gary, Indiana; and finally Chicago, Illinois. Freeman made his acting debut at age 9, playing the lead role in a school play. He then attended Broad Street High School, currently Threadgill Elementary School, in Mississippi. At age 12, he won a statewide drama competition, and while still at Broad Street High School, he performed in a radio show based in Nashville, Tennessee. In 1955, he graduated from Broad Street High School, but turned down a partial drama scholarship from Jackson State University, opting instead to work as a mechanic in the United States Air Force. Freeman moved to Los Angeles in the early 1960s and worked as a transcript clerk at Los Angeles Community College. During this period, he also lived in New York City, working as a dancer at the 1964 World's Fair, and in San Francisco, where he was a member of the Opera Ring music group. Freeman acted in a touring company version of The Royal Hunt of the Sun, and also appeared as an extra in the 1965 film The Pawnbroker. He made his off-Broadway debut in 1967, opposite Viveca Lindfors in The Nigger Lovers (about the civil rights era "Freedom Riders"), before debuting on Broadway in 1968's all-black version of Hello, Dolly!, which also starred Pearl Bailey and Cab Calloway. Freeman was married to Jeanette Adair Bradshaw from October 22, 1967, until 1979. He married Myrna Colley-Lee on June 16, 1984. The couple separated in December 2007. Freeman's attorney and business partner, Bill Luckett, announced in August 2008 that Freeman and his wife are in the process of divorce. He has two sons from previous relationships. He adopted his first wife's daughter and the couple also had a fourth child. Freeman lives in Charleston, Mississippi, and New York City. He has a private pilot's license, which he earned at age 65, and co-owns and operates Madidi, a fine dining restaurant, and Ground Zero, a blues club, both located in Clarksdale, Mississippi. He officially opened his second Ground Zero in Memphis, Tennessee on April 24, 2008. Freeman has publicly criticized the celebration of Black History Month and does not participate in any related events, saying, "I don't want a black history month. Black history is American history." He says the only way to end racism is to stop talking about it, and he notes that there is no "white history month". Freeman once said on an interview with 60 Minutes' Mike Wallace: "I am going to stop calling you a white man and I'm going to ask you to stop calling me a black man.
Movie | Hate to See You Go | Sonny Bell | 2025 |
Movie | Gunner | Kendrick Ryker | 2024-06-06 |
Movie | The Ritual Killer | Dr. Mackles | 2023-03-09 |
Movie | A Good Person | Daniel | 2023-03-23 |
Movie | 57 Seconds | Anton Burrell | 2023-09-29 |
Series | 100 Years of Warner Bros. | Self - Narrator (voice) | 2023-05-25 |
Movie | Paradise Highway | Gerick | 2022-07-29 |
Movie | Heroes & Villains | 2022-11-29 | |
Movie | Sidney | Self | 2022-09-10 |
Movie | The Minute You Wake Up Dead | Sheriff Thurmond Fowler | 2022-11-04 |
Movie | Coming 2 America | Morgan Freeman | 2021-03-04 |
Movie | Vanquish | Damon | 2021-04-16 |
Movie | Oscar Micheaux: The Superhero of Black Filmmaking | Self | 2021-07-10 |
Series | Solos | Stuart | 2021-05-21 |
Movie | Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It | Self | 2021-06-18 |
Movie | Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard | Senior | 2021-06-14 |
Movie | Dave Chappelle: The Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize | Self | 2020-01-07 |
Movie | Meeting the Beatles in India | Narrator (voice) | 2020-09-09 |
Movie | The Comeback Trail | Reggie Fontaine | 2020-11-12 |
Movie | The Disney Family Singalong - Volume II | Self | 2020-05-10 |
Movie | Angel Has Fallen | Alan Trumbull | 2019-08-21 |
Movie | The Poison Rose | Doc | 2019-05-23 |
Movie | The Nutcracker and the Four Realms | Drosselmeyer | 2018-10-26 |
Movie | America's Musical Journey | Narrator (voice) | 2018-05-17 |
Movie | Alpha | Narrator | 2018-08-17 |
Movie | March of the Penguins 2: The Next Step | Narrator (english voice) | 2017-02-15 |
Movie | Going in Style | Willie Davis | 2017-04-06 |
Movie | Laddie: The Man Behind the Movies | Self | 2017-11-12 |
Movie | The Words That Built America | Reader - Declaration of Independence | 2017-07-04 |
Movie | Just Getting Started | Duke | 2017-12-01 |
Movie | London Has Fallen | Alan Trumbull | 2016-03-02 |
Movie | Ben-Hur | Sheik Ilderim | 2016-08-17 |
Movie | Now You See Me 2 | Thaddeus Bradley | 2016-06-02 |
Movie | Ted 2 | Patrick Meighan | 2015-06-25 |
Movie | Momentum | Senator | 2015-10-15 |
Movie | Last Knights | Bartok | 2015-04-03 |
Movie | The Lego Movie | Vitruvius (voice) | 2014-02-06 |
Movie | Wish Wizard | Maxwell Omni | 2014-04-29 |
Movie | We the People | Narrator (voice) | 2014-01-06 |
Movie | Transcendence | Joseph Tagger | 2014-04-16 |
Movie | Dolphin Tale 2 | Dr. Cameron McCarthy | 2014-09-11 |
Movie | Lucy | Professor Samuel Norman | 2014-07-25 |
Movie | Lennon or McCartney | Self (archive footage) | 2014-12-12 |
Movie | 5 Flights Up | Alex Carver | 2014-05-10 |
Movie | Olympus Has Fallen | Alan Trumbull | 2013-03-20 |
Movie | Tales from the Warner Bros. Lot | Self | 2013-01-15 |
Movie | Oblivion | Beech | 2013-04-10 |
Movie | Eastwood Directs: The Untold Story | Self | 2013-04-27 |
Movie | Last Vegas | Archibald 'Archie' Clayton | 2013-10-31 |
Movie | The Fire Rises: The Creation and Impact of The Dark Knight Trilogy | Self (archive footage) | 2013-09-24 |
Movie | Now You See Me | Thaddeus Bradley | 2013-05-29 |
Movie | Betty White's 90th Birthday: A Tribute to America's Golden Girl | Self | 2012-01-16 |
Movie | Echoes 'Cross the Tracks | Self | 2012-03-01 |
Movie | Ending the Knight | Self | 2012-12-04 |
Movie | The Magic of Belle Isle | Monte Wildhorn | 2012-07-06 |
Movie | The Dark Knight Rises | Lucius Fox | 2012-07-17 |
Movie | Clint Eastwood's West | Self | 2011-07-06 |
Movie | Breaking the Taboo | Narrator (voice) | 2011-06-03 |
Series | Curiosity | Self - Narrator (voice) | 2011-08-07 |
Movie | Conan the Barbarian | Narrator (voice) | 2011-08-17 |
Movie | Dolphin Tale | Dr. McCarthy | 2011-09-22 |
Movie | For Love of Liberty: The Story of America's Black Patriots | Self (voice) | 2010-01-01 |
Movie | RED | Joe Matheson | 2010-10-13 |
Movie | Wild Ride | 2010-06-01 | |
Movie | Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy | Self (archive footage) | 2010-05-04 |
Movie | Thick as Thieves | Keith Ripley | 2009-01-09 |
Movie | The Maiden Heist | Charles Peterson | 2009-05-09 |
Movie | The People Speak | Self | 2009-12-13 |
Movie | Invictus | Nelson Mandela | 2009-12-11 |
Movie | Wanted | Sloan | 2008-06-19 |
Movie | A Raisin in the Sun | Narrator (voice) (uncredited) | 2008-02-25 |
Movie | The Love Guru | (Voice) | 2008-06-20 |
Movie | The Dark Knight | Lucius Fox | 2008-07-16 |
Movie | AFI: 100 Years... 100 Movies... 10th Anniversary Edition | Self | 2007-06-20 |
Movie | Evan Almighty | God | 2007-06-09 |
Movie | Gone Baby Gone | Jack Doyle | 2007-09-18 |
Movie | Feast of Love | Harry Stevenson | 2007-09-28 |
Movie | The Bucket List | Carter Chambers | 2007-12-25 |
Movie | All About Us | Self | 2007-10-01 |
Movie | The Contract | Frank Carden | 2006-04-05 |
Movie | The Best of The Tony Awards: The Plays | Jaques (segment "As You Like It") | 2006-05-02 |
Movie | Lucky Number Slevin | The Boss | 2006-02-24 |
Movie | The Electric Company's Greatest Hits & Bits | Self | 2006-11-25 |
Movie | Boffo! Tinseltown's Bombs and Blockbusters | Self | 2006-06-13 |
Movie | 10 Items or Less | 'Him' | 2006-09-11 |
Series | Slavery and the Making of America | Self - Narrator (voice) | 2005-02-09 |
Movie | Unleashed | Sam | 2005-02-02 |
Movie | March of the Penguins | Narrator (English voice) | 2005-01-26 |
Movie | Nos Bastidores de Hollywood | Self | 2005-03-01 |
Movie | Blues Divas | Self | 2005-01-22 |
Movie | An Unfinished Life | Mitch Bradley | 2005-09-09 |
Movie | Batman Begins | Lucius Fox | 2005-06-10 |
Movie | Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon | Neil Armstrong (voice) | 2005-09-23 |
Movie | Edison | Ashford | 2005-07-29 |
Movie | War of the Worlds | Narrator (voice) | 2005-06-28 |
Movie | The Hunting of the President | Narrator (voice) | 2004-04-27 |
Movie | The Big Bounce | Walter Crewes | 2004-01-30 |
Movie | Genius. A Night for Ray Charles | Self | 2004-10-07 |
Movie | Million Dollar Baby | Eddie 'Scrap-Iron' Dupris | 2004-12-15 |
Movie | Levity | Miles Evans | 2003-03-16 |
Movie | Dreamcatcher | Col. Abraham Curtis | 2003-03-21 |
Movie | Bruce Almighty | God | 2003-05-23 |
Movie | Declaration of Independence | Self | 2003-06-10 |
Movie | High Crimes | Charlie Grimes | 2002-04-05 |
Movie | The Sum of All Fears | DCI William Cabot | 2002-05-31 |
Movie | Eastwood & Co.: Making 'Unforgiven' | Self | 2002-09-24 |
Movie | Partners of the Heart | Narrator (voice) | 2002-06-01 |
Movie | All on Accounta Pullin' a Trigger | Self | 2002-09-24 |
Movie | Along Came a Spider | Alex Cross | 2001-04-06 |
Movie | Shawshank: The Redeeming Feature | Self | 2001-09-08 |
Movie | Under Suspicion | Captain Victor Benezet | 2000-08-24 |
Movie | Nurse Betty | Charlie | 2000-08-30 |
Movie | Clint Eastwood: Out of the Shadows | Narrator (voice) | 2000-09-27 |
Movie | Water Damage | Tom Preedy | 1999-07-30 |
Movie | The Life Before This | Paper Boy | 1999-09-15 |
Movie | Scandalize My Name: Stories from the Blacklist | Self | 1998-01-01 |
Movie | 54 | Angelic Boy | 1998-08-28 |
Movie | Hard Rain | Jim | 1998-01-16 |
Movie | Deep Impact | President Tom Beck | 1998-05-08 |
Movie | The Long Way Home | Narrator (voice) | 1997-09-19 |
Movie | Eastwood on Eastwood | Himself (archive footage) | 1997-11-01 |
Movie | Amistad | Theodore Joadson | 1997-12-10 |
Movie | Kiss the Girls | Alex Cross | 1997-09-29 |
Movie | Inside the White House | Narrator (voice) | 1996-01-01 |
Movie | Moll Flanders | Hibble | 1996-06-14 |
Movie | Chain Reaction | Paul Shannon | 1996-08-02 |
Movie | Outbreak | General Billy Ford | 1995-03-10 |
Movie | Se7en | Somerset | 1995-09-22 |
Movie | The Shawshank Redemption | Ellis Boyd 'Red' Redding | 1994-09-23 |
Movie | Unforgiven | Ned Logan | 1992-08-07 |
Movie | The Power of One | Geel Piet | 1992-03-27 |
Movie | The Massachusetts 54th Colored Infantry | Narrator (voice) | 1991-01-01 |
Movie | Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves | Azeem | 1991-06-14 |
Movie | Night of 100 Stars III | Self | 1990-05-21 |
Movie | The Earth Day Special | Walter Samson | 1990-04-22 |
Series | The Civil War | Frederick Douglass | 1990-09-23 |
Movie | The Bonfire of the Vanities | Judge Leonard White | 1990-12-21 |
Movie | Lean On Me | Principal Joe Clark | 1989-03-03 |
Movie | Driving Miss Daisy | Hoke Colburn | 1989-12-13 |
Movie | Glory | Sgt. Maj. John Rawlins | 1989-12-15 |
Movie | Johnny Handsome | Lt. A.Z. Drones | 1989-09-12 |
Movie | Clean and Sober | Craig | 1988-08-10 |
Movie | Clinton and Nadine | Dorsey Pratt | 1988-05-04 |
Movie | Fight for Life | Dr. Sherard | 1987-03-23 |
Movie | Street Smart | Leo "Fast Black" Smalls, Jr. | 1987-03-20 |
Movie | Resting Place | Luther Johnson | 1986-04-27 |
Series | The Atlanta Child Murders | Ben Shelter | 1985-02-10 |
Movie | The Execution of Raymond Graham | Warden Pratt | 1985-11-17 |
Movie | That Was Then... This Is Now | Charlie Woods | 1985-11-08 |
Movie | Marie | Charles Traughber | 1985-09-27 |
Movie | Harry & Son | Siemanowski | 1984-03-02 |
Movie | Teachers | Lewis | 1984-10-05 |
Movie | Death of a Prophet | Malcolm X | 1981-01-01 |
Movie | Eyewitness | Lieutenant Black | 1981-02-13 |
Movie | The Marva Collins Story | Clarence Collins | 1981-12-01 |
Movie | Attica | Hap Richards | 1980-03-02 |
Movie | Brubaker | Walter | 1980-06-20 |
Series | Texas | Detective Michaels | 1980-08-04 |
Movie | Hollow Image | Sweet Talk | 1979-06-24 |
Movie | Coriolanus | Coriolanus | 1979-03-31 |
Movie | Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry | Uncle Hammer | 1978-06-02 |
Movie | Blade | Chris | 1973-12-01 |
Movie | Who Says I Can't Ride a Rainbow! | Afro | 1971-11-18 |
Series | The Electric Company | Easy Reader | 1971-10-25 |
Movie | Where Were You When the Lights Went Out? | Grand Central Commuter (uncredited) | 1968-06-19 |
Movie | A Man Called Adam | Party Guest (Uncredited) | 1966-03-16 |
Series | Another World | 1964-05-04 | |
Movie | The Pawnbroker | Man on Street (Uncredited) | 1964-06-01 |