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

Late Night with Seth Meyers

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

The Daily Show

The Graham Norton Show

Saturday Night Live

The Shawshank Redemption

The Dark Knight

All Movies (201)

• Now You See Me: Now You Don't2025 · as Thaddeus Bradley
• Clint Eastwood : la légende2025 · as Self
• The Power of Chi2025 · as (narrator)
• From the Balkans2024 · as (narrator)
• Gunner2024 · as Kendrick Ryker
• My Dead Friend Zoe2024 · as Dr. Cole
• Odysseus Returns2024 · as Narrator
• 57 Seconds2023 · as Anton Burrell
• 761st Tank Battalion: The Original Black Panthers2023 · as Self
• A Good Person2023 · as Daniel
• The Ritual Killer2023 · as Dr. Mackles
• Metro Boomin: Heroes & Villains2022
• Clint Eastwood: The Last Legend2022 · as Self (archive footage)
• The Minute You Wake Up Dead2022 · as Sheriff Thurmond Fowler
• Sidney2022 · as Self
• Paradise Highway2022 · as Gerick
• Betty White: A Celebration2022 · as Self
• Power of Chi2022 · as Narrator (voice)
• Oscar Micheaux: The Superhero of Black Filmmaking2021 · as Self
• Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It2021 · as Self
• Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard2021 · as Senior
• Vanquish2021 · as Damon
• Coming 2 America2021 · as Morgan Freeman
• Morgan Freeman: Breaking Barriers2021 · as Self
• The Comeback Trail2020 · as Reggie Fontaine
• Meeting the Beatles in India2020 · as Narrator (voice)
• The Disney Family Singalong - Volume II2020 · as Self
• Into Nature's Wild2020 · as Narrator (voice)
• Angel Has Fallen2019 · as Alan Trumbull
• Brian Banks2019 · as Jerome Johnson (uncredited)
• The Poison Rose2019 · as Doc
• Panama Canal: A Land Divided ~ A World United2019 · as Self
• The Nutcracker and the Four Realms2018 · as Drosselmeyer
• America's Musical Journey2018 · as Narrator (voice)
• Die Clint Eastwood Story2018 · as Self
• Just Getting Started2017 · as Duke
• Laddie: The Man Behind the Movies2017 · as Self
• John G. Avildsen: King of the Underdogs2017 · as Self
• The Words That Built America2017 · as Self - Reader: Declaration of Independence
• Going in Style2017 · as Willie Davis
• March of the Penguins 2: The Next Step2017 · as Narrator (English voice)
• Ben-Hur2016 · as Sheik Ilderim
• The C Word2016 · as Narrator (voice)
• Now You See Me 22016 · as Thaddeus Bradley
• London Has Fallen2016 · as Alan Trumbull
• Momentum2015 · as Senator
• JFK & LBJ: A Time for Greatness2015 · as Narrator (voice)
• Ted 22015 · as Patrick Meighan
• Last Knights2015 · as Bartok
• Dolphin Tale 22014 · as Dr. Cameron McCarthy
• Lucy2014 · as Professor Norman
• 5 Flights Up2014 · as Alex Carver
• Wish Wizard2014 · as Maxwell Omni
• Transcendence2014 · as Joseph Tagger
• Island of Lemurs: Madagascar2014 · as Narrator (voice)
• The Lego Movie2014 · as Vitruvius (voice)
• We the People2014 · as Narrator (voice)
• JFK: A President Betrayed2013 · as Narrator (voice)
• Last Vegas2013 · as Archibald 'Archie' Clayton
• Now You See Me2013 · as Thaddeus Bradley
• Eastwood Directs: The Untold Story2013 · as Self
• Oblivion2013 · as Beech
• Olympus Has Fallen2013 · as Alan Trumbull
• Tales from the Warner Bros. Lot2013 · as Self
• The Editor and The Dragon: Horace Carter Fights the Klan2013 · as Narrator (voice)
• Ending the Knight2012 · as Self
• B.B. King: The Life of Riley2012 · as Narrator (voice)
• The Dark Knight Rises2012 · as Fox
• The Magic of Belle Isle2012 · as Monte Wildhorn
• Le frontiere dell'Astronomia - EP-7 Vite aliene nel cosmo2012 · as Narratore
• Echoes 'Cross the Tracks2012 · as Self
• Betty White's 90th Birthday: A Tribute to America's Golden Girl2012 · as Self
• Dolphin Tale2011 · as Dr. McCarthy
• Conan the Barbarian2011 · as Narrator (voice)
• Clint Eastwood's West2011 · as Self
• Breaking the Taboo2011 · as Narrator (voice)
• Born to Be Wild2011 · as Narrator (voice)
• The President's Photographer: Fifty Years Inside the Oval Office2010 · as Narrator (voice)
• RED2010 · as Joe Matheson
• The 16th Man2010 · as Narrator (voice)
• The Eastwood Factor2010 · as Self - Narrator (voice)
• The People Speak2009 · as Self
• Invictus2009 · as Nelson Mandela
• The Maiden Heist2009 · as Charles Peterson
• Prom Night in Mississippi2009 · as Narrator (voice)
• Thick as Thieves2009 · as Keith Ripley
• The Dark Knight2008 · as Lucius Fox
• The Love Guru2008 · as Morgan Freemann (voice) (uncredited)
• Wanted2008 · as Sloan
• Rob Reiner Interviews the Stars: Morgan Freeman2008 · as Self
• Where the Water Meets the Sky2008
• A Raisin in the Sun2008 · as Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
• The Bucket List2007 · as Carter Chambers
• All About Us2007 · as Self
• Feast of Love2007 · as Harry Stevenson
• Gone Baby Gone2007 · as Jack Doyle
• AFI: 100 Years... 100 Movies... 10th Anniversary Edition2007 · as Self
• Evan Almighty2007 · as God
• The Electric Company's Greatest Hits & Bits2006 · as Self
• Greasy Rider2006
• 10 Items or Less2006 · as 'Him'
• Boffo! Tinseltown's Bombs and Blockbusters2006 · as Self
• The Best of The Tony Awards: The Plays2006 · as Jaques (segment "As You Like It")
• The Contract2006 · as Frank Carden
• Lucky Number Slevin2006 · as The Boss
• Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon2005 · as Neil Armstrong (voice)
• An Unfinished Life2005 · as Mitch Bradley
• Shelter from the Storm: A Concert for the Gulf Coast2005 · as Self
• Edison2005 · as Ashford
• James Lipton Takes on Three2005 · as Self
• Born to Fight2005 · as Self
• War of the Worlds2005 · as Narrator (voice)
• Batman Begins2005 · as Lucius Fox
• Nos Bastidores de Hollywood2005 · as Self (archive footage)
• Unleashed2005 · as Sam
• March of the Penguins2005 · as Narrator
• Blues Divas2005 · as Self
• Million Dollar Baby2004 · as Eddie Scrap-Iron Dupris
• Genius. A Night for Ray Charles2004 · as Self
• The Hunting of the President2004 · as Narrator (voice)
• Survivors of the Shoah: Visual History Foundation2004
• The Big Bounce2004 · as Walter Crewes
• Guilty by Association2003 · as Lt. Redding
• Declaration of Independence2003 · as Self
• Bruce Almighty2003 · as God
• Dreamcatcher2003 · as Col. Abraham Curtis
• Levity2003 · as Miles Evans
• All on Accounta Pullin' a Trigger2002 · as Self
• Eastwood & Co.: Making 'Unforgiven'2002 · as Self
• Partners of the Heart2002 · as Narrator (voice)
• The Sum of All Fears2002 · as DCI William Cabot
• High Crimes2002 · as Charlie Grimes
• Shawshank: The Redeeming Feature2001 · as Self
• Along Came a Spider2001 · as Alex Cross
• Clint Eastwood: Out of the Shadows2000 · as Narrator (voice)
• Nurse Betty2000 · as Charlie
• Under Suspicion2000 · as Captain Victor Benezet
• Stephen King: Shining in the Dark1999 · as Self
• Deep Impact1998 · as President Tom Beck
• Hard Rain1998 · as Jim
• Scandalize My Name: Stories from the Blacklist1998 · as Self
• Amistad1997 · as Theodore Joadson
• Kiss the Girls1997 · as Det. Alex Cross
• The Long Way Home1997 · as Narrator (voice)
• The Making of Se7en1997 · as Self
• Cosmic Voyage1996 · as Narrator (voice)
• Chain Reaction1996 · as Paul Shannon
• Moll Flanders1996 · as Hibble
• Blacklist: Hollywood on Trial1996 · as Edward G. Robinson
• Inside the White House1996 · as Narrator (voice)
• Se7en1995 · as Somerset
• Outbreak1995 · as General Billy Ford
• The Shawshank Redemption1994 · as Ellis Boyd 'Red' Redding
• Eastwood & Co.: Making 'Unforgiven'1992 · as Self
• Unforgiven1992 · as Ned Logan
• The Power of One1992 · as Geel Piet
• The True Story of Glory Continues1991 · as Narrator (voice)
• Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves1991 · as Azeem
• Robin Hood: The Myth, the Man, the Movie1991 · as Self
• The Massachusetts 54th Colored Infantry1991 · as Narrator (voice)
• The Bonfire of the Vanities1990 · as Judge Leonard White
• Follow the Drinking Gourd1990 · as Narrator (voice)
• Rabbit Ears - The Savior is Born1990 · as Narrator (voice)
• Night of 100 Stars III1990 · as Self
• The Earth Day Special1990 · as Walter Samson
• Glory1989 · as Sgt. Maj. John Rawlins
• Driving Miss Daisy1989 · as Hoke Colburn
• Johnny Handsome1989 · as Lt. A.Z. Drones
• Lean On Me1989 · as Principal Joe Clark
• Clean and Sober1988 · as Craig
• Clinton and Nadine1988 · as Dorsey Pratt
• Fight for Life1987 · as Dr. Sherard
• Street Smart1987 · as Leo "Fast Black" Smalls, Jr.
• Resting Place1986 · as Luther Johnson
• The Execution of Raymond Graham1985 · as Warden Pratt
• That Was Then... This Is Now1985 · as Charlie Woods
• The Gospel at Colonus1985 · as Messenger
• Marie: A True Story1985 · as Charles Traughber
• Teachers1984 · as Lewis
• Harry & Son1984 · as Siemanowski
• The Marva Collins Story1981 · as Clarence Collins
• Eyewitness1981 · as Lieutenant Black
• Death of a Prophet1981 · as Malcolm X
• Brubaker1980 · as Walter
• Attica1980 · as Hap Richards
• Hollow Image1979 · as Sweet Talk
• Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry1978 · as Uncle Hammer
• Out to Lunch1974 · as Self / Croupier
• Energy Crisis1974 · as Self
• Blade1973 · as Chris
• Who Says I Can't Ride a Rainbow!1971 · as Afro
• Caught in the Middle1970
• Where Were You When the Lights Went Out?1968 · as Grand Central Commuter (uncredited)
• Where Were You When the Lights Went Out?1968 · as Grand Central Commuter
• A Man Called Adam1966 · as Party Guest (uncredited)
• The Pawnbroker1965 · as Man on Street (Uncredited)
• Sniff— · as Joe Mulwray
• The Blues Live On! The Delta Blues Museum— · as Narrator (voice)
• The Little Bedroom—
• Hate to See You Go— · as Sonny Bell
• CLINT— · as Narrator (voice)

All TV Shows (75)

• The Dinosaurs2026 · as Self - Narrator (voice)
• The American Revolution2025 · as (voice)
• Number One on the Call Sheet2025 · as Self
• Life on Our Planet2023 · as Self - Narrator (voice)
• Lioness2023 · as Secretary of State Edwin Mullins
• 100 Years of Warner Bros.2023 · as Self - Narrator (voice)
• The Muppets Mayhem2023 · as Morgan Freeman
• Our Universe2022 · as Self - Narrator (voice)
• The Jennifer Hudson Show2022 · as Self - Guest
• History's Greatest Escapes with Morgan Freeman2021 · as Self - Host
• Clint Eastwood: A Cinematic Legacy2021 · as Self
• Solos2021 · as Narrator (voice)
• Solos2021 · as Stuart
• Scooby-Doo and Guess Who?2019 · as Morgan Freeman (voice)
• The Story of Us with Morgan Freeman2017 · as Self - Host
• Monochrome: Black, White & Blue2017 · as Self
• The Story of God with Morgan Freeman2016 · as Self - Host
• The Late Show with Stephen Colbert2015 · as Self
• Madam Secretary2014 · as Chief Justice Frawley
• Madam Secretary2014 · as Chief Justice Wilbourne (uncredited)
• Late Night with Seth Meyers2014 · as Self
• The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon2014 · as Self - Guest
• Curiosity2011 · as Self - Narrator (voice)
• Through the Wormhole2010 · as Self - Host
• 30 for 302009
• The Jay Leno Show2009 · as Self
• Live from Studio Five2009 · as Self
• The Graham Norton Show2007 · as Self
• The Reichen Show2005 · as Self - Guest
• Slavery and the Making of America2005 · as Self - Narrator (voice)
• The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson2005 · as Self
• America Beyond the Color Line2004 · as Self
• The Ellen DeGeneres Show2003 · as Self
• Jimmy Kimmel Live!2003 · as Self - Guest
• Mark Twain Prize1999 · as Self
• Parkinson1998 · as Self
• The View1997 · as Self
• The Chris Rock Show1997
• The Daily Show1996 · as Self
• Inside the Actors Studio1994 · as Self
• Late Night with Conan O'Brien1993 · as Self - Guest
• HBO First Look1992
• The Tonight Show with Jay Leno1992
• Shelley Duvall's Bedtime Stories1992 · as Narrator (voice)
• Pebble Mill1991 · as Self
• The Civil War1990 · as Frederick Douglass / John Boston (voice)
• American Experience1988 · as Narrator (voice)
• LIVE with Kelly and Mark1988
• American Masters1986 · as Narrator (voice)
• The Twilight Zone1985 · as Tony (segment "Dealer's Choice")
• The Atlanta Child Murders1985 · as Ben Shelter
• Goldene Kamera1984 · as Self
• CBS News Sunday Morning1979 · as Self
• The Kennedy Center Honors1978 · as Self
• Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry1978 · as Uncle Hammer
• Saturday Night Live1975 · as Self - Cameo (uncredited)
• Spidey Super Stories1974 · as Police officer
• Spidey Super Stories1974 · as Umpire
• Spidey Super Stories1974 · as Count Dracula
• Spidey Super Stories1974 · as Easy Reader
• The American Film Institute Salute to ...1973 · as Self
• The Electric Company1971 · as Mark /Easy Reader /Mel Mounds /Count Dracula /Mad Scientist /The Cop /Marcello
• Great Performances1971 · as Messenger
• 60 Minutes1968 · as Self
• Tony Awards1956 · as Self - Performer
• The Oscars1953 · as Self - Presenter
• The Oscars1953 · as Self
• Today1952 · as Self
• Hallmark Hall of Fame1951 · as Clarence
• Hallmark Hall of Fame1951 · as Luther
• Golden Globe Awards1944 · as Self - Presenter
• Golden Globe Awards1944 · as Self - Nominee
• Golden Globe Awards1944 · as Self
• Golden Globe Awards1944 · as Self - Cecil B. DeMille Award Recipient
• The Promised Land— · as Narrator (voice)