Morgan Freeman explains how he developed his iconic voice
Not only is Morgan Freeman the proud host of the most velvety and comforting voice in recorded history, but his acting talent is still yet to meet its match after six decades of Hollywood success. Whether narrating Luc Jacquet’s March of the Penguins or portraying Red in The Shawshank Redemption, Freeman never fails to evoke superlative emotion in his roles.
Outside of acting and narrating, Freeman explores a deep passion for music, especially the blues. In his hometown of Clarksdale, Mississippi, the Driving Miss Daisy actor owns The Ground Zero Blues Club, which, just before opening in 2001, he described as “a traditional blues, gut-bucket juke joint à la Robert Johnson or whoever else.”
“I can play, but I’m not good, although I have a good time,” Freeman revealed at the time. “I only learned folk chords, you know. C, F, G major. I’m not switching gears at all. I’m strictly an actor, but I’m going along with a couple of friends who are business entrepreneurs; I don’t have to be a businessman; I just go along.”
As a blues aficionado, Freeman has long adored the deep, resonant voices of Johnson, Muddy Waters and BB King, and in many ways, can be seen as bringing the sonorous, emotive voice of the blues to cinema. However, Freeman didn’t get all the vocal training he needed from his musical idols.
Appearing on Late Night with Conan O’Brien in 2007, Freeman discussed his famously soothing voice and revealed that a voice coach played an important role in its development. “No, no, no, no,” Freeman replied when asked if it was a genetic boon. “It’s not a natural gift at all. I don’t think that any voice is a natural gift. Someone helps you get it.”
“It was high,” Freeman revealed. “I had a very thick Southern accent. I was raised in Mississippi.”
Freeman then explained how he developed his voice. “When I studied Acting 101 at LACC, Los Angeles City College, and it turned out that it was a very fine voice coach, voice instructor,” he continued. “He gave us voice and diction and voice development. Voice development is where he started working you down in your register. He says everybody, most people talk a bit higher than their normal [voice].”
Later in the interview, Freeman revealed that he became a rather astute “thief” of voices and could emulate most of his fellow actors. “The only people I can’t do that with are James Cagney and Clark Gable,” Freeman admitted. “Well, what they had was this dialogue affinity. If you’ve listened to Clark Gable, dialogue comes out of him like that [snaps fingers], and it’s all clear. I can’t do it.”
