Morgan Freeman on the film that “galvanised my career into the movies”
Few actors have had a lengthier or more lucrative career than Morgan Freeman. Since finding his start in a series of small roles in the 1970s, Freeman has since become the main event, starring in over a hundred feature films and drawing people in with just his name. Along the way, he’s taken home every award you can think of and endeared himself to countless cinema-goers and cinephiles with his considered performances and increasingly familiar face.
Freeman has taken on some particularly notable roles in his time, from portraying activist Nelson Mandela in Invictus to playing God himself in Bruce Almighty. When it comes to picking out his favourite role, the actor is spoiled for choice between his appearances in the superhero realm, his magical dabblings in the Now You See Me films, his stunning performance alongside Brad Pitt in Se7en, and countless others.
From blockbusters to all-time greats, detectives to narrators, Freeman has a whole host of iconic characters in his catalogue. But the actor’s favourite role negates those mammoth commercial successes and critically acclaimed performances in favour of a relative flop: 1987’s Street Smart.
Directed by Jerry Schatzberg, Street Smart saw Freeman take on the role of a pimp nicknamed Fast Black. Though the film wasn’t hugely popular with audiences, particularly in comparison to Freeman’s subsequent work, it allowed the actor that early space to shine in a role.
In his performance, it’s easy to see Freeman’s budding talent, which would earn him a permanent place in Hollywood. As he embodies the slimy character, spitting out expletives as he oscillates between suave and intimidating, it’s clear that we’re watching the makings of an all-time great. The film spurred Freeman into action, which is why it takes the title of his favourite.
During an interview with CBS, the actor named it as his favourite role, stating that it “pushed me, galvanized my career into the movies.” It’s a choice that certainly makes sense within this context. While Freeman may have much flashier and more celebrated roles and films to his name, he would never have landed them without the initial groundwork.
In the years that followed the release of Street Smart, Freeman would land roles in the Academy Award-winning Driving Miss Daisy and all-time classic The Shawshank Redemption. It seemed that the film – and the Oscar nomination it earned him – had bolstered his confidence and ambition in cinema.
More than three decades and a whole career on from the release of Street Smart, it’s refreshing to hear that Freeman still credits his success to those early efforts. Rather than relishing in his bigger roles, in David Fincher flicks and Batman blockbusters, he knows that he might never have got there without the likes of Street Smart and Brubaker.
Without being pushed into the industry by Street Smart, he might never have come to collaborate with greats like Christopher Nolan and Clint Eastwood. He might never have won the Academy Award for Million Dollar Baby. He might never have become the celebrated actor we all know and love. Street Smart is an essential watch for fans of Freeman’s work hoping to delve further into his early days, into the first films that spawned such a successful career.
Revisit Freeman’s performance in Street Smart, the single favourite role of his career, below.
