Morgan Freeman picks his favourite director to work with
With a career spanning six decades, Morgan Freeman is established as an undeniable Hollywood staple. Known for his sheer versatility and recognisable voice, the actor has appeared in nearly every genre you can think of, becoming known as one of the industry’s most celebrated stars.
Who can forget this star turn in The Shawshank Redemption, playing the inmate Ellis Redding, better known as Red? Or perhaps his gripping performance as the police officer William Somerset in David Fincher’s tense thriller Se7en? Freeman has inspired generations of actors with his mastery of the craft, with many directors only dreaming of working with the star.
However, for some filmmakers, they have been able to collaborate with Freeman multiple times. One of these is Clint Eastwood, both a legendary actor and director whose career has also spanned many decades. After finding acclaim in westerns such as The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly and A Fistful of Dollars, as well as thrillers like Dirty Harry and Escape From Alcatraz, Eastwood began directing.
Freeman has starred in four movies directed by Eastwood, beginning with Unforgiven. Released in 1992, Freeman stars alongside Gene Hackman and Eastwood himself, with the film taking home ‘Best Picture’ and ‘Best Director’ at the Academy Awards.
From there, the pair have continued to work together on movies such as Million Dollar Baby, Gran Torino and Invictus, with the former giving Freeman his only Oscar win for ‘Best Supporting Actor’. The pair have a close friendship, which certainly aids their working relationship. Freeman once revealed why he loves collaborating with the director so much in an interview with Larry Clark, highlighting how Eastwood’s experience as an actor shapes his directorial style.
“He doesn’t fool around with actors,” Freeman explained, “He hires you to do the job. So he ain’t doing it for you. He respects the actor.”
Eastwood’s understanding of what it’s like to be an actor, having experienced all different kinds of sets throughout his career, has helped him discover his ideal conditions for creating a movie. He once told DGA Quarterly, “I like an atmosphere that isn’t loaded with tension. I don’t like sets where people are yelling at each other. The thing I dislike the most is people going ‘Sssh sssh sssh,’ because they end up making more noise than the people they’re trying to sssh.”
Freeman believes that Eastwood’s familiarity with how actors work best makes him so successful and, subsequently, his favourite director to collaborate with. He told King, “Everybody who has ever worked with him come away with that feeling: ‘This guy is tops.’”
The actor also praised Eastwood’s “speed”, revealing that “he doesn’t fool around”.
He added, impersonating Eastwood, “You got it? Let’s move on”.
While this might not be the best method of working for every filmmaker, it has certainly allowed Eastwood to achieve his goals, and judging by the acclaim he has received over the years, this technique has been rather successful.
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