‘Dealer’s Choice’: Morgan Freeman’s forgotten collaboration with Wes Craven
Morgan Freeman has done just about anything one could dream of in this industry, with a prolific career that has led him to be regarded as one of the greatest actors of all time and be offered the chance to play God twice.
With an instantly recognisable voice and an expansive body of work, he’s worked with auteurs like David Fincher, Christopher Nolan and Clint Eastwood, among many, many others. However, while he might be a veteran of the film world, the actor once reprised a role in a hit television series that went surprisingly under the radar.
Wes Craven has always been one of the leading directors within the horror scene, providing a new voice for all the things that go bump in the night and helming the ultimate spooky series through his creation of the Scream franchise. It had the kind of cold opening that immediately startled audiences and changed the framework of the genre, with Drew Barrymore’s character being killed in the first ten minutes, despite hers being advertised as the main character of the film.
Additionally, the director was also known for classics like A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Last House on the Left and The Hills Have Eyes, showing a clear affinity for the genre and his ability to hone in on the language of fear and terror. It’s a dialect most directors steered clear of, with just a few being able to truly tap into this mindset and capitalise on all our darkest fears.
While Freeman is not typically known for his work within this genre, aside from a few chilling stories like Se7en and the darker moments within The Dark Knight trilogy, the actor joined forces with Craven for a bizarrely unknown episode of The Twilight Zone, which might just be the most infamous horror series of all time
During the peak of its prime, The Twilight Zone was one of the most popular shows on television, with a deep and frantic fan base that obsessed over each new instalment of its mystical world. Each episode followed ordinary people who found themselves in extraordinary and often paranormal situations, trying to solve them in equally magical ways. The show has been cited by the likes of Jordan Peele as being an influence on their work, as its unique tone captivated audiences through a blend of fear and awe-inducing spectacles.
However, there are perhaps many who are unaware of Freeman’s role in the show, with the actor starring in one episode in the second series. Titled ‘Dealer’s Choice’, the episode follows a group of people playing poker for one evening, in which one of them is secretly the devil.
With an ensemble cast led by Freeman, the episode was directed by Craven, something that the director later revealed was particularly challenging to shoot, given that it all takes place at a poker table, making it tricky to figure out the right angles. It’s easy to miss it given the storyline takes place amongst two others in the episode, but it’s one that is made memorable through Freeman’s appearance, adding another feather to his bow.
