Morgan Freeman’s least favourite roles to play: “I’ve only done it twice now”
They say that one of the biggest challenges as an actor is the emotional demands of stepping into someone else’s shoes. As someone who has literally played God, you could say that Morgan Freeman is no exception.
All things considered, Freeman is one of the most impressive and well-respected veteran actors in Hollywood with no signs of even slowing down. Even well into his 80s, he’s still churning out projects, with his sights on all the things he’s always wanted to do but hasn’t had the chance to yet, like work with Meryl Streep or host Saturday Night Live.
Another thing that used to be on his bucket list, that is, until Freeman aged beyond the necessary bracket, was to play the legendary Bass Reeves. As an actor who is more than equipped to shine in any biopic he sets his mind to, it’s easy to imagine how Freeman would have mastered the lawman on screen, especially going back some years, when taking on a real person felt less like a major challenge than his preferred current approach, which means taking on less emotionally demanding roles.
In fact, when it comes to real people, Freeman knows more than most just how intense it can be, even as someone who hasn’t actually done it all that many times. One of the most obvious examples was stepping into the shoes of Nelson Mandela in 2009’s Invictus, a major challenge as one of the most seasoned actors.
For Freeman, the project felt like “destiny”, mainly because, as he explained to Black Film, he was almost “the chosen one” after being named by Mandela in his 1992 autobiography when considering actors he’d like to play him in a biopic. Still, the vote of confidence did little to help those familiar nerves that come with playing a real person, as Freeman struggled to get into the mindset of someone who wasn’t physically there to build an in-person connection with.
“I don’t play living people—I’ve only done it twice now,” Freeman told The Conquerer. He compared both projects, Invictus and Lean on Me, saying, “With Lean on Me, the real Joe was there every day, and that made it easier, because if you’re going to play a living person, it helps to hold hands, literally. You get a sense of their energy, whether it’s high or low or if this person is calm or humming with anxiety.”
To get over the barrier, Freeman relentlessly studied existing footage, ranging from “everyday stuff” to the more spotlighted moments. One thing that he learned from his extensive research was the things that most people probably didn’t notice – even those close to him. For example, while watching footage, Freeman noticed that Mandela didn’t use his left hand much, though he had no idea why.
In discovering things like that, however, Freeman built his own connection with the legendary figure, especially when things like not using his left hand were something he also shared. As he reflected, “I was sort of relieved, because I can’t use mine well either, since my car accident last year. There’s no reason to. You don’t act like there’s something wrong with the hand; you just don’t use it.”
It says a lot that most of the projects that came before and after Invictus paled in comparison. Though it’s hard to ignore the prophetic nature of Freeman stepping into those shoes and the ways he likely observed Mandela in subtle ways long before he knew he would one day be playing him on screen, in preparation for the role before he’d even signed on.
