The one actor Morgan Freeman simply refused to work with: “The man chastised me like a little boy”
Even if his filmography paints him as a kind father figure for multiple generations of audience members, Morgan Freeman doesn’t make it all the way to the summit of the industry by playing it nicely.
So smooth and naturally lilted is his speaking voice that he could have easily retired simply providing the narration for countless movies, documentaries and commercials. When combining this natural magnetism with a supremely dedicated work ethic and salad days spent treading the theatre boards, it would appear that Freeman’s position as a gifted Hollywood star was almost impossible to avoid.
Working with esteemed actors and directors and providing countless golden moments of cinematic bliss, Freeman’s career is a storied one. He has the awards to go with it, too, picking up a Golden Globe for ‘Best Actor’ for his role in Driving Miss Daisy in 1990, only to gain the big shiny prize of an Academy Award in 2005 for his supporting role in Million Dollar Baby.
Every actor needs a ruthless streak to emerge towards the front of the pack, and being a good egg only gets somebody so far when Hollywood is a notoriously competitive and cutthroat business that regularly finds multiple performers competing for the same part.
Of course, Freeman has spent decades in the position of being a hugely respected and constantly in-demand living legend of the business, which also grants him the veteran status of being able to pass judgment on the next crop of up-and-comers. In one particular instance, though, he was less than impressed.
In fact, the Academy Award winner was left so disgruntled by a table read long before cameras had even started rolling that he ensured the cast member hired to act alongside a litany of awards-laden legends was given their marching orders and replaced, and it’s easy to see why, given what transpired.
Like many musicians before him, rapper TI had designs on cinematic stardom, which he’d set about accomplishing by notching roles in movies like American Gangster, Ant-Man, and Dolemite Is My Name. At the beginning of his nascent acting career, he ran afoul of Freeman, to the point it was decided his presence was no longer required.
Thanks to his rising profile, he didn’t even need to audition for the light-hearted comedy Last Vegas – which starred Freeman alongside fellow Oscar winners Michael Douglas, Robert De Niro, Kevin Kline, and Mary Steenburgen – but a late night before the table read would be his final contribution to the project.
“I’m dozing off at the table! Falling asleep while everybody’s right there,” he shared on his expediTIously podcast. “After I did this about three or four times, Morgan Freeman from across the table says, ‘Son! Are you with us, son? Are you OK? Son? Get up! What is your problem?’”
Taken aback by how “the man chastised me like a little boy right there at the table,” Freeman’s reaction was understandable, considering TI’s behaviour was far from professional. After the disastrous incident, his agent let him know that “Morgan Freeman said he won’t work with you,” and he was fired from the Last Vegas ensemble.
He did at least get paid his salary in full after Freeman expedited his exit, but he was dead wrong when he implied the “movie tanked” and would have fared better if he remained on board. John Turteltaub’s comedy comfortably cleared $130million at the global box office, but T.I. didn’t miss out too much after receiving full compensation for pissing off a legend and getting booted as a result.
