'People know my voice before they see my face. It's what I always wanted': The world according to Morgan Freeman



'I learned the power of charm early on in life. As a young black man in Fifties America in Mississippi you have to learn something extra special to keep yourself out of trouble,' said Morgan Freeman

Morgan Freeman, born into poverty in 1937, wasn't a hit as an actor until his forties, when he appeared in the film Street Smart. It won him his first Golden Globe award, and he's since appeared in The Shawshank Redemption, Driving Miss Daisy, Million Dollar Baby, Bruce Almighty (as God), and Batman Begins, among many others.

As a black actor in Hollywood his idol was Sidney Poitier. He laughs: 'When I met him we started to have a conversation about who was the better actor. In the end I decided it was me because I could sing and I could dance. Sidney can't do all three.'

His most recent role is as Nelson Mandela in Invictus, the story of the alliance between Mandela and the South African rugby captain, Francois Pienaar, played by Matt Damon.



'Don't make the mistake of thinking this movie is about rugby,' he says. 'I knew nothing about rugby and still know nothing. This movie is about the relationship between Mandela and Pienaar, how they united a country, united black and white, how Mandela, who was the leader, gave his country a champion. It's a story about men, relationships and courage.'

Freeman, who divorced for the second time three years ago, has four children and owns a restaurant and two blues clubs. In 2008 he almost died in a car crash near his home in Mississippi. He says: 'I'm still living with the pain. I get nerve pains in my arms which bother me but I'm walking, I'm working and I'm still smiling. I'm a lucky man.'







Playing Mandela is harder than playing God.



I am lucky enough to call Nelson Mandela a friend. I call him Madiba, as he's known by his people. I met him in 1993 and I knew I was in the presence of greatness. A year later he said if any actor played him he'd like it to be me, which is probably the greatest compliment I've received. From that point I've been looking for the right project, which finally happened with Invictus. What I wanted to get across was Mandela the man. On the occasions I've been with him I study him, how he speaks to everyone, notices everyone. I studied his movements so many times, his walk, his hand movements, the way he holds his head. One of the most humbling things he once told me was that he worries that people will forget him. Can you imagine him thinking that? It meant a lot to me how he felt about my portrayal of him. We went over to be with him and he sat and watched the film in silence. At the end he pointed to the screen and said: 'I know that fellow,' and then he gave this smile and left. That's Mandela. It's about actions more than words.



Morgan, as Nelson Mandela, and Matt Damon in Invictus

For five years I was destined to be one of the best fighter pilots in America.



As a child I had two passions, acting and flying. For a black man back then to join the air force, it was expected he would be an engineer. I had to fight to be a pilot, to be twice as good, three times as sharp, four times as focused. I had to prove myself ten times over. It took me from the age of 16 to 21 and I was better than all the rest of them. For my final exam I climbed into the cockpit of a T-33 fighter jet and the trainer climbed in next to me. I looked at the deck of dials and knobs and levers and thought: 'This is my dream. This is it.' Then I looked down at my hands on the wheel and I had the sudden realisation that the whole point of this machine was to kill people. At the age of 21, having done all that work, all that training, I realised I didn't want to be a fighter pilot, actually killing people. My dreams were about war movies, not war. I wanted to act as a fighter pilot, not be one. That was the moment my real goal fell into focus. The same day I walked out of the air force.



Financial success just means you make more money than you can spend.



That's it. Don't get dragged down by it. Once you get beyond having to earn enough to keep body and soul together you are free. Money has never been a motivation for me and although it's pretty wonderful to have people say good things about your work, fame has never been a motivation either. I didn't get a lot of success till my late forties. That fact tells its own story. I act because I want to act. I want to do good work, I want to tell big stories on a big screen to all those little kids like me who watch in wonder and hopefully learn something. Money shouldn't be the passion.







Morgan with his Oscar for Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role in Million Dollar Baby

I don't believe in strategies, game plans or gambles.

I believe you find your own fate. When I was in my late twenties and thirties a lot of African-American actors were rushing to Hollywood, which had started to open up. It was the big plan, the big strategy; it was the thing you were supposed to do. My agent told me not to go, to wait till Hollywood came to me. I had offers on the table for parts I chose not to do because I felt I was being chosen only for my colour. Some people would have said the smart thing to do was say 'yes'. I said 'no'. I waited and finally it happened in 1987 with Street Smart. I was older, wiser and it was my time.

Charm has been my greatest gift.



I learned the power of charm early on in life. As a young black man in Fifties America in Mississippi you have to learn something extra special to keep yourself out of trouble. Charm beats aggression any day and it's something you'll use all your life. Charm is the secret ingredient and it's more powerful than anything I know. A lot of people could benefit from working on a bit of charm.

I am an unrepentant mother's boy.

My mother was a rolling stone. There were five of us - from four different fathers. She didn't necessarily make good choices but she gave me a lot of love and I grew up believing I could do something different. When I was in New York trying to make it I hit a lot of walls. For two years I didn't work. I couldn't pay my rent but I was lucky enough to have a landlord who told me he'd take it when I could pay it. I remember thinking it couldn't go on. I thought I'd drive limos to make some money. I thought about it for months, but I kept thinking how I'd feel if I was driving that limo and an actor I knew got in and I had to drive him - how would that make me feel? I knew I just had to push on through.

I trained as a ballet dancer.



Most people don't know that I studied dance for five years in San Francisco and New York. I did a lot of ballet, learnt the real discipline of the barre.

My voice is unmistakable.



People know my voice before they see my face. That's what I always wanted. It's my mark. I studied acting in New York and voice, diction and movement were always hugely important to me. I wanted to have triple strengths and I excelled in those classes. Poise and movement are very underestimated but the way you move, the way you stand can speak volumes. I have poise.

My only fear is confrontation.



Nothing else scares me. I can't do confrontation so I avoid it at all costs. I fly, I sail, I drive fast, I ride horses. I have no fear of the big things in life, I have no fear of being on my own, but I don't like the idea of a fight. Some people enjoy it, I never have and never will.

Give me any role but never ever Othello.



After two years out of work I was offered a role as Othello. I was the worst Othello ever to take to the stage. I was terrified by it, I couldn't do it, and my punishment was that every night I had to get on stage and act badly. It was nothing to do with not having worked for two years, it was all to do with a bad performance. There was no one else to blame except myself.

Women have made me a better man.



I love women. I respect them, I admire them and I don't fear them. I like to work with women, I like to learn from women and I like being around women.

Movies are the best teachers in the world.



Movies connect to children in a way nothing else does. For me, of course, it's been about colour, and also not about colour. I don't believe in talking about black and white, I believe in seeing beyond that. For instance, there are youngsters today who don't know about Nelson Mandela. I want kids to know who he is and what he's done, and with Invictus I wanted to present it in a way that they would understand. To me, history means his story. Nothing is black or white, everything is grey





'Invictus' is out now on DVD and Blu-ray

















