Oscar-winning actor Morgan Freeman is a self-titled mimic and he was in no mood to let anybody forget that. No sooner had he entered the plush lobby of a hotel in Dubai on Wednesday, the star who has played the revered Nelson Mandela (Invictus), a US President (Deep Impact), and took his roles to a higher place in Bruce Almighty in his illustrious career — was having a ball winding up hotel staff.
Playing a tantrum-prone and a temperamental nit-picking star was his agenda for the day. "Are you telling me, that you are going to keep me a star waiting in the lobby till you open the door to the lounge?" Freeman asked in a high-pitched voice with raised eyebrows. But a split second later, he flashed his signature grin, burst out laughing and patted the cowering hotel executive. "Just kidding, but seriously do you need some help? I can always ask my assistants to help you."
The toothy grin was back as the 72-year-old acting legend turned around and painstakingly learnt how to pronounce the names of the tabloid! crew there to meet him. In his defence, names that are a yard long didn't help, but Freeman was one of the few celebrities who refused to give up until he had mastered them.
Flight plan
His latest toy, an Emivest SJ30 private jet, was another recent feat.
"Did you ever have a dream where you wanted something so badly that you paste its image to your refrigerator door? That way I am reminded of it everyday... You can't do that with your career, but with physical things it is possible. You know have photographs of the jets and the boats that you really want," Freeman said.
His eyes glittered as he spoke about conquering the unknown. He had flown the "sleek bird" all the way from Los Angeles to the UAE. "We picked up the aircraft in San Antonio on November 23. We flew from Los Angeles to Buffalo had no issues with the fuel and then headed to St Johns, Newfoundland and then to Santa Maria. All the while, we slept for four hours in a motel there.
"Then we left Santa Maria, stocked up on some food and then headed to Ghana, then Angola. All this time everything was fine. It's a bird that flies easily, flies high and flies long."
The last sentence could easily be attributed to the plane's owner. "Everything about life excites me. I have not gotten jaded about work and I am enjoying myself. If you have a good project, a good story and you are working with terrific people, it's nothing but fun," Freeman said.
The Memphis-born star has been nominated for several Academy Awards, including for his films Street Smart (where he played a ruthless pimp), Driving Miss Daisy (the wise chauffeur), and The Shawshank Redemption (a dignified prisoner). His Oscar deal-maker came in the form of Million Dollar Baby, where his role of a world-weary boxer earned him the statuette.
His stellar career is dotted with blockbusters including The Dark Knight and Se7en.
Career best?
His latest release, Invictus, in which he plays former South African president Nelson Mandela, has garnered him a Golden Globe nomination and is already creating Oscar buzz. As we speak, critics and cynics are hailing his gravitas-filled performance as his career best. For Freeman, playing the iconic statesman means reaching the pinnacle of his career. "You said it. I don't think it can better than this... Unfortunately, you know — I have an acting career that is still left," he said, looking a bit peeved.
But the fear is short-lived, as he talks about being pre-ordained to play such a distinguished role. "I have known that I will eventually play him [Nelson Mandela] for over ten years. When his book Long Walk To Freedom came along, he was asked by the press about which actor could play him best. He named me. I was nominated and I knew I was the heir-apparent. Since then, I met him right after that to tell him that in order to do that I was going to need access to him. I needed to get close and personal — hold his hands. Over the years we have become good friends."
Mimicking Mandela
In a mock conspiratorial whisper, he adds that Mandela has seen the Clint Eastwood-directed Invictus and given the film presidential praise. "As an actor, I am a good mimic, but the only trepidation I had was whether I will sound like him. I knew that was going to be a difficult part."
Teaming with Eastwood, a celebrated actor-director, for the third time was a creative catalyst. "What sets Clint apart from other directors, is that he is an actor's director — he doesn't try to micro-manage your performance. In fact, he doesn't do anything with your performance. He hires you as a professional and hires his crew who are professionals. Usually, if there is a guy who is working on something else — if Clint approaches them, they just leave the project and say, ‘Sorry, gotta go.'"
Freeman's admiration for Eastwood is not one-sided. Between the two, Hollywood has been bolstered to stratospheric heights with films including the revenge saga Unforgiven and boxing drama Million Dollar Baby. "He has for the longest time been a favourite of mine. He is someone I really admired.
"I remember him in his first directorial effort, Play Misty For Me. Here he showed me a completely different and sensitive side. It made me think: gosh, this guy is not one sided, he is not one dimensional at all. He is multi.
"From then on, I started seeing his movies with a different set of eyes."
Freeman remembers his first offer from Eastwood with sterling clarity. "When he asked, ‘Do you want to ride along with me?' I was like, are you kidding? Will the sun rise tomorrow? He was so much fun and during the film. We were fooling around a lot. My first thought was, ‘Weren't we having too much fun?' But then the movie comes out and we hear terms like ‘classic'. And I was like, ‘Wow!'"
And while the latest film finds both men in their 70s — Freeman is 72, Eastwood, 79 — the filming sets of Invictus, a rugby drama set in the post-apartheid South Africa soon after Mandela assumes power, was non-stop party central. "It's just the way he runs a set. It's so much easy, fun and it's not like work at all. You get up in the morning and you are ready to go play."
Getting work
Even with his burgeoning trophy cabinet, his four-decade Hollywood reign and his A-lister tag, Freeman feels that he is on borrowed time. "What makes life interesting for actors is that we do things in spurts. There are three or five months of intense activity and then have three or four months where you don't have to do anything. But during that time, what we actors really do is to look for work.
"If you are not working, you will constantly feel every movie is your last or that the phone is going to stop ringing."
Though it is difficult to imagine a consummate actor of his calibre worrying about finding work, Freeman diffused the bleak thought by pulling a forlorn puppy-dog face. "Phone stops for everybody. I am old enough to collect my social security, but from an ego point of view if the phone stops ringing, it means nobody likes me any more."
The audible gasps from everybody around him told a different story.
Morgan Freeman is crazy about planes. He also has twin-engine Cessna 414 and Cessna Citation 501 SP jets in his hangar and has been flying his own aircraft since 2002, holding instrument and multi-engine ratings.
In his own words
Morgan Freeman makes a smooth landing when asked about.directing his own drama (his first film was the 1993 South African drama Bhopa!): "I am not looking at directing. I had directed a movie about South Africa — that was quite fun, but I have got it out of my system."Directing is just not me. It takes too much time and I am too lazy for it."
Freeman on love :
"I don't know how to answer that. It is a multi-layered question, because I have some very good friends and grandchildren. I have these little compartments and they fit into them comfortably. Actually, I am looking at your eyes and thinking of love [he makes dreamy eyes]."
Did you know
Morgan Freeman is crazy about planes. He also has twin-engine Cessna 414 and Cessna Citation 501 SP jets in his hangar and has been flying his own aircraft since 2002.
