How Old Is Morgan Freeman And How Long Has He Been Acting?

What is Morgan Freeman’s age? Morgan Freeman is 86 years old as of today and was born on the 1st of June, 1937. His Zodiac Sign is Gemini and for yonks, Morgan Freeman has been a regular feature on many Hollywood box office hits. He has grown to be associated with many spectacular productions in Hollywood for a very long time so much so that many people have begun to call his age into question. Apparently, for many of us who have watched most of his films, we all can attest to the fact that Morgan’s age; going by his looks seems to have been static for a long time now. This has got most of his fans asking the questions like — how old is Morgan Freeman and has he ever been young?

The actor has been appearing in films and TV shows since the 1960s and guess what? He isn’t ready to take a bow just yet. Even more interesting is the fact that he was born long before he made his debut as an actor, thus, Morgan didn’t start as a child actor. He also paid his dues in the military, serving in the United States Air Force from 1955 to 1959 before acting took center stage in his professional life.

Morgan Freeman in the Air Force

His deep voice which has narrated a lot of motion picture projects, as well as his smooth way of delivering humor, are some of his strong suits. He has appeared in more than 50 onscreen projects, many of which shook things up at the box office. Accordingly, he has received several awards and nominations to acknowledge his contributions to the industry over the years. The highlights of his early beginning and career achievements are available below.

Morgan Freeman’s Birth Details And Early Life

The American actor was born on June 1, 1937, and his place of birth is recorded as Memphis, Tennessee, where his parents Mayme Edna (mother) and Morgan Porterfield Freeman welcomed him as their fourth child. His mother was a teacher while his father earned a living as a barber. From infancy, Morgan was sent to live with his grandmother in Charleston, Mississippi, and it didn’t end there, he continued moving around to different places, including Greenwood, Mississippi and Gary, Indiana, as well as Chicago.

Morgan Freeman over the years
Morgan Freeman over the years: image source

His love for the arts was ignited in school where he debuted in a play. He is an alum of Broad Street High School from where he won a drama competition and took part in a radio show. Following his graduation from high school, Morgan Freeman received a partial drama scholarship from Jackson State University which he turned down to enlist in the United States Air Force. His military service spanned for four years, during which he rose through the ranks to Airman 1st Class.

After putting in four years of service to his country, Morgan Freeman reignited his passion for the arts and made a move to Los Angeles where several illustrious entertainment careers usually begin.

How Long Has Morgan Freeman Been Acting?

Since 1964, Morgan Freeman has occupied a spot in the hearts of many with his flawless delivery of movie roles. He has also expanded his horizon to include stints as a film director and narrator, the latter which he excels at with the help of his striking deep voice.

Morgan Freeman was 9 years old at his earliest known record of acting which was in a school play.

He subsequently pushed the boundaries of his acting talent when at the age of 12 when as a punishment for teasing a girl, he was forced into drama production.

The first money he made in show business was as a dancer at the 1964 World’s Fair

During the early days of his career, Morgan joined the 1964 World’s Fair as a dancer and also became a part of the Opera Ring musical theater group in San Francisco. His debut, off-Broadway, was made in 1967, in The Nigger Lovers. However, he was first credited for a film appearance in 1971, in Who Says I Can’t Ride a Rainbow! and gained widespread popularity when he appeared in Another World and the PBS kids’ show The Electric Company.

Morgan Freeman (far right) in The Electric Company (1971)
Morgan Freeman (far right) in The Electric Company (1971) image source

Some of the box office movie sensations he has under his belt include:

  • Glory (1989)
  • Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991)
  • Seven (1995)
  • Deep Impact (1998)
  • The Sum of All Fears (2002)
  • Bruce Almighty (2003)
  • The Dark Knight Trilogy (2005–2012)
  • Wanted (2008)
  • RED (2010)
  • Now You See Me (2013)
  • Olympus Has Fallen (2013)
  • The Lego Movie (2014)
  • Lucy (2014)
  • Angel Has Fallen (2019), and the list could go on forever.

Timeline of Morgan Freeman’s Other Achievements 

Despite being one of the actors who have not truly received the kind of recognition they deserve from various award bodies, Morgan Freeman has raked in some prestigious accolades for his performances over the years. He bagged an Academy Award in 2005 in the category of Best Supporting Actor for his Million Dollar Baby performance in 2004. He equally won a Screen Actors Guild Award for the same role and walked away with a Golden Globe Award in the category of Best Actor for his role in Driving Miss Daisy. The foregoing does not include several other nominations he has received for his performances in different projects like Street Smart (1987), The Shawshank Redemption (1994) and Invictus (2009).

A Breakdown of some of the major awards and when he won them include:

Academy Awards

  • 2004 Best Supporting Actor won for Million Dollar Baby

Black Reel Awards

  • 2009 Best Actor Won for Invictus
  • 2015  Best Voice Performance Won for The Lego Movie

Golden Globe Awards

  • 1989 Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy won for Driving Miss Daisy

NAACP Image Awards

  • 1989 Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture won for Driving Miss Daisy and Lean on Me
  • 1997 Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture won for Amistad
  • 1998 Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture won for Deep Impact
  • 2003 Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture won for Bruce Almighty and Million Dollar Baby in 2004
  • 2009 Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture won for Invictus

Screen Actors Guild Awards

  • 1994 Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role won for The Shawshank Redemption

Film Critics Award

  • 1987 Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor won for Street Smart. His works on ‘Street Smart’ also won the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor and New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor in the same year
  • 1994 Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor won for The Shawshank Redemption
  • 1995 London Film Critics Circle Award for Actor of the Year won for Seven and he also won the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor for his movie ‘Seven’
  • 2004 Vancouver Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor won for Million Dollar Baby

Other selected awards he also won include:

  • 1987 Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male won for Street Smart
  • 1989 National Board of Review Award for Best Actor and Silver Bear for Best Acting Team won for Driving Miss Daisy
  • 1995 Empire Award for Best Actor won for Seven
  • 2008 People’s Choice Award for Favorite Cast won for The Dark Knight
  • 2009 National Board of Review Award for Best Actor won for Invictus

The first installment of Mississippi’s Best Awards acknowledged his works with the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006 while he got his SAG Life Achievement Award in 2017. He also won other lifetime awards including the 2011 AFI Life Achievement Award and Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2012. In the diaspora, the City of London bestowed upon him, the honor of Freedom of the City in 2014.

Banks Onuoha
Banks Onuoha
Banks is a graduate of Mass communication, a meat junkie, movie geek, and perfectionist. The thrill of travelling the world through writing and editing from the comfort of her desk and PC is what keeps her going most of the time. After office hours, you might catch her still writing at home or running some culinary experiments.

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