American actor and director Morgan Freeman has had a prolific career on film, television and on the stage. His film debut was as an uncredited character in the Sidney Lumet–directed drama '' The Pawnbroker'' in 1964. Freeman also made his stage debut in the same year by appearing in the musical '' Hello, Dolly!'' He followed this with further stage appearances in ''The Niggerlovers'' (1967), ''The Dozens'' (1969), ''Exhibition'' (1969), and the musical ''

Purlie ''Purlie'' is a musical with a book by Ossie Davis, Philip Rose, and Peter Udell, lyrics by Udell and music by Gary Geld. It is based on Davis's 1961 play ''Purlie Victorious'', which was later made into the 1963 film '' Gone Are the Days!'' and ...

'' (1970–1971). He played various characters on the

children's television series Children's television series (or children's television shows) are television show, television programs designed for children, normally scheduled for broadcast during the morning and afternoon when children are awake. They can sometimes run during ...

The Electric Company ''The Electric Company'' is an American educational children's television series produced by the Children's Television Workshop (CTW, now known as Sesame Workshop). It was co-created by Paul Dooley, Joan Ganz Cooney, and Lloyd Morrisett. The ...

'' (1971–1977). Freeman subsequently appeared in the films ''

Teachers A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. wh ...

'' in 1984, and ''

Marie Marie may refer to: People Name * Marie (given name) * Marie (Japanese given name) * Marie (murder victim), girl who was killed in Florida after being pushed in front of a moving vehicle in 1973 * Marie (died 1759), an enslaved Cree person in Tr ...

'' in 1985 before making his breakthrough with 1987's '' Street Smart''. His role earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Two years later he appeared in war film '' Glory'' (1989), and starred as Hoke Coleburn in the comedy-drama ''

Driving Miss Daisy '' Driving Miss Daisy'' is a 1989 American comedy-drama film directed by Bruce Beresford and written by Alfred Uhry, based on his 1987 play of the same name. The film stars Jessica Tandy, Morgan Freeman, and Dan Aykroyd. Freeman reprised his ro ...

'' (1989). Freeman won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for his performance in the latter and also earned a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor. In the 1990s, he was cast in numerous films, including the adventure film '' Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves'' (1991) opposite

Kevin Costner Kevin Michael Costner (born January 18, 1955) is an American actor, producer, film director and musician. He has received various accolades, including two Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Screen Actor ...

, drama ''

The Shawshank Redemption ''The Shawshank Redemption'' is a 1994 American drama film written and directed by Frank Darabont, based on the 1982 Stephen King novella ''Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption''. It tells the story of banker Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins), w ...

'' (1994) with

Tim Robbins Timothy Francis Robbins (born October 16, 1958) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for portraying Andy Dufresne in the film '' The Shawshank Redemption ''(1994), and has won an Academy Award and two Golden Globe Awards for his rol ...

, psychological thriller '' Seven'' (1995), historical drama '' Amistad'' (1997), crime thriller '' Kiss the Girls'' (1997), and science fiction disaster film '' Deep Impact'' (1998). His role in ''The Shawshank Redemption'' earned him a second nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor. In 2003, he played God in the comedy '' Bruce Almighty'' opposite Jim Carrey. The following year Freeman played Eddie "Scrap Iron" Dupris in Clint Eastwood's film '' Million Dollar Baby'' (2004), for which he won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Freeman played Lucius Fox in a trilogy of Batman films: ''

Batman Begins ''Batman Begins'' is a 2005 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan and written by Nolan and David S. Goyer. The film is based on the DC Comics character Batman, it stars Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne / Batman, with Michael Caine, ...

'' (2005), ''

The Dark Knight ''The Dark Knight'' is a 2008 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan from a screenplay he co-wrote with his brother Jonathan Nolan, Jonathan. Based on the DC Comics superhero, Batman, it is the sequel to ''Batman Begins'' (2005) and t ...

'' (2008), and ''

The Dark Knight Rises ''The Dark Knight Rises'' is a 2012 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan, who co-wrote the screenplay with his brother Jonathan Nolan, and the story with David S. Goyer. The film is based on the DC Comics character Batman, it is th ...

'' (2012). During that time, Freeman also appeared in ''

The Bucket List ''The Bucket List'' is a 2007 American buddy adventure comedy-drama film directed and produced by Rob Reiner, written by Justin Zackham, and starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman. The main plot follows two terminally ill men on their road t ...

'' (2007) opposite

Jack Nicholson John Joseph Nicholson (born April 22, 1937) is an American retired actor and filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of all time. In many of his films, he played rebels against the social structure. He received numerous ...

, '' Wanted'' (2008) with

Angelina Jolie Angelina Jolie (; born Angelina Jolie Voight; June 4, 1975) is an American actress, filmmaker, humanitarian and former Special Envoy to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. The recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award ...

, and '' Invictus'' (2009) with

Matt Damon Matthew Paige Damon (; born October 8, 1970) is an American actor, film producer, and screenwriter. Ranked among ''Forbes'' most bankable stars, the films in which he has appeared have collectively earned over $3.88 billion at the North Ameri ...

. In 2011, Freeman received the

AFI Life Achievement Award The AFI Life Achievement Award was established by the board of directors of the American Film Institute on February 26, 1973, to honor a single individual for his or her lifetime contribution to enriching American culture through motion picture ...

from the American Film Institute. Two years later he starred in action thriller '' Olympus Has Fallen'' (2013), science fiction film '' Oblivion'' (2013), caper '' Now You See Me'' (2013), and comedy '' Last Vegas''. In 2014, Freeman appeared in the science fiction films '' Transcendence'' and ''

Lucy Lucy is an English feminine given name derived from the Latin masculine given name Lucius with the meaning ''as of light'' (''born at dawn or daylight'', maybe also ''shiny'', or ''of light complexion''). Alternative spellings are Luci, Luce, Lu ...

''. Freeman has also narrated several documentaries and television series, including '' Cosmic Voyage'' (1996), '' Slavery and the Making of America'' (2004), ''

March of the Penguins ''March of the Penguins'' (French ''La Marche de l'empereur'' ; ) is a 2005 French feature-length nature documentary directed and co-written by Luc Jacquet, and co-produced by Bonne Pioche and the National Geographic Society. The documentary dep ...

'' (2005), and '' Breaking the Taboo'' (2011). He was also the host and narrator for the series '' Through the Wormhole'' from 2010 to 2017.