Who is Morgan Freeman ?

Actor, philanthropist, beekeeper… blues lover?
In May 2001, Freeman teamed up with two Memphis businessmen to open Ground Zero, a blues club in Clarksdale, MS, not far from his place in Charleston, MS. It got its name from the fact Clarksdale has been historically referred to as “ground zero” for the blues.

I've been sucked into a kind of mold of a good guy and that's actually almost beyond my ability to control.

It pays to plan ahead
In 1998, a friend built Freeman a special cabinet with an area reserved for an Academy Award, complete with a plaque that said “No Parking. Reserved for Oscar.” Freeman finally got the chance to fill that spot when he took home the statue in 2005 for his role in Million Dollar Baby.

But other than that, a good story and an interesting character is all I am looking for."

Like a class reunion, only with Lego
Freeman continues to gain fans with his work, showing no signs of slowing down.  In 2014’s The Lego Movie, he lent his voice to Vitruvius, the wise old man who believes in Emmett. It was Morgan’s first time acting in an animated role, but it was like old home week for him and the rest of the cast: he had previously worked with Liam Neeson in Batman Returns, he and Dave Franco (Wally) worked together in 2013’s Now You See Me, and he and Chris Pratt (Emmett) both appeared in 2008’s Wanted.

Freeman's eloquent, distinctive voice has also made him a natural for narration.

Awards? Build a bigger cabinet.
Aside from his Oscar… and his Golden Globe wins… and his Cecil B. DeMille Award… and his AFI Life Achievement Award… in 2016 U.S. President Barack Obama presented Freeman with a National Medal of Arts. During the ceremony, Obama said Freeman was being honored for his outstanding work as an actor, director and narrator: “His iconic stage and screen performances have brought to life characters from the whole spectrum of the human experience, moving audiences around the world, and influencing countless young artists.”

His voice can be heard on such memorable films as War of the Worlds and the Academy Award-winning documentary March of the Penguins.

That’s Dr. Freeman, thank you very much.
Perhaps because they can’t wait to hear his voice at their commencement ceremonies, Freeman has amassed a fine collection of honorary degrees from educational institutions, including Rhodes College, Brown University and Boston University.

In 2010 he also replaced Walter Cronkite's voice to introduce news anchor Katie Couric on the CBS Evening News.

In 2009, Freeman teamed up with Clint Eastwood again, playing the role of South African President Nelson Mandela in Invictus - the role earned him an Oscar nod for Best Actor.

A few years later, he appeared in the action thriller Olympus Has Fallen (2013), the sci-fi film Oblivion (2013), the comedy Last Vegas (2013), the sci-fi blockbuster Lucy (2014) and did voice work for the animation The Lego Movie (2014). In 2015, he played the Chief Justice of the United States on the television show Madam Secretary, for which he is also an executive producer.

The following year in September 2016, President Barack Obama presented Freeman with a National Medal of Arts.

At the ceremony, President Obama said Freeman was being honored "for his outstanding work as an actor, director, and narrator.

His iconic stage and screen performances have brought to life characters from the whole spectrum of the human experience, moving audiences around the world, and influencing countless young artists."

While it may be a late-blooming success, it's nothing he's at all bitter about. "Success comes when it comes," he has said. "I had a career for 30 years; a 30-year career is not bad.

I often think I'm probably lucky that I wasn't a wild success early on, coming up through the 1970s. I could have very easily burned out."

In 1997, Freeman co-founded the movie production company Revelations Entertainment, including its online movie distribution company, ClickStar.

He has also launched a host of charitable endeavors.

The actor, who resides in the Mississippi Delta, raised money for Katrina victims not long after the devastating hurricane ripped through the area.

Through Rock River Foundation, an organization he started, Freeman's group has donated millions to educational programs.

And in 2004 he helped organize relief funds for hurricane victims in Grenada.

After hearing about the decline of honeybees and its devastating impact on the environment, Freeman turned his 124-acre ranch into a beekeeping sanctuary in July 2014.

Freeman's energy extends into other realms, too. In his home state of Mississippi, the actor co-founded a blues club in Clarksdale.

In recent years Freeman also earned his pilot's license.