Morgan Freeman

Morgan Freeman is an American actor and narrator whose six-decade career and instantly-recognizable baritone voice have made him one of the most-iconic American screen actors of his generation. He was born Morgan Porterfield Freeman Jr. on June 1, 1937, in Memphis, Tennessee, and raised primarily by his grandmother in rural Charleston, Mississippi. He served in the US Air Force from 1955 to 1959 as a radar technician before pursuing acting full-time.

His career was unusually slow to break out — he worked steadily in theater and the PBS children's program The Electric Company (1971–1977, where he played the Easy Reader, Vincent the Vegetable Vampire, and other recurring characters) for over a decade before his film breakthrough came at age 50. The breakthrough films were Street Smart (1987, his first Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination), the Driving Miss Daisy (1989, Best Actor nomination opposite Jessica Tandy), and the Glory (1989, the Civil War-era drama opposite Denzel Washington).

His Oscar finally came in 2005 for Best Supporting Actor in Clint Eastwood's Million Dollar Baby — capping a five-nomination, eighteen-year journey through the Academy Awards. His most-iconic roles include the wise-prison-elder Red in The Shawshank Redemption (1994, his second Best Actor Oscar nomination), the Pope in Bruce Almighty and the God in the same film, the Lucius Fox across Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy (2005, 2008, 2012), and the narrator of March of the Penguins (2005).

Freeman's voice — measured, gravelly, instantly recognizable — has made him one of the most-in-demand narrators in American film, TV, and advertising. He has been continuously cited by polling organizations as the American voice consumers find most-trustworthy. He has continued to take on substantial film and TV roles into his eighties.

His name Morgan is from the Welsh Morgant, possibly composed of mor (sea) and cant (circle) — yielding "sea-encircled." Morgan has been continuously among the most-popular American gender-neutral names for decades, used for both boys and girls.