Morgan Freeman, 89, admits there is one actor whose career he wishes he had
After decades in Hollywood and some of the most memorable roles of his generation, Freeman still looks at one actor
Morgan Freeman has spent decades building the kind of career most actors could only dream about. He has an Oscar, some of the most recognizable movies in Hollywood history and, at 89, he is still working. But there is one actor whose career makes him think about the roles he never got to play.
That actor is Denzel Washington. When Freeman was asked whether there was still a type of role he wished he could play, his answer quickly turned to Washington. “Who I envy is Denzel,” Freeman told Rolling Stone . “Denzel Washington is doing what I wanted to do.”
Morgan Freeman wanted the action roles Denzel Washington got
The reason is surprisingly simple. Freeman always wanted to do more action movies. His film career didn't really take off until he was around 50, after spending roughly 20 years working on Broadway, and by then his path in Hollywood had started taking him in a different direction.
“I took the jobs that were offered and I thought I was doing well, and I was,” Freeman explained. “But not those action flicks.” At his age now, he also accepts that physically demanding action roles are no longer realistic for him.
It is a surprising admission from an actor whose résumé includes The Shawshank Redemption, Se7en, Million Dollar Baby and The Dark Knight trilogy . Freeman won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for Million Dollar Baby and became one of the most recognizable actors and voices in Hollywood.
Freeman and Washington's careers have even crossed before. They appeared together in Glory in 1989 , the movie that earned Washington his first Academy Award. From there, Washington went on to combine dramatic roles with the kind of action movies Freeman says he always wanted to make.
Freeman doesn't sound unhappy with the career he got. He is still working at 89 and has said he has no plans to retire. But after all those movies, awards and decades in Hollywood, he can still look at another actor's career and admit there was something he wanted that he never quite got to do.
