On January 21, 2018, the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) will honour Morgan Freeman’s incredible body of work as he is presented with the Life Achievement Award.
According to the SAG website, the Life Achievement Award “is bestowed for outstanding achievement in fostering the finest ideals of the acting profession”.
“Some actors spend their entire careers waiting for the perfect role. Morgan showed us that true perfection is what a performer brings to the part,” Gabrielle Carteris, SAG president, says.
“He is innovative, fearless and completely unbound by expectations. As a chauffeur, convicted murderer, boxing gym attendant, pimp or president, Morgan has fully realized every character, baring their souls and showcasing their humanity. It has been a privilege to see his genius at work.”
Now 80 years old, Freeman has appeared in nearly 100 films since he began acting at the age of 12, and has earned numerous accolades, including an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in Million Dollar Baby. His roles in Unforgiven and The Shawshank Redemption received nominations for Best Actor at the SAG Awards, Academy Awards, and Golden Globes.
With an instantly recognisable voice, Freeman has also made his mark in voice-over and narration. Though a large part of that soothing baritone can be attributed to genetics, Freeman admitted on a 2016 episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live! that he spent time with a voice and diction instructor, who “was very good at his job”.
Freeman has also spent seven years as an executive producer, narrator and host of Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman, a “series that explores some of the deepest mysteries of existence, such as what triggered life on Earth”.
In 1973, Freeman co-founded the Frank Silvera Writers’ Workshop – an initiative to honour the eponymous late actor, director, teacher and producer. Since its inception 44 years ago, the Workshop has become an internationally-renowned development theatre for up-and-coming and established “artists of all colors, sizes and shapes”.