Morgan Freeman Reveals That Winning an Oscar ‘Didn’t Change Me’

Despite his legendary career, Morgan Freeman has remained grounded through it all.  

The Oscar winner, 88, told AARP’s Movies for Grownups that receiving the prestigious award “didn’t change me one whit.” 

Freeman won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his performance as Eddie “Scrap Iron” Dupris in Million Dollar Baby in 2005.

“I kind of knew early on that I would eventually get [an Oscar]. It didn’t change me,” Freeman said. “I hope it didn’t change me. Because the only change you can expect after you’ve gotten an Oscar is maybe your price goes up a tiny bit, and your job prospects go up a bit.”

He continued, “That’s the one thing or two things, I guess, you could look forward to. Other than that, don’t let your ego get the best of you.”

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Since his 2005 Oscar win, the world-renowned actor has starred in over 30 films, receiving praise for the depth he brings to his diverse range of roles. Throughout his decades-long career, the actor has received four other Oscar nominations: Best Supporting Actor for Street Smart (1987), Best Actor for Driving Miss Daisy (1989), Best Actor for The Shawshank Redemption (1994) and Best Actor for Invictus (2009). 

When asked what movie best represents his career, the actor said it’s a toss-up. 

“Driving Miss Daisy sits way up there,” Freeman said. “And so does Invictus. Actually, I like a lot of them.”

Driving Miss Daisy, the 1989 comedy drama, details the unlikely friendship between an elderly Jewish widow named Daisy, played by Jessica Tandy, and a Black chauffeur named Hoke, played by Freeman. The film, written by Alfred Uhry, was inspired by his grandmother’s relationship with her chauffeur. 

Driving Miss Daisy won Best Picture at the 61st Academy Awards and was critically acclaimed for its exploration of a friendship that transcended racial prejudice. 

Invictus stars Freeman as Nelson Mandela during his presidency in post-apartheid South Africa. The 2009 film is a true story that follows Mandela’s efforts to unite his divided country through rugby. Directed by Clint Eastwood, Invictus is the third movie in which Freeman and Eastwood collaborated, following Unforgiven (1992) and Million Dollar Baby (2004). 

Freeman credits Eastwood, 95, for the secret to his youthful spirit. He told AARP that his longtime friend once told him, “Don’t let the old man in.” 

“The way to do that is to keep getting up in the morning, keep working out in the gym, keep taking your vitamins, keep taking your prescribed meds, and keep moving,” Freeman added. “Keep moving. That is the secret to it all.” 

The actor has done exactly that. Freeman returned to the Now You See Me franchise as magician Thaddeus Bradley in the series’ third installment, Now You See Me: Now You Don’t. The film stars a new cast of illusionists, played by Justice Smith, Dominic Sessa, and Ariana Greenblatt, along with the original cast of the series: Jesse Eisenberg, Isla Fisher, Woody Harrelson, and Dave Franco. 

The heist film is now in theaters.