The color of Morgan Freeman

NEW YORK — Yes, despite protestation from some sector, I believe that Hollywood is color-blind. It doesn’t look at the color of an actor’s skin and instead puts premium on the actor’s talent, whether he’s white or brown or yellow or black.

Take a quick look at the honor roll: Will Smith, Sidney Poitier, Harry Belafonte, Denzel Washington, Whoopi Goldberg, Oprah Winfrey, Halle Berry, Diana Ross, Jennifer Hudson, Chris Rock, Forest Whitakker, Eddie Murphy and, but of course, Morgan Freeman whom fans fondly remember for his unforgettable performances in, among dozens of films, Driving Miss Daisy (1989 Oscar Best Picture, with Jessica Tandy, for which he was nominated Best Supporting Actor), Steven Spielberg’s Amistad, Glory (1989, a Civil War epic about freed slaves being recruited to form the first all-African-American fighting brigade), The Sum of All Fears (with Sean Penn), Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, and three directed by Clint Eastwood — Oscar Best Pictures Unforgiven and Million Dollar Baby (for which he won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar) and Invictus in which he plays Nelson Mandela, the iconic symbol of hope, freedom and perseverance.

They stand tall side by side with their white counterparts, don’t they? (Just as “brown” actors from Asia have been successfully doing these past years.)

Wouldn’t you get intimidated if you came face-to-face with a formidable icon like Freeman, as I did two weeks ago during the junket for Summit Entertainment’s RED (meaning Retired Extremely Dangerous, now showing nationwide released locally by Pioneer Films) at a function room of Four Seasons? At first I was, until Freeman made me feel at ease barely a minute into our interview with his gentle, friendly manner.

In RED, Freeman co-stars with Bruce Willis, Helen Mirren and John Malkovich, all equally formidable, as retired CIA top agents who regroup against a hit squad out to get Bruce’s character dead. The cast also includes Ernest Borgnine, Mary-Louise Parker, Karl Urban, Brian Cox and Richard Dreyfuss.

Freeman is ranked No. 10 among the worldwide top-grossing actors of all time, with his films earning more than $3-B in cumulative ticket sales.

In the flesh Freeman proved true to how the production notes described his screen persona: Whether the role requires an air of gravitas; a playful smile and twinkle of the eyes; or a world-weary, yet insightful soul, Freeman’s ability to delve to the core of a character and infuse it with a quiet dignity has resulted in the creation of some of the most memorable portrayals ever recorded on film.

It’s his “quiet dignity” that sets Freeman apart from the rest.

Breaking into a charming smile, Freeman said that he knew that he would be working with Willis again after their first movie, Lucky Number Slevin, in 2006.

“Bruce and I always have a lot of fun on the set. But I didn’t know I was going to get a shot at working with Helen Mirren, John Malkovich, Mary-Louise Parker and Richard Dreyfuss, too. I mean, there’s nothing better than getting to work with people you greatly admire, people who have ‘the chops’ as they say in the music business, people who bring it to the table every day. Nobody was shucking and jiving on this show, Everybody was playing his A-game.”

In an earlier STAR interview also for RED, Willis described the movie’s filming as “a little bit like Christmas morning… every 10 minutes you get to open a new and different present” because as new characters emerge as the story goes on. In fact, RED is also somewhat of a travelogue, shot in different locations.

Said Lorenzo di Bonaventura, the producer, quoted in the production notes, “Toronto and New Orleans were the perfect combination to film this movie. When we first meet Bruce’s character, he’s attempting to lead a newer, simpler life in a cookie-cutter suburb of Cleveland, Ohio. Then, after the assassination attempt, he quickly travels to Kansas City to kidnap Sarah (Mary-Louise’s character). As he starts getting the team back together, he and Sarah go to New Orleans to get Morgan, then to a Florida swamp to get Malkovich, through Mobile, Alabama, for a major battle with the ‘businesswoman,’ then up the New Jersey Turnpike to Manhattan’s Chinatown and Columbia University, then to CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, then to the Russian Embassy in Washington, DC, to find Brian Cox’s character, then to the Chesapeake to get Helen’s character, with a quick stopover at Karl Urban’s house in Bethesda, Maryland, on to upstate New York and then eventually to Chicago. So you can see that the locations were integral to keeping the plot puzzle together.”

“It’s always easy the second time around,” added Freeman, still talking about Willis. “If you worked well the first time, the next time is a walk-over; there are no surprises. Besides, I’ve been watching Bruce’s films since his Moonlighting days.” Moonlighting was the hit TV show that launched Willis’ acting career in the early ‘80s.

Here’s the rest of my Q&A with Freeman:

You are such a versatile actor. How do you usually prepare for a role, any role?

“I read the script. Research? Not much of it. Unless I’ve got a bulk role for a part, I get more muscular or slim down for it. But in terms of character, you just read it and know who the person you are playing is.”

If you are portraying a living person like Mandela, is it a must that you talk to him in person?

“Yes, it’s a must. It would very helpful for me to get to know him, if I could get to him and hold his hand.”

What did you discover about Mandela that the public doesn’t know? (Freeman executive-produced Invictus through his own company, Revelations Entertainment.)

“Well, he said that he felt like a failure because although he has a high calling as a leader, he also has an obligation as a son and father, and even as a chieftain because he’s supposed to have taken over his father’s position on the tribal council.”

Any other living person you like to portray, maybe from Asia…the Philippines?

“Good question but no, I can’t think of any. I think if it’s a high-ranking person or a historical figure who’s a Filipino, a Filipino actor should do it.”

But you could pass for one.

“You think so?”

Yes.

“Then I would do it.”

What have you heard about the Philippines?

“I’ve never been there, I wanna go…I wanna go to the Philippines.”

I read somewhere that in his spare time Freeman loves the freedom of both sea and sky. He’s been a long-time sailor who has recently earned his private pilot’s license.

Maybe he could fly his own plane if and when he decided to go to the Philippines.

“No,” he said, smiling widely. “I will sail going there.”

(E-mail reactions at rickylo@philstar.net.ph or at [email protected])