Morgan Freeman, CBS News' Latest Hire

Schieffer gave the company's latest hire a warm welcome. Asked about how he was picked to replace the late Walter Cronkite as the voice of CBS News, Freeman put it bluntly. "They came up with this great idea that I should be the voice. Go figure," he said.

Freeman noted that in order to prepare for his role in "Invictus" he had to have access to Mandela.

"Not to pat myself on the back too hard, but I had a lot of time to be with him," he said. "I told him, 'If I'm going to do this I need to be able to get to you.' He was agreeable, so different places around the world I got a chance to sit with him, hold his hand and pay close attention to who and how he was."

Mandela had told reporters at an event for his 1996 autobiography "Long Walk to Freedom" that he wanted Freeman to play him if his story was ever made into a film.

Which role does Freeman think is his best? "My favorite role was the role that sort of pushed me, galvanized my career into the movies. It was a picture called 'Street Smart,' which I played a pimp."

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