Morgan Freeman: Good As Wine

Like a fine wine, Morgan Freeman just keeps getting better with age.

His work in "Million Dollar Baby" just earned him the fourth Oscar nomination of his career. In the critically acclaimed film, he plays Eddie "Scrap Iron" Dupris, a former fighter in his sunset years working at his old friend's gym.

Like "Shawshank Redemption," for which he was also nominated for an Oscar, "Million Dollar Baby was a tough sell, Freeman tells co-anchor Harry Smith.

"It's the same thing. You come up with a much deeper subject than what it appears to be. It was a hard sell. It was hard to sell the script."

Adapted for the screen by Emmy-winning screenwriter Paul Haggis, "Million Dollar Baby" is based on a short story from the collection "Rope Burns," by F.X. Toole. Toole spent years working as a "cut man," the member of a boxer's team whose job it is to patch up his injuries so he can continue fighting, and his stories vividly capture the essence of life in the ring.

The film also stars Freeman's old friend, Clint Eastwood, who directs and plays Frankie Dunn, and Hilary Swank, who portrays Maggie Fitzgerald.

Freeman describes working with Eastwood as a plesant experience. But notes, "He doesn't direct actors, which I want. I'm the kind of actor who thrives in that kind of atmosphere. He's a marvelous director, but he wants you to play your own fiddle. He hired you for your music."

And play, he did. About recieving the fourth Oscar nomination of his career, Freeman says, "It's like anything else. You kind of get used to the noise and all that. It is no less gratifying.

"It's, I think, probably ridiculous to say you don't want it. But I'm satisfied with the nomination."

It used to be that African-Americans didn't get nominations, let alone win Oscars. But this year, Freeman is joined by Don Cheadle, who got one nomination, and Jamie Foxx, who got two. So has Hollywood changed?

"Hollywood follows the public," Freeman says. "Hollywood is not a trendsetter; it's a follower. It goes where the money is. So in that sense, there's great change, but it merely reflects the country.

"There's great hoopla about me and Don and Jamie, but Condoleeza and Colin Powell, we are all taking it in stride. It seems like it follows the same syndrome. The country is shifting gears in terms of how we relate to one another. I was talking to somebody about this whole thing with minority representation in the movies. We're not the only minority.

"We don't start patting ourselves on the back too hard here," Freeman says.

About Morgan Freeman

• Born in Memphis, Tenn., on June 1, 1937
• On stage, he showed his versatility as a song-and-dance man playing Rudolph in the Pearl Bailey version of "Hello, Dolly!" and in the title role of "Purlie!" and as a Shakespearean performer in "Coriolanus," for which he won an OBIE Award. Later, he would receive another OBIE for his series of productions on and off Broadway of "Driving Miss Daisy."
• From 1971 through 1976, he got a wider audience working as Easy Reader on the PBS children's show, "The Electric Company."
• Also in 1971, he made his feature debut in "Who Says I Can't Ride a Rainbow?" Nine years later, he was singled out by critic Pauline Kael for his work in the tough prison drama, "Brubaker."
• In 1987, he received his first Oscar nomination and considerable critical acclaim for his supporting role as the volatile pimp Fast Black in "Street Smart."
• In 1989, he reprised his off-Broadway role as a Southern chauffeur in "Driving Miss Daisy" and received a second Academy Award nomination. The same year, he was recognized for his performance in "Glory."
• In 1991 and 1992, he was cast in roles not initially created as a black character. He was Kevin Costner's sidekick in "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" and a hard-boiled, no-nonsense foil to recidivist gunslinger Clint Eastwood in "Unforgiven."
• In 1993, Freeman made his feature directorial debut with the story of a black South African policeman and his son, divided by apartheid in "Bopha!"
• In 1994, Freeman received his third Oscar nomination for his portrayal of Red, a prison lifer and "fixer" (a person who can acquire anything) in the moving prison drama "The Shawshank Redemption." And the following year, he received praise for his work as a cop tracking a serial killer with novice partner Brad Pitt in "Seven."
• In 1996, he appeared as the mysterious Hibble (a character not in the original novel) in the screen adaptation of "Moll Flanders" and as a enigmatic benefactor of a university's research project in "Chain Reaction."
• In 1997, Freeman portrayed police detective and psychologist Alex Cross in "Kiss the Girls." And he was an abolitionist in Steven Spielberg's "Amistad." The following year, he was cast as the U.S. president coping with an impending meteor crash in Mimi Leder's "Deep Impact."
• In 1999,Freeman added the role of producer to his resume with the based-on-fact TV drama "Mutiny" on NBC.
• In 2000, he and Gene Hackman served double duty as co-producers and co-stars in the cat-and-mouse drama "Under Suspicion." Also in 2000, Freeman portrayed the off-beat role of a hit man who obsesses over the woman he has targeted to kill in "Nurse Betty."
• In 2001, he reprised the role of Alex Cross in the prequel "Along Came a Spider," opposite Monica Potter.
• In 2002, he re-teamed with "Kiss the Girls" co-star Ashley Judd in "High Crimes" and was cast as the CIA director in "The Sum of All Fears."
• In 2003, Freeman offered an over-the-top turn as an obsessed alien-fighting military officer in the supernatural thriller "Dreamcatcher," based on the novel by Stephen King; and was a genial God in the comedy "Bruce Almighty," starring Jim Carrey
• In 2004, Freeman worked with Jennifer Lopez and Robert Redford in "An Unfinished Life." He also co-starred with Owen Wilson in "The Big Bounce" as a Hawaiian lawman.
• In 2005, he signed on to play Bruce Wayne's right-hand man Lucius Fox in "Batman Begins," a prequel to the popular film franchise focusing on the superhero's shadowy origins.