Morgan Freeman

[georgeyboy]

I plan to look at the extent Morgan freeman is typecast, I am looking at the films Shawshank Redemption, Bruce Almighty and Invictus/ Does anyone have any views and opinions because that'll help for my coursework :).

[Steve Crook]

I plan to look at the extent Morgan freeman is typecast, I am looking at the films Shawshank Redemption, Bruce Almighty and Invictus/ Does anyone have any views and opinions because that'll help for my coursework :).

Look at Se7en (1995) & Driving Miss Daisy (1989) as well - and then say if you still think he's typecast

Steve

[batman]

And if they don't convince you, take a look at Unforgiven, Robin Hood-Prince of Thieves, The Dark Knight and Street Smart.

You could pick similar types of role from almost any actor who has had a long career and claim they were typecast. Brando played rebellious people at least three times in Viva Zapata, The Wild One and Mutiny On The Bounty, but I wouldn't say he was typecast over the course of his career.

Even good ol' Maxwell Reed comes into that equation, in two films and three TV series he played a boxer ..... but he also played a Greek warrior, a Danish seaman, an Arab warlord and a Russian refugee.

Morgan Freeman is IMHO what is known as a 'King Actor' .... an actor best suited to playing kings etc. Charlton Heston and Orson Welles were others of this ilk. They play roles with a certain degree of gravitas that other actors cannot emulate, therefore they often get cast in such roles because they are good at them, but they also often get cast in other roles too.

When Spencer Tracy was asked if he thought he was typecast because he always played 'Spencer Tracy', he replied 'Who do you expect me to play, Humphrey Bogart?'.

[will.15]

Typecast in what way?

[GoggleboxUK]

Typecast in what way?

In the way he played the US President in Deep Impact and a mercenary criminal in Hard Rain. Everybody knows black men are either Heads of State or bank robbers right?

[CaptainWaggett]

But he's always Magical

[will.15]

In the way he played the US President in Deep Impact and a mercenary criminal in Hard Rain. Everybody knows black men are either Heads of State or bank robbers right?

Politicians and bank robbers, all the same thing.

[Onedin]

Bob Hoskins..........now there's an actor who's typecast. Not Morgan Freeman imho.

[GoggleboxUK]

Politicians and bank robbers, all the same thing.

Typecasting personified.

He was DEFINITELY typecast in 10 Items or Less. He played Morgan Freeman.

[Steve Crook]

Bob Hoskins..........now there's an actor who's typecast. Not Morgan Freeman imho.

Bob Hoskins, typecast? The man who gave us Who Framed Roger Rabbit? as well as the romantic drama Mermaids and the musical Pennies from Heaven on TV?

He doesn't only do London villains. It's just that when he does do them, he does them very well

Steve

[Onedin]

Bob Hoskins, typecast? The man who gave us Who Framed Roger Rabbit? as well as the romantic drama Mermaids and the musical Pennies from Heaven on TV?

He doesn't only do London villains. It's just that when he does do them, he does them very well

Steve

Still I wouldn't call Bob Hoskins a versatile actor.

I would Morgan Freeman.

[Steve Crook]

Still I wouldn't call Bob Hoskins a versatile actor.

I won't compare the two, they are both very good but very different.
So I presume you haven't seen Bob in much then
Try catching him in a few of those that I mentioned, then you'll see his versatility

Steve

[GoggleboxUK]

I always found it fascinating that there was rumoured to be a Three Bears movie starring Bob Hoskins, Danny de Vito and Phil Collins.

Hoskins: Who's been eating my f***ing porridge? OI'll kill ya you slaaaaaaag!

De Vito: Don't mess with me, Arnie is my twin.

Collins: I can feel it coming in the air tonight.

All three: Oh Lord!

[Rick C]

But who else could play the older-statesman slave in Amistad? 50-cent hasn't grown the eyebrows sufficiently yet.

[Moor Larkin]

Would Obama have ever got elected without him I wonder.........

The American President and God - What a combination...... I'm talking now about Morgan Freeman

[sippog]

You need to check out an early MF film called "Street Smart" where he plays a black pimp. This was the first time I ever saw him and he was genuinely scary in the role - quite something to pull off. There's a scene in it where he threatens to put out the eyes of a whore and, in an interview, he describes how he got the role by auditioning: "There were actors there, screaming and shouting . . I just kind of had a 'conversation' with her . . . " It worked.

[batman]

And if they don't convince you, take a look at ... Street Smart.

You need to check out an early MF film called "Street Smart" where he plays a black pimp. This was the first time I ever saw him and he was genuinely scary in the role - quite something to pull off. There's a scene in it where he threatens to put out the eyes of a whore and, in an interview, he describes how he got the role by auditioning: "There were actors there, screaming and shouting . . I just kind of had a 'conversation' with her . . . " It worked.

It's a very good film .... the late Christopher Reeve is good in it too.

[WarFilmBuff]

I don't think Morgan Freeman is typecast in the roles he plays, but that said, I think his voice and presence are such that it would be hard for him to play anyone too "ordinary." It's the same deal with Richard Burton, you could never imagine either of them being able to play a simple taxi driver, pub landlord or farmer for example. There's something about both men that lends itself to statesmen and kings or men with power or some secret past. Indeed in the case of Se7en, one of Freeman's most famous roles, I think the director played with the audience and the fim's ending is all the more shocking because Freeman's detective ultimately loses to the baddie. The director assumes that we the audience assume that Morgan Freeman has to succeed, because it's Morgan Freeman. It's a little like John Wayne in The Shootist, we the audience think that because it's The Duke he will somehow beat his illness and ride off into the sunset in a happy ending.

Personally I think Morgan Freeman has had an excellent career, which considering success came to him in middle age consists of a varied body of work and a good ratio of hits to misses. He's in that group of actors like Robert Duvall, Gene Hackman, Jim Broadbent, Ian Holm etc etc who rarely headline in a film, but who are always steadily effective and able to put in good performances even in poor films

[batman]

Morgan Freeman is IMHO what is known as a 'King Actor' .... an actor best suited to playing kings etc. Charlton Heston and Orson Welles were others of this ilk. They play roles with a certain degree of gravitas that other actors cannot emulate, therefore they often get cast in such roles because they are good at them, but they also often get cast in other roles too.

I don't think Morgan Freeman is typecast in the roles he plays, but that said, I think his voice and presence are such that it would be hard for him to play anyone too "ordinary." It's the same deal with Richard Burton, you could never imagine either of them being able to play a simple taxi driver, pub landlord or farmer for example. There's something about both men that lends itself to statesmen and kings or men with power or some secret past.

Yes, Burton was another 'King Actor'.