Morgan Freeman has shared his reaction to being called “God” in a new interview. Freeman discussed playing God in the 2003 comedy-fantasy film Bruce Almighty. He starred alongside Jennifer Aniston, Jim Carrey, Steve Carell and Catherine Bell in the movie. He reprised his role as “God” in the sequel, Evan Almighty.
Morgan Freeman shares his thoughts on people calling him ‘God’
Morgan Freeman shared what he really thinks of being referred to as “God” in an interview with The Guardian. When the interviewer David Smith remarked that “Biblical Gravitas” had become Freeman’s “brand,” the 88-year-old actor chuckled in response. Freeman confessed, “Gravitas, yeah. I don’t know, I’ve done comedies. But I’ll take it. It works for me, so no arguments.”
Continuing further, the actor revealed, “It was interesting, though, the outcome of playing God in the movies. Audiences bought it. I mean, bought it. I walk into a room and they say: ‘God just walked in.’ I say something, they say: ‘Oh, it’s the voice of God.’”
Furthermore, he explained, “That went on for the longest time. Ooooo-Kay! Be careful there.” When asked if it was “a lot of pressure?” he answered, “I vociferously avoid the pressure. It’s like, be cool, hold that down, don’t try to convince me that that’s who I am.”
This isn’t the first time Freeman has spoken about playing God on screen. During National Geographic’s panel for The Story of God with Morgan Freeman, the Hollywood icon simply remarked, “Playing God is simply a matter of learning a script. It didn’t require research beyond that” (via Los Angeles Times).
Elsewhere in the interview with The Guardian, Freeman discussed his apprehensions about AI fast seeping into Hollywood. He said, “I’m like any other actor: don’t mimic me with falseness. I don’t appreciate it and I get paid for doing stuff like that, so if you’re gonna do it without me, you’re robbing me.”
Freeman also expressed his dislike for AI actor Tilly Norwood and how this takes away humanness from artists. He remarked, “Nobody likes her because she’s not real, and that takes the part of a real person, so it’s not going to work out very well in the movies or in television … The union’s job is to keep actors acting, so there’s going to be that conflict.”
