Credit: Far Out / Universal Pictures
Thu 30 July 2026 20:15, UK
Nobody wants Morgan Freeman to be angry at them, but even in the worst-case scenario, it would still be an unforgettable moment, thanks mostly to the thought of being given a dressing-down with that voice of his.
Obviously, it would be much better to have the sonorous star showering you with compliments, and the silent treatment would definitely be worse, but for the most part, Freeman has managed to navigate his career without blowing his top, losing his cool, or criticising too many of his colleagues.
Rules always have exceptions, though, and there are a couple in his case. Rapper and occasional actor TI found himself so far on the wrong side of the Academy Award-winning veteran that he was fired from Last Vegas after falling asleep during a table read, which didn’t sit well with the gravitas machine.
Apart from that, he hasn’t been overly critical of the co-stars or filmmakers that he’s worked with, but he does despise the idea of Tilly Norwood, which is fair enough because it’s a load of absolute nonsense that’ll never catch on, even if his old pal Michael Caine seems disappointingly open to the unwanted age of AI that’s being foisted upon us.
In theory, Freeman being reunited with his favourite director that he’s ever worked with would only be a good thing, and it was. Clint Eastwood’s Invictus finally gave the actor the chance to play Nelson Mandela on the big screen, a role he’d been hand-picked and pre-approved for by no less of an authority than ‘Madiba’ himself.
However, that pesky Matt Damon threatened to ruin his fun, or did he? The Shawshank favourite has always had a mischievous streak, which often finds him calling a spade a spade and telling the world that he’s only made a movie for the money and it’s probably going to be rubbish before it’s even been released, so you never know how serious he was being when he was promoting the 2009 biopic.
“We don’t get on all that good,” he said, referring to his time spent with Damon both during and after production. “He’s got a big head, he thinks he’s good-looking and all that. We didn’t get on all that well at all, as a matter of fact.” There’s always the chance his tongue was being planted firmly in cheek, but even the biggest lies always have a hint of the truth about them.
Further reading: Cutting Room Floor
He also offered another backhanded compliment to his co-star by referring to him as a journeyman actor, and while there’s nothing wrong with being a journeyman actor, you’d have to say that an Oscar winner who’s spent the better part of the last three decades on the A-list and has appeared in billions of dollars’ worth of films in leading or major supporting roles doesn’t quite fit the bill.
It was the role of a lifetime for Freeman either way, and regardless of whether his issues with Damon were merely light-hearted ribbing or general annoyance, it didn’t spoil his Invictus experience in the slightest.
ADD AS A PREFERRED SOURCE ON GOOGLE 
The Far Out Clint Eastwood Newsletter
All the latest stories about Clint Eastwood from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.