Morgan Freeman’s success on stage and screen: Oscar-winning movies, Broadway shows and more

Morgan Freeman has frequently led movies since the '90s, earning many Oscar nods and other accolades along the way. 

Freeman was born June 1, 1937, in Memphis. Before beginning his career as an actor, he spent four years in the U.S. Air Force, where he was a radar repairman beginning in 1955. 

Freeman's Broadway debut was in "Hello Dolly!" in 1967. It took many years until Freeman earned his big break in Hollywood. Freeman's first big movie role came when he was nearly 50 years old, when he starred in the film "Street Smart" in 1987 and earned himself his first Academy Award nomination. From there, his career took off. 

In 1989, he was in "Driving Miss Daisy," another role for which he received an Oscar nomination, before starring in "Lean on Me" in 1989. Also in 1989, Freeman played a Civil War solider in the film "Glory." 

In 1993, Freeman made his directorial debut in the movie "Bopha!" Shortly after, he launched his own production company, Revelations Entertainment. 

Freeman's third Oscar nomination was in 1995 for the movie "The Shawshank Redemption." 

The following years saw Freeman in movies that included "Se7en" (1995), "Chain Reaction" (1996), "Kiss the Girls" (1997), "Amistad" (1997), "Along Came a Spider" (2001), "The Sum of All Fears" (2002) and "Bruce Almighty" (2003). 

In 2005, Freeman became an Academy Award-winning actor, when he was named best supporting actor in the Clint Eastwood-directed film "Million Dollar Baby." 

Freeman's stint in Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight" films starring Christian Bale as Batman began in 2005. Freeman starred in all three films of the trilogy — "Batman Begins" (2005), "The Dark Knight" (2008) and "The Dark Knight Rises" (2012). 

In 2007, Freeman joined the cast of Ben Affleck's directorial debut "Gone Baby Gone." That year, he also starred in "The Bucket List." 

In 2008, Freeman returned to Broadway in "The Country Girl." In 2009, he played Nelson Mandela in another Eastwood-directed film, "Invictus," and earned himself another Oscar nomination. 

In 2013, Freeman starred in "Olympus Has Fallen" and returned for "London Has Fallen" (2016) and "Angel Has Fallen" (2019). He also starred in 2013 in "Now You See Me" and its 2016 sequel. 

Over the years, Freeman has demonstrated his versatility as an actor, acting across genres, including in a handful of family-focused films. One example is the 2011 movie "Dolphin Tale." He was also in the film's 2014 sequel. 

More recent movies starring Freeman include "The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard" (2021), "Paradise Highway" (2022), "The Ritual Killer" (2023), "A Good Person" (2023), "57 Seconds" (2023) and "My Dead Friend Zoe" (2024). 

In addition to Freeman's five Oscar nominations with one win, he has earned many other honors. These include a Kennedy Center Honor in 2008 and the Cecil B. DeMille Award, the Golden Globe's lifetime achievement award, in 2012.