![\"Morgan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Morgan-Freeman-Actor-Far-Out-Magazine-F-1140x855.jpg\")
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Credit: Far Out \/ Alamy<\/p>\n
Wed 15 July 2026 17:15, UK <\/p>\n
Every actor wants to be paid handsomely for their work, and many of them have played roles strictly for the money, but few have been as open and honest about it as Morgan Freeman<\/a>.<\/p>\n While he\u2019s always taken his craft seriously and he\u2019s put in the hard yards to get to reach his current status of a largely beloved legend and respected veteran, the Academy Award winner has never been shy in acknowledging that the number of zeroes being added to his bank account is a major factor.<\/p>\n Fortunately, when you\u2019re Morgan Freeman, and you have a body of work that spans decades and includes billion-dollar blockbusters, \u2018Best Picture\u2019 winners, modern classics, and a string of big-earning box office hits, there are usually going to be a few zeroes on there to begin with<\/a>, even before the bonuses kick in.<\/p>\n It\u2019s made him a very rich man, which makes it unusual for someone who\u2019ll tell anyone willing to listen that a substantial amount of his roles were only played because the people making them reversed a dump truck full of cash to his front door to suggest that, on one occasion, he\u2019d have worked for free.<\/p>\n This was back in the late 1980s, right enough, shortly after Freeman had finally broken through to the big time at the age of 50 when he notched his first Oscar nomination for Street Smart, and before he became a bankable enough name in his own right to demand millions to dispense nuggets of gravitas-infused wisdom, so he was still motivated more by the creative rewards than the financial ones.<\/p>\n It also happened to be for a film that he\u2019s called his personal favourite ever since<\/a>, with the story having been close to his heart long before it made its way to the silver screen. When he heard that Ed Zwick was directing Glory, the story of an African-American regiment in the Civil War, he was in, no questions asked.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter I read the script, I immediately told my agent, \u2018Call \u2019em,’\u201d Freeman revealed at the time. \u201cI was so enthusiastic that I bet they knew if they pushed it, they could\u2019ve got me for free.\u201d Even when he met with Zwick, he didn\u2019t want to negotiate or haggle; he simply informed the filmmaker that he\u2019d do it.<\/p>\n Further reading: Cutting Room Floor<\/p>\n \u201cHe just walked in and said, \u2018You got me,’\u201d Zwick recalled. \u201cMorgan\u2019s work has so distinguished itself that when it came time to cast a part that needed a sense of command, he was the obvious choice.\u201d Had they lowballed him, he\u2019d have been even cheaper to recruit, but that\u2019s the sort of information any actor would keep to themselves.<\/p>\n Denzel Washington might have taken most of the performative plaudits with a \u2018Best Supporting Actor\u2019-winning performance<\/a>, but Freeman is every bit as accomplished as Glory\u2018s John Rawlins, and he\u2019d have been just as good in the part if he wasn\u2019t being paid.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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