» Morgan Freeman interview
Dan Higgins talks to Morgan Freeman about his role in The Bucket List
I know we shouldn’t keep talking about this but how do you feel about the sad news regarding Heath Ledger?
I worked on The Dark Knight with him but Heath and I never met. We were never on the same set. So, this is as much news to me as it is to anybody and it affects me in the same way. What’s sad is how similar it is to River Phoenix not in the circumstances of what happened but just the fact that they were so young and it’s really tragic when somebody who is as gifted and talented is cut down at the early part of their career, because we always think about what more they could have offered the world in terms of their talent. So, it’s very, very sad.
What would be on your list of things to do before you kick the bucket?
I’ve recently taken up golf so most of the things on my list have to do with golf and I’m very enamoured with a light business jet and I would like to get one before it’s too late. I don’t think there’s anyone left that I didn’t meet. I really wanted to meet Princess Diana and get to know her. I liked something about her. As for my fixation with golf let me ask you a question. Are you involved with the game of golf? Do you understand the joy of hitting the golf ball? It’s always more frustration than anger. If I was angry I’d hit myself with the club.
What would you say is the key to finding that sense of contentment in the twilight of your life?
That’s a very complicated question. I think, in order to circumvent the question, that finding ‘joy’ is tantamount to finding yourself and being comfortable in your own skin. Once you’re there, I think then that’s a joyful place. It’s like ice cream and whoever comes into your orbit gets a part of that reflection that is the joy of you.
How do you find working in a profession where you are so reliant on the performance of those around you?
Well, actors cannot work against each other. It is totally impossible. Philip Seymour Hoffman, when he received the Screen Actor’s Guild Award was very succinct in his explanation of actors and acting. We are watching each other’s back all the time. The better the actor, usually the safer you feel working with that actor. Simply because, that is the bottom of line on getting up and trying to bare yourself with someone else. It is like the exercise where you close your eyes and fall backwards.
How was it working with Jack Nicholson for the first time?
We didn’t improvise. Once we hit the stage and we’re ready to work, it’s set with what we are going to do. Now, there’s a lot of work that goes on before that happens and we spend months before we start the initial shoot and, every day, I’d go and sit in the trailer for half an hour and rework the scene and the process we went through with each other is improvisational. That can be the process at which you arrive at the script. Once it is there, then you go ahead and do it. The wonderful thing about Jack is that we would throw him things five minutes before we start shooting and he was such a brilliant mix of fire and ice. He has such an incredible facility. He’d look at it and process it straight away. He’s so calm, so inner-directed and so centred. It was like horses leaving the gate. The gate opens and we’re off and running. The most takes we ever did on anything was three.
Do you have any advice for anyone starting out in life?
Mainly don’t be afraid.
