Golden Icon

Last year, the Golden Icon Award, honouring the life work of an actor or an actress, was presented for the first time at 4th Zurich Film Festival. The award is handed over to a character who has become an icon for a whole generation and whose cinematic works have become unforgettable.

Morgan Freeman was honoured at the 5th Zurich Film Festival with the Golden Icon Award for his Life's Work as an Actor

At the end of the 80's, and with a view to Jerry Schatzberg's STREET SMART, Pauline Kael, the legendary - and legendarily implacable - New Yorker film critic asked: „Is Morgan Freeman the greatest American actor?" Eighteen years later, Clint Eastwood answered Keal's rhetoric question and crowned his star „the world's greatest actor" at the presentation of the Golden Globe for MIILION DOLLAR BABY. Morgan Freeman can indeed look back on an extraordinary career, characterised as much by passion and discipline as by integrity and style.

Born 1937 in Memphis, he attended the Los Angeles Community College before enrolling in the US Air Force to work as a mechanic for the following four years. He collected his first acting experiences on stage in such productions as the Afro-American version of HELLO DOLLY! His first small screen appearance came in 1964 when he played alongside the Swiss actress Linda Geiser („Lüthi und Blanc") in THE PAWNBROKER, with its leading actor Rod Steiger. The basis for his impressive palmerès stems back to 1971, when he became a household name after playing the ‘Easy Reader' role in the extremely successful children's TV educational programme The Electric Company. The late 70's and early 80's saw Freeman play in BRUBAKER, EYEWITNESS and MALCOLM X - DEATH OF A PROPHET. His international breakthrough came when he received an Oscar® nomination for his role as the friendly and patient chauffeur in DRIVING MISS DAISY in 1989. Freeman is an outstanding actor whose repertoire covers a broad spectrum of roles, ranging from pimp in STREET SMART, lonely and sober-minded detective in the thriller SE7EN to God himself in BRUCE ALMIGHTY and its sequel EVAN ALMIGHTY. In other words: he never allows himself to be squeezed into the tight type casting corset - he is as much a master of quiet tones as he is great dramatic gestures - this makes him Hollywood's ‘trump card' so to say.

Morgan Freeman has received four Oscar® nominations for best supporting actor in STREET SMART and best actor in DRIVING MISS DAISY and THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION. He received the trophy for best supporting actor in 2005 for his role in MILLION DOLLAR BABY. THE DARK KNIGHT is amongst the most recent of his blockbusting successes.

Freeman's passionate interest in film is by no means limited to a place in front of the camera lens. The actor made his successful directing debut in 1993 with BOPHA!, a drama tackling the subject of Apartheid in South Africa with, as Variety put it, "an enormous emotional energy".In 1996, Freeman founded the Revelations Entertainment production company whose films include ALONG CAME A SPIDER and UNDER SUSPICION. Freeman would not be Freeman if he did not approach his film projects with the same sincerity as he did his on-screen work.

INVICTUS is due for release in December. Directed by Clint Eastwood, Freeman developed and produced this film together with Lori McCreary and embodies the charismatic black leader Nelson Mandela during his rise to become president of South Africa. This role is undoubtedly an expression of his tireless commitment against racism. The actor has continued to tackle the subject of Afro-American oppression and civil rights and follows words with actions by generously supporting integration efforts such as those brought to light by last year's sensational HBO documentary film PROM NIGHT IN MISSISSIPPI.