Other notable roles include in Glory (1989), Lean on Me (1989), Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991), Unforgiven (1992), Se7en (1995), Amistad (1997), Deep Impact (1998), Gone Baby Gone (2007), and The Bucket List (2007).

Known for his distinctive voice, he has narrated numerous documentary projects including The Long Way Home (1997), March of the Penguins (2005), Through the Wormhole (2010–2017), The Story of God with Morgan Freeman (2016–2019), Our Universe (2022) and Life on Our Planet (2023).

He founded the film production company Revelations Entertainment with business partner Lori McCreary in 1996, under which they produced numerous projects, including the CBS political drama Madam Secretary from 2014 to 2019.

[16] He acted in a touring company version of The Royal Hunt of the Sun, and also appeared as an extra in Sidney Lumet's 1965 drama film The Pawnbroker starring Rod Steiger.

[24] Freeman continued to work in theater and a year later, appeared in the Shakespearean tragedies Coriolanus, receiving the Obie Award in 1980 for the title role[16] as well as Julius Caesar.

[35] Freeman also received Obie Awards for his roles as a preacher in the musical The Gospel at Colonus, and as Hoke Colburn in the play Driving Miss Daisy, respectively.

The film was a commercial success,[45] but garnered mixed reviews from critics; The New York Times' Vincent Canby thought Freeman played Azeem with "wit and humor" despite the "muddled" plot.

[50] In 1993, Freeman made his directorial debut with the drama Bopha!, which tells the story of a black policeman (Danny Glover) during South Africa's apartheid era.

[59] In 1995, Freeman starred with Brad Pitt in David Fincher's crime thriller Seven, the story of two detectives who attempt to identify a serial killer who bases his murders on the Christian seven deadly sins.

Freeman explained that he wanted to achieve representation on screen, explore challenging issues and reveal hidden truths, so they chose to name their firm Revelations Entertainment.

The film received a mixed reception; Greg Evans from Variety magazine said Freeman gave a "sweet" performance,[65] while The New York Times critic thought he was miscast.

In a mixed review, Peter Stack of San Francisco Chronicle thought Freeman and co-star Ashley Judd gave strong performances despite the lengthy plot.

[73] Freeman returned to the screen in 2000 with the lead role of Charlie in the comedy Nurse Betty, featuring Renée Zellweger, Chris Rock, and Greg Kinnear.

[75] Upon release, Under Suspicion was met with lukewarm reception;[76] CNN's Paul Tatara praised the actors but thought the film was "too tawdry to be completely entertaining, and too static to generate much excitement".

It is based on Tom Clancy's 1991 novel of the same name, about a plot by an Austrian Neo-Nazi to trigger a nuclear war between the United States and Russia, so that he can establish a fascist superstate in Europe.

The film gained a mixed-to-positive reception; Peter Hartlaub of San Francisco Chronicle was confused with the genre and thought Freeman's character interrupted the narrative.

Starring a principal cast of Josh Hartnett, Bruce Willis, Lucy Liu, Stanley Tucci, and Ben Kingsley, the film garnered mixed reception.

Evan Almighty was a box-office failure[104] and negatively received;[105] The Guardian critic wrote: "A cast full of people who have been frequently funny elsewhere flounder in this deluge of sentimentality and CGI.

It is based on the 2000 novel The Feast of Love by Charles Baxter, about a group of friends living in suburban Oregon who come into contact with a free spirit who changes their outlook on life; Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian sarcastically remarked that it was great to see Freeman in a challenging role.

The plot revolves around Wesley Gibson (James McAvoy), a frustrated account manager who discovers that he is the son of a professional assassin and decides to join the Fraternity, a secret society of which Sloan (Freeman) is the leader.

[114] Freeman returned to Broadway in 2008 after an eighteen-year absence to co-star with Frances McDormand and Peter Gallagher in Clifford Odets' play, The Country Girl, directed by Mike Nichols.

[118] The book was adapted into a film which Clint Eastwood directed, Invictus, starring Freeman as Mandela and Matt Damon as rugby team captain Francois Pienaar.

The film was a critical and commercial success;[126] writing for Melbourne's The Age, Jim Schembri praised Freeman and the cast who "bring an infectious comic energy to their roles".

[130] Returning to theater in 2011, Freeman was featured with John Lithgow in the Broadway debut of Dustin Lance Black's play, 8, a staged reenactment of Perry v. Brown, the federal trial that overturned California's Proposition 8 ban on same-sex marriage.

Reviews were largely underwhelming;[150] Sara Stewart of New York Post called it "bloody bad", adding: "Once-proud box office names are its first casualties.

The film follows a plot to assassinate the world leaders of the G7 as they attend the British Prime Minister's funeral in London, as well as Secret Service agent Mike Banning's efforts to protect U.S. President Benjamin Asher (Aaron Eckhart) from being killed.

[166] The plot follows an ex-FBI agent (Jones) who must put aside his personal feud with a former mob lawyer (Freeman) at a retirement home when the mafia comes to kill the pair.

[168] Finally he had an uncredited role as Jerome in the biographical drama Brian Banks, a high-school football player who was falsely accused of rape and upon his release attempted to fulfill his dream of making the NFL.

[240] Freeman has said he is interested in playing character roles[16] and values the importance of listening carefully while filming scenes: "The big danger in acting is to wait for your line.

Those who honored Freeman included Sidney Poitier, Samuel L. Jackson, Forest Whitaker, Rita Moreno, Helen Mirren, Clint Eastwood, Cuba Gooding Jr., and Matthew Broderick.