Morgan Freeman nominated for fifth Oscar for “Invictus”
Morgan Freeman plays Nelson Mandela in “Invictus.”
Morgan Freeman earned his fifth Oscar nomination for portraying South African President Nelson Mandela in Clint Eastwood’s fact-based racially driven inspirational sports drama “Invictus.”
In his first term, Mandela initiated a unique venture to unite the apartheid-torn land: enlist the national rugby team on a mission to win the 1995 Rugby World Cup.
Mandela handpicked Freeman, who won the best supporting actor Oscar in 2005 for “Million Dollar Baby,” to play him on film. Freeman’s portrayal has won him a best actor nomination going into Sunday’s Academy Awards.
“This started out with Madiba naming me as his heir apparent, so to speak,” Freeman said. “When he was asked during the press conference at the publication of his book ‘Long Walk to Freedom,’ ‘Mr. Mandela, if your book becomes a movie, who would you like to play you?’ He said, ‘ Morgan Freeman,’” Freeman told a group of reporters, including my colleague George Lang, at a Los Angeles press conference.
Though the sprawling “Long Walk to Freedom” was never made into a film, Freeman ended up portraying the Nobel laureate in “Invictus.”
To read more about Freeman’s Oscar-nominated turn as Mandela, click here and travel to Planet 46.
And don’t forget to check out my Oscars live-blog Sunday night here at BAM’s Blog.
-BAM
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