One of his most acclaimed performances is in Shawshank Redemption (1994) based on a short story written by Stephen King. The original Red character in the book was a white Irish man, but eventually Freeman was cast thanks to his authoritative presence and calm demeanor. The film achieved success gradually, by word of mouth. Freeman has an explanation for the initial box office failure of the film: “It took a long time for word of mouth to kick in because no one could say it. It was 'The Shimshunk Reduction', 'The Hudsucker Redemption'; I mean people just couldn't say it, which really made me angry because I knew that at the time! The movie we made was called 'Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption'. Isn't that a great title? But they were like, 'That won't fit on the marquee.' So it took a year or two for people to say it. Some people still can't say it." (imdb.com)
In grim Se7en (1995) he hunts a religious serial killer together with Brad Pitt. In 2005 Freeman’s classy performance in Million Dollar Baby, the female boxing drama starring Oscar winning actress Hilary Swank, earned him a well-deserved Academy Award.
Some of the highlights of his career in his own opinion are The Shawshank Redemption (1994) along with Glory (1989), Driving Miss Daisy (1989) and Unforgiven (1992).
In the inspiring true story of Invictus he portrays the South African president Nelson Mandela who, shortly after being elected democratically, sees the opportunity of the national rugby team in the World Cup as a way to unify his country torn by the apartheid and economic differences. In this endeavor he joins forces with the captain of the rugby team played by Matt Damon who is nominated this year for an Academy Award for Actor in a Supporting Role for his performance in Invictus.
