Morgan Freeman revealed the most frustrating moment of his career and it also happened to be his career’s biggest regret. Freeman’s career took off with his Oscar-winning film Driving Miss Daisy. Before the role happened, Freeman wanted to play one particular character in a book-based movie and approached Miloš Forman, the director, to convince him to cast him.
The Dark Knight actor didn’t get the job in Forman’s Ragtime. While the film wasn’t Forman’s best, Freeman was touched by the source material and wanted to play the African-American pianist in the film.
Morgan Freeman’s Biggest Regret Is Losing A Role In A Veteran Director’s Film
Morgan Freeman has been a remarkable presence in supporting roles in Hollywood. There will always be fans for his unique voice, an asset to any movie he’s cast in. His fame began with his Oscar-nominated roles as Leo “Fast Black” Smalls Jr. in Street Smart and as Hoke Colburn in Driving Miss Daisy.
Freeman won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in Million Dollar Baby. But before his recognition and accolades, there was a time when he was a star on Broadway. The Se7en actor won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his role as Zeke in The Mighty Gents in 1978.
Riding on his Broadway success, Freeman unsuccessfully tried for a major movie role. When asked about the most frustrating moment in his career during a SAG-AFTRA interview in 2014, he shared the story about getting rejected by Miloš Forman for a role.
Freeman read E.L. Doctorow’s novel, Ragtime, and wanted to play Coalhouse Walker in the film. He felt that the role was written for him in the film and tried to convince Forman by sharing his Broadway success stories.
However, the Czech-American director was not up-to-date about the Broadway scene at the time. The Shawshank Redemption actor told the SAG-AFTRA Foundation:
There have been a lot of frustrating moments. I interviewed for Miloš Forman for Ragtime. I read the book, and when I read the book — ‘Coalhouse Walker, that’s me!’ I got that going away. I had just gotten all kinds of accolades for the Broadway play that I had done. I was the talk of the town. ‘Surely, you’ve heard of me? Haven’t you?’
The role eventually went to the late actor Howard Rollins. Ragtime didn’t achieve the level of success that Forman’s Oscar-winning films like One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest or Amadeus. However, the film was nominated for eight Academy Awards, including a Best Supporting Actor nomination for Rollins.
The Rejection Taught Morgan Freeman A Lesson In Humility
Losing a role in Miloš Forman’s film was a major career regret for The Prestige actor but he also understood something crucial in the process. He shared that it was one of those moments in life where he recognized his humility and backed away from pushing for the role. Freeman shared in his career retrospective with the SAG-AFTRA Foundation:
So, I didn’t get the job. It is one of those moments in your life when you realise that, ‘OK, humility is still here with me, I gotta back away.’
Freeman later starred in playwright Alfred Uhry’s Off-Broadway production Driving Miss Daisy in 1987. It received an overwhelming response from the audience and got a film adaptation in 1990. Freeman reprised his role in the film alongside veteran actress Jessica Tandy.
Ragtime and Driving Miss Daisy are now available for rent on AppleTV+.
