Playing God

Morgan Freeman takes on the all mighty

INTERVIEW. Morgan Freeman has had a long and varied career. But he might be the only actor who has gotten the role of the highest order. He’s gotten to play God—twice. Reprising his role from the smash hit movie “Bruce Almighty,” Freeman once again dons the large robe of the maker in “Evan Almighty.” He talks to Metro about what it’s like to step in the big guy’s shoes for a second time.

Did you have any second thoughts about agreeing to play God--again?
I got the feeling a long time ago, that eventually someone was going to come up to me and say, “We want you to play this role.” I wondered, “What am I going to do?” If it was a straight role, I wouldn’t do it, pure and simple.

I hear the reason you agreed also had a lot to do with working again with director Tom Shadyac.
My coming back to it has everything to do with the filmmaker. I really like Tom’s head—the way he thinks, what he thinks, what he does and what he’s attempting to say. I want to say the same thing, so we usually wind up on the same page.

As God, you seem to aspire for random acts of kindness to happen. What’s the signifigance?
The idea is that a random act of kindness will lead to another and another and an exponential spreading. It’s like, I will do something good for you, and because of that, your belief in human generosity and interaction grows. So, you may not do anything for me… you may never even see me again, but you’ll be more than willing to perform an act of kindness for someone else, if you see a need. And that just keeps moving.

How was it co-starring opposite Steve Carell?
He’s a professional. By professional, I mean not only is he good at his craft, but he’s dedicated to it. And he himself is a terrific human being. I find that’s very prevalent in this business. Most of the people I worked with, 99.999% of them are just that… terrific people… lovely to work with.

You seem as enthusiastic as ever about acting.
I always have a great time working. I so enjoy doing it. People say, “You’re going to work.” And I think, “No, the work is in looking for work.” After you get it, you’re just going to play. So, these are situations where I’m just having a great time, and hoping that everybody around me is having just as wonderful a time.