Legendary star of the silver screen Morgan Freeman celebrated his 86th birthday this Thursday and was showered with love online.
One of the glowing testimonials came from none other than Michael Douglas, his co-star on the Netflix sitcom The Kominsky Method.
‘Happy birthday to my good friend @morgan freeman!’ Michael, 78, wrote alongside a picture of the pair of them on the set of the show.
‘I had such an incredible time working with Morgan on the final season of The Kominsky Method. Have a great one Morgan! MD’.
The Kominsky Method, which ran from 2018 to 2021, starred Michael as a top-flight acting coach who used to be a star in his own right.
Morgan meanwhile appeared on the show as himself, as did a glittering list of guest-stars including Jay Leno, Jon Cryer, Patti LaBelle and Allison Janney.
The series was created by Chuck Lorre, the TV whiz behind such successful sitcoms as Two And A Half Men and The Big Bang Theory.
The four male stars played a group of elderly men headed to Las Vegas to celebrate one of their number’s bachelor party.
Mary meanwhile played an aging lounge singer at the Aria hotel who over the course of the men’s trip gets swept up in their celebrations.
Even at the age of 86, Morgan has a string of projects in the pipeline, including a time travel thriller called 57 Seconds starring Josh Hutcherson.
He has also been cast in Sniff, a film noir about a retirement home, with a top-flight list of co-stars including Al Pacino, Helen Mirren and Danny DeVito.
Morgan is also part of the ensemble of Special Ops: Lioness, a Paramount+ spy thriller show from Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan.
Nicole Kidman and Zoe Saldana join Morgan in a cast that also includes Britney Spears’ beefcake husband Sam Asghari.
>In a recent interview with London’s Sunday Times, Morgan reflected on the way his career has changed with his age and mounting stardom.
‘When my career started in film I wanted to be a chameleon. I remember De Niro early on, doing very different parts. Almost unrecognizable as the same actor. I had opportunities like that,’ he recalled.
‘But as you mature in this business, eventually you become a star. Then you’re pretty screwed in terms of referring to yourself as a character actor. You play a lot of the same type of role – people hire you and say: “It’s you that I want.” And you live with it.’
He offered the rueful reflection: ‘I don’t think I’ve done much in the last ten years that was much different. Driving Miss Daisy and Glory were different. Now? It’s just…me. The character will adapt itself to you rather than the other way round, so I do what piques my interest. Sometimes it’s just the money alone.’
