Morgan Freeman; An Acting god

I've always thought Morgan Freeman was awesome. He is in three of my favorite movies, after all: The Dark Knight, Wanted, and Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. Not to mention I read somewhere that he made the most films of 2008 -- making him the hardest working actor of that year which is pretty impressive if you ask me. Plus, he's played God before. So to me -- Morgan Freeman is an acting god. Hands down.

Some facts:
Born: 1 June 1937
Where: Memphis, Tennessee, USA
Awards: Won 1 Oscar and 1 Golden Globe
Height: 6' 2"

A short biography:
With an authoritative voice and calm demeanour, this ever popular African American actor has grown into one of the most respected figures in modern US cinema. Born in June 1937 in Memphis, Tennessee, the young Freeman attended Los Angeles Community College before serving several years in the US Air Force as a mechanic between 1955 and 1959. His first dramatic arts exposure was on the stage and he appeared in an off-Broadway production of "The Nigger Lovers" and also in an all-African American production of the exuberant musical Hello, Dolly! (1969).

Freeman first appeared on TV screens as several characters including "Easy Reader", "Mel Mounds" and "Count Dracula" on the Children's Television Workshop (now Sesame Workshop) show "The Electric Company" (1971). He then moved into feature film with another children's adventure, Who Says I Can't Ride a Rainbow! (1971). Next, there was a small role in the thriller Blade (1973); then he played "Casca" in Julius Caesar (1979) (V) and the title role in Coriolanus (1979) (V). Regular work was coming in for the talented Freeman and he appeared in the prison dramas Attica (1980) (TV) and Brubaker (1980), the slow-moving Eyewitness (1981), and portrayed the final 24 hours of slain Malcolm X in Death of a Prophet (1981) (TV). For most of the 1980s, Freeman continued to contribute decent enough performances in films that fluctuated in their quality. However, he really stood out, scoring an Oscar nomination as a merciless hoodlum in Street Smart (1987) and, then, he dazzled audiences and pulled a second Oscar nomination as the patient and dignified chauffeur assisting moody pensioner Jessica Tandy in the delightful Driving Miss Daisy (1989). The same year, Freeman teamed up with youthful Matthew Broderick and fiery Denzel Washington in the epic Civil War drama Glory (1989) about freed slaves being recruited to form the first all-African American fighting brigade.

His star continued to rise, and the 1990s kicked off strongly with roles in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991) and The Power of One (1992). Freeman's next role was as gunman "Ned Logan", wooed out of retirement by friend "William Munny" to avenge several prostitutes in the wild west town of Big Whiskey in Clint Eastwood's de-mythologized western Unforgiven (1992). The film was a critical and box-office smash and scored an acting Oscar for Gene Hackman, a directing Oscar for Eastwood, and the Oscar for best picture.

Freeman's work did not go unnoticed, more strong scripts came in, and he was back behind bars depicting a knowledgeable inmate (and obtaining his third Oscar nomination), befriending falsely accused banker Tim Robbins in the uplifting The Shawshank Redemption (1994). He was then back out hunting a religious serial killer in Se7en (1995), starred alongside Keanu Reeves in Chain Reaction (1996), and was pursuing another serial murderer in Kiss the Girls (1997).

Further praise followed for his role in the slave tale of Amistad (1997), he was a worried US President facing Armageddon from above in Deep Impact (1998), appeared in the loopy Neil LaBute black comedy Nurse Betty (2000), and reprised his role as "Alex Cross" in Along Came a Spider (2001). Now highly popular, he was much in demand with cinema audiences, and he co-starred in the terrorist drama The Sum of All Fears (2002), was a military officer in the Stephen King-inspired Dreamcatcher (2003), gave divine guidance as "God" to Jim Carrey in the very funny Bruce Almighty (2003), and played a minor role in the uneven comedy The Big Bounce (2004).

However, 2005 was finally to be Morgan Freeman's year, when again he teamed up with good friend Clint Eastwood to appear in the heart-wrenching drama, Million Dollar Baby (2004). Freeman's on-screen performance is simply world-class as ex-prize fighter Eddie "Scrap Iron" Dupris, who works in a run-down boxing gym alongside grizzled trainer "Frankie Dunn", as the two work together to hone the skills of never-say-die female boxer Hilary Swank. Freeman received his fourth Oscar nomination and, finally, impressed the Academy's judges enough to win the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his performance.

In addition to his film work, his commanding yet mellifluous voice has also led Freeman to be cast to narrate or host dozens of first-rate television specials covering topics from the American Civil War, the American Film Institute, blues music, the White House and many commemorative events involving the US film industry, most recently as the narrator of the American version of Marche de l'empereur, La (2005).

Films:

The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle (2009)

The Human Factor (2009)
stars as Nelson Mandela

The Last Full Measure (2009)
stars as Jimmy Burr

The Maiden Heist (2009) aka The Lonely Maiden

Rendezvous with Rama (2009)

Harry and the Butler (2008)

The Code (2008)

Moses Taite's War (2008)
stars as Moses Taite

The Dark Knight (2008)
stars as Lucius Fox

Wanted (2008) (2008)
stars as Sloan

Feast of Love (2007)
stars as Harry Stevenson

The Bucket List (2007)
stars as Carter Chambers

Evan Almighty (2007)
stars as God

Gone Baby Gone (2007)
stars as Capt. Jack Doyle

The Contract (2007)
stars as Frank Carden

10 Items or Less (2006)
stars as Him

Lucky Number Slevin (2006) aka Lucky Number S7evin
stars as The Boss

Unleashed (2005) aka Danny the Dog
stars as Sam

An Unfinished Life (2005) aka Ungezahmtes Leben, Ein (Germany)
stars as Mitch Bradley

Edison (2005) aka Edison Force
stars as Moses Ashford

Batman Begins (2005) aka Batman Begins: The IMAX Experience
stars as Lucius Fox

Million Dollar Baby (2004)
stars as Eddie Scrap-Iron Dupris

The Big Bounce (2004)
stars as Walter Crewes

Guilty by Association (2003) - VI
stars as Police Lieutenant Redding

Bruce Almighty (2003)
stars as God

Dreamcatcher (2003) aka Attrapeur de rêves, L' (Canada: French title)
stars as Col. Abraham Curtis

Levity (2003)
stars as Miles Evans

The Sum of All Fears (2002) aka Anschlag, Der (Germany)
stars as DCI William Cabot

High Crimes (2002)
stars as Charlie Grimes

Along Came a Spider (2001) aka Im Netz der Spinne (Germany)
stars as Alex Cross

Nurse Betty (2000) aka Nurse Betty - Gefährliche Träume (Germany)
stars as Charlie

Under Suspicion (2000) aka Suspicion
stars as Capt. Victor Benezet

Deep Impact (1998)
stars as President Tom Beck

Hard Rain (1998) aka Flood
stars as Jim

Amistad (1997)
stars as Joadson

Kiss the Girls (1997)
stars as Dr. Alex Cross

Chain Reaction (1996)
stars as Paul Shannon

Moll Flanders (1996)
stars as Hibble

Se7en (1995)
stars as Detective Lt. William Somerset

Outbreak (1995)
stars as Brig. Gen. Billy Ford

The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
stars as Ellis Boyd 'Red' Redding

The Power of One (1992) aka Puissance de l'ange, La (France)
stars as Geel Piet

Unforgiven (1992)
stars as Ned Logan

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991)
stars as Azeem

The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990)
stars as Judge Leonard White

Lean on Me (1989)
stars as Principal Joe Clark

Johnny Handsome (1989)
stars as Lt. A.Z. Drones

Glory (1989)
stars as Sgt. Maj. John Rawlins

Driving Miss Daisy (1989)
stars as Hoke Colburn

Clean and Sober (1988)
stars as Craig

Clinton and Nadine (1988) - TM aka Blood Money: The Story of Clinton and Nadine
stars as Dorsey Pratt

Fight for Life (1987) - TM
stars as Dr. Sherard

Street Smart (1987)
stars as Fast Black

Resting Place (1986) - TV
stars as Luther Johnson

The Atlanta Child Murders (1985) - TV
stars as Ben Shelter

Marie (1985) aka Marie: A True Story
stars as Charles Traughber

That Was Then... This Is Now (1985)
stars as Charlie Woods

The Execution of Raymond Graham (1985) - TM
stars as Warden Pratt

Teachers (1984)
stars as Lewis

Harry and Son (1984)
stars as Siemanowski

Death of a Prophet (1981)
stars as Malcolm X

The Marva Collins Story (1981) - TM
stars as Clarence Collins

Eyewitness (1981) aka The Janitor
stars as Lieutenant Black

Attica (1980) - TM
stars as Hap Richards

Brubaker (1980)
stars as Walter

Coriolanus (1979)
stars as Coriolanus

Julius Caesar (1979) - VI
stars as Casca

Hollow Image (1979) - TM
stars as Sweet Talk (Ralph Simmons)

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry (1978) - TM
stars as Uncle Hammer

Out to Lunch (1974) - TM

Blade (1973)
stars as Chris

The Electric Company (1971) - TV
stars as Mark; Easy Reader; Mel Mounds the DJ; Count Dracula; Mad Scientist; the Cop

Who Says I Can't Ride a Rainbow? (1971) aka Barney
stars as Afro

Another World (1964) - TV aka Another World: Bay City
stars as Dr. Roy Bingham (1982-1984)

Recent Awards

1. Oscar (2005) Best Supporting Actor - "Million Dollar Baby"
2. Screen Actors Guild Award (2005) Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role - "Million Dollar Baby"
3. National Board of Review Awards (2003) Career Achievement Award
4. NAACP Image Award (1998) Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture - "Deep Impact"
5. NAACP Image Award (1997) Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture - "Amistad"

Information gleaned from: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000151/bio, http://uk.movies.yahoo.com/artists/f/Morgan-Freeman/index-134045.html, and http://www.aceshowbiz.com/celebrity/morgan_freeman/filmography.html.

I love Morgan Freeman! He truly is an a talented and amazing actor! Good luck with your acting career in the future, Mr. Freeman. You are amazing!

A Tribute To Heath Ledger

I loved Heath Ledger. He was an extremely talented individual, I believe, which could further be proved through his role as the Joker. He was a phenomenal Joker, if you ask me. I guess the SGA Awards must have agreed for they gave him a Posthumous award that Gary Oldman accepted on behalf of him (to be quite honest I didn't really recognize Oldman until he started speaking.)

A mini-bio:

Heath Andrew Ledger was born on April 4, 1979, in Perth, Western Australia, the son of French teacher Sally and Kim Ledger, a race car driver and mining engineer, whose family established and owned the well-known Ledger Engineering Foundry.

Heath attended Mary's Mount Primary School and later Guildford Grammar School, where he had his first acting experiences, starring in a school production as Peter Pan at age 10. His parents separated when he was 10 and divorced when he was 11. Ledger's older sister, Kate, an actress and later a publicist, with whom he was very close, inspired his acting on stage, and his love of Gene Kelly inspired his successful choreography leading to Guildford Grammar's 60-member team's "first all-boy victory" at the Rock Eisteddfod Challenge (an annual Australian music and dance spectacular for high schools). Heath's and Kate's other siblings include two half-sisters, Ashleigh Bell (b. 1989), his mother's daughter with her second husband and his stepfather Roger Bell, and Olivia Ledger (b. 1997), his father's daughter with second wife and his stepmother Emma Brown.

Heath was an avid chess player, winning Western Australia's junior chess championship at the age of 10. As an adult, he often played with other chess enthusiasts at Washington Square Park.

Whilst academically, Ledger was quite adept, he did not enjoy the routine and staidness of high school, choosing to leave at age 16, driving across the Nullarbor desert in a car with best friend Trevor DiCarlo to the bright lights of Sydney, hoping to become an actor.

Whilst he got a few small bit parts here and there early on, mixing this with work as a waiter, his first major role was in a Perth TV production called "Sweat", revolving around a sports institute training a group of Olympic-level athletes. In this series, Ledger portrayed a gay cyclist.

His next major production was in a Fox Broadcast Company cable production called "Roar", filmed in the Australian state of Queensland. Whilst this program was short-lived, it opened Ledger to movie heavyweights in the United States.

Ledger made his cinematic debut in the 1997 Australian movie titled "Blackrock". Around the same time, he also had a short-term role on long-running Australian soap "Home And Away", playing a high school bully who targeted popular long-time figure Sally Fletcher, after she rejected him following a drunken one-night stand.

Among his most noteworthy liaisons, Ledger dated American actress Heather Graham for almost a year between 2000 and 2001, before engaging in a long-term relationship with fellow Australian actor Naomi Watts, who was 10 years older than him. Their relationship took place between 2002 and 2004, the relationship ending reportedly due to Ledger's reluctance to settle down.

Ledger's next high-profile union came when he met former "Dawson's Creek" star Williams on the set of Brokeback Mountain. Ledger and Williams moved in together in Brooklyn, New York soon after and had a daughter together, Matilda Rose, born on October 28, 2005 in New York City.

Ledger and Williams also shared a beachside apartment in Sydney, Australia, however Ledger demanded his father sell the home in a tearful phone call the night of the Australian premiere of Brokeback Mountain". At the premiere, Australian photographers had squirted Ledger and Williams with water pistols, in apparent payback for Ledger spitting on paparazzi photographing Ledger some months earlier whilst he was in Sydney filming the drug addict movie "Candy". The incident so humiliated Ledger, that he only returned to Australia at Christmas for a short holiday with his family.

In September 2007, it was confirmed publicly that Ledger and Williams had split, and Ledger was now renting an upscale apartment in Manhattan from 'tween queen Mary-Kate Olsen. Prior to Ledger's death, there were rumors that Ledger was romantically involved with Olsen, and the fact that she was one of the people called when Ledger was found motionless in his bed only fueled these rumors. Ledger was also linked to Danish supermodel Helena Christensen, and teen Australian model Gemma Ward, though there was no confirmation of any union in either case.

Some of the bigger awards Ledger won throughout his acting career included the "ShoWest Award for the Male Star of Tomorrow" in 2001, for his performance in The Patriot.

He also received "Best Actor of 2005" awards from both the New York Film Critics Circle and the San Francisco Film Critics Circle, both for his performance in Brokeback Mountain.

Hauntingly, one of Ledger's final projects was to create and act in a music video set to the late British singer-songwriter Nick Drake's song "Black-Eyed Dog", a song about depression. Drake died at just 26 from an overdose of anti-depressants. Ledger's video was shown only twice, first at the "Bumbershoot Festival" in Seattle in 2007; and secondly, as part of "A Place To Be: A Celebration of Nick Drake", with its screening of "Their Place: Reflections On Nick Drake", a series of short filmed homages to Nick Drake, also in 2007.

Ledger will fondly be remembered from his short, but exemplary body of work, and will always be known as an actor with immense talent. Rest in peace.

This information was compiled from a biography of Heath written by AJ Brady. Man that man does not shut up. I actually shortened the biography to include what I thought were the more important parts. Yes, I loved Heath, but I'm not here to tell you his life story. If you want to read that, do that on your own time. Apparently AJ Brady has too much tme on his hands.

For the full article you can go here: http://www.helium.com/items/1129666-biography-heath-ledger.

Some trivia about the Australian Heart-throb:

• He and his older sister, Kate Ledger, are named after the two main romantic characters of the Emily Brontë novel, "Wuthering Heights".

• Concentrated on drama and sports in school. When asked to choose between the two, he picked drama. Attended a private all-boys school called Guildford Grammar.

• Was a men's-fashion judge at the Melbourne Cup Carnival in November 2001.

• Most of his wardrobe was designed by his friend Shem.
• Was of Irish and Scottish ancestry.

• Chosen by Empire Magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Movie Stars in the world (#79) 2007.

• In 2006, took a year off from acting to raise his daughter Matilda while his girlfriend at the time, Michelle Williams, worked.

• Was good friends with Joaquin Phoenix.

• "Brooklyn seems to me the closest thing in America to Europe. The neighbors and locals are beautiful people. It's like a village." -- a personal quote

These can be found on: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005132/bio.

Seriously, such a gifted actor. I was sad the day I found out about his death. Although, I can't say I shed tears like some of my friends did. It was sad, yes, but I didn't personally know him. I think it's different -- yes, actors are people, but they're not your people until you're one of them or you're famous. At least, that's an opinion of mine. . .

I was so excited when I read that he was friends with Joaquin Phoenix! I love Joaquin Phoenix. I don't know why, but ever since Gladiator my best friend and I have had a crush on him. My ex bashed him as "funny looking", but honestly a man does not have to be hot to be sexy. Voices can go a long way . . . I won't say anymore on that or else we'll get to a pet peeve of mine and I'm sure you don't want to hear me rant.

Yes, I'm still alive. Sorry I hadn't posted anything for the past three days. I was really slacking! Then again, I do have college and a play that I'm in not to mention a life. So yes, that is time consuming as one may imagine. R.I.P. Heath! We miss you! (Even if we never really knew you.)