You know that voice. It’s the one that sounds like old library books and expensive scotch, the one we’d all choose to narrate our own lives if we had the budget. But here’s the thing about Morgan Freeman: he’s so ubiquitous, so "the voice of God," that we kinda just assume he has a mountain of Oscars sitting on his mantle.
Honestly? He has one. Just one.
It feels wrong, doesn't it? For a guy who has been in everything from The Electric Company to The Dark Knight, you’d think the Morgan Freeman Academy Awards tally would be in the double digits. But the history of Freeman and the Academy is a long, slow burn that tells us more about how Hollywood works than almost any other career. It’s a story of being "too good too late" and the strange politics of the Best Supporting Actor category.
The Breakthrough Nobody Saw Coming
Let’s go back to 1987. Freeman wasn't a movie star yet. He was a respected stage actor who had done some TV, but he wasn't "Morgan Freeman" in the way we think of him now. Then came Street Smart.
He played a pimp named Fast Black. It was terrifying. If you only know Freeman as the wise, kindly mentor, you need to see this movie. He was so good that he basically hijacked the film from the lead, Christopher Reeve. This was his first Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. He didn't win—Sean Connery took it for The Untouchables—but the industry finally woke up.
It’s sort of wild to think that his "breakthrough" happened when he was already 50 years old. Most actors are eyeing retirement or "dad roles" by then. Freeman was just getting started.
The Snub That Still Stings: Driving Miss Daisy
Two years later, we get Driving Miss Daisy. This is the role that cemented the "Freeman Persona." He’s Hoke Colburn, the patient, dignified chauffeur.
The movie was a juggernaut. It won Best Picture. Jessica Tandy won Best Actress. But Freeman? He was nominated for Best Actor, but he lost to Daniel Day-Lewis for My Left Foot. Look, nobody is saying Day-Lewis wasn't incredible, but in 1989, it felt like Freeman was the soul of the year's biggest movie.
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This started a pattern. Freeman would deliver a performance that felt like a definitive piece of American culture, and the Academy would say, "Great job! Here's a nomination. See you next time."
Why The Shawshank Redemption Didn't Win
We have to talk about The Shawshank Redemption. It’s basically the most beloved movie of the 90s, at least according to IMDb and every guy with a DVD collection.
In 1994, Freeman was nominated for Best Actor for playing Red. It’s arguably his most iconic role. "I hope to see my friend and shake his hand. I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams." You’re probably hearing it in his voice right now.
But 1994 was the year of Forrest Gump.
Tom Hanks was an unstoppable force of nature that year. Freeman lost again. It’s one of those historical quirks where a performance that becomes legendary in the long run loses out to the "of-the-moment" cultural phenomenon. Shawshank actually bombed at the box office initially. It took years for the Academy (and the public) to realize how much that performance actually mattered.
The Million Dollar Baby Moment
Finally, 2005.
Clint Eastwood’s Million Dollar Baby was the movie that broke the streak. Freeman played Eddie "Scrap-Iron" Dupris. It wasn't even his biggest role, but it was his most refined. He did so much with so little. When his name was called for Best Supporting Actor, it felt less like a win for one movie and more like a lifetime achievement award delivered while he was still at the top of his game.
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He was 67.
"I want to thank everyone and anyone who had anything to do with the making of this picture," he said. It was short. It was classy. It was very Morgan Freeman.
Every Morgan Freeman Academy Award Nomination
If you’re keeping score at home, here is how the "Big Five" nominations actually shook out over the decades:
- 1988: Best Supporting Actor for Street Smart (Lost to Sean Connery)
- 1990: Best Actor for Driving Miss Daisy (Lost to Daniel Day-Lewis)
- 1995: Best Actor for The Shawshank Redemption (Lost to Tom Hanks)
- 2005: Best Supporting Actor for Million Dollar Baby (WINNER)
- 2010: Best Actor for Invictus (Lost to Jeff Bridges)
The Mandela Factor
His most recent brush with the Oscar was in 2010 for Invictus. Playing Nelson Mandela was something Freeman was seemingly born to do. Mandela himself reportedly said that only Freeman could play him.
He got the nomination. He lost to Jeff Bridges in Crazy Heart.
By this point, the Morgan Freeman Academy Awards narrative had changed. He wasn't the guy "struggling" to win anymore. He was the statesman. He had become bigger than the awards.
The Glove and the 2025 Tribute
Fast forward to the 97th Academy Awards in 2025. People were buzzing not about a nomination, but about Freeman’s presence. He took the stage to pay tribute to his late friend Gene Hackman.
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Fans noticed the single black glove on his left hand—something that’s been a staple of his public appearances for years now. It’s not a fashion choice; it’s a compression glove for nerve damage he suffered in a nasty car accident back in 2008. He has fibromyalgia in that arm, and the glove helps with the swelling.
Seeing him up there, 88 years old, still commanding the room with just a few sentences, you realize the Oscar doesn't really matter. He told AARP's Movies for Grownups recently that winning didn't change him "one whit." He knew he’d get one eventually. He didn't let his ego get the best of him.
He basically said the only thing that changes is your "price goes up a tiny bit." Classic.
Actionable Insights for Film Buffs
If you want to truly appreciate Freeman's Oscar-worthy range beyond the "Wise Old Man" trope, you should change how you watch his filmography.
- Watch Street Smart first. You need to see the "Scary Morgan" to understand why the Academy took notice. It shatters the narrator persona.
- Compare Hoke to Red. Watch Driving Miss Daisy and The Shawshank Redemption back-to-back. Notice how he uses silence. In both roles, he’s playing a man observing a world he has limited control over, but the internal lives he builds are completely different.
- Don't skip the "Non-Nominated" work. His performance in Seven or Unforgiven is arguably just as good as his winning turn in Million Dollar Baby. The Academy often rewards the "narrative" of an actor's career rather than the single best performance of a year.
The real takeaway here is that an Oscar is a snapshot. For Morgan Freeman, the Academy Awards are just small milestones in a career that has lasted over half a century. He didn't need the statue to be the most trusted voice in cinema; he just needed to show up and do the work.
Start by revisiting Street Smart. It’s the performance that proved he was more than just a voice—he was a force.