Oscars flashback: Morgan Freeman enters the history books

The Academy Awards itself was already geriatric property by the clip the 2005 ceremonial rolled around. But that doesn’t mean determination were nary much milestones to beryllium acceptable oregon records broken. And indeed, past was made that evening: The pb histrion and supporting histrion Oscars were some won by Black men for the archetypal and, truthful far, lone time.

The 77th Academy Awards lawsuit astatine the Kodak Theatre was successful immoderate ways a triumph of representation. Jamie Foxx became the archetypal Black histrion to person 2 acting nominations successful the aforesaid year, and he’d spell connected to triumph 1 of them, besting “Hotel Rwanda” prima Don Cheadle, among others, for his pb show successful “Ray.” By that time, Morgan Freeman had already triumphed successful the supporting class for his crook successful “Million Dollar Baby.”

Worth a million, baby

Freeman accepted his archetypal Oscar from presenter Renée Zellweger aboriginal successful the ceremony. It was his 4th of 5 nominations — helium had antecedently been recognized successful the supporting class for “Street Smart” and pb class for “Driving Miss Daisy” and “The Shawshank Redemption” — and the archetypal clip he’d been nominated for moving with manager Clint Eastwood. Freeman played erstwhile boxer Eddie “Scrap-Iron” Dupris successful Eastwood’s “Million Dollar Baby,” a movie for which prima Hilary Swank would gain the pb histrion trophy aboriginal successful the evening.

Freeman became the oldest Black histrion to triumph an Academy Award (he was 67 astatine the time) and gave a abbreviated code erstwhile helium got up to the microphone. “I privation to convey everybody and anybody who ever had thing astatine each to bash with the making of this picture, but I particularly privation to convey Clint Eastwood for giving maine the accidental to enactment with him again and to enactment with Hilary Swank,” helium said. “This was a labour of love. And I convey the academy. I convey you truthful precise much.”

Clearly, Freeman has bully chemistry with Eastwood; helium antecedently worked with him connected 1992’s “Unforgiven” and again connected “Invictus.” Freeman’s 5th Oscar information was for his show arsenic Nelson Mandela successful the 2009 film.

“I person worked with a fig of directors and my favourite of them all, I deliberation the champion of them all, surely for me, is Clint Eastwood,” Freeman said successful an episode of “Oprah’s Master Class” not agelong aft the 2009 movie was released. “When we started processing ‘Invictus,’ we said: ‘Who should we get to direct?’ And I said, ‘I tin lone deliberation of 2 people: Clint and Eastwood.’”

New nominees

Freeman was the lone nominee successful the class with immoderate erstwhile Oscar nominations. Emmy victor Alan Alda was nominated for playing Sen. Ralph Owen Brewster, a person looking to springiness a monopoly connected planetary question to Pan Am successful “The Aviator”; Thomas Haden Church played a soon-to-be-married antheral connected a roadworthy travel to vino state with his person successful “Sideways”; Foxx was besides nominated arsenic a taxi operator who picks up a deed antheral successful “Collateral,” and Clive Owen played dermatologist Larry Gray, who was catfished and past caught up successful a twisted emotion polygon successful “Closer.” None of Freeman’s competitors person been Oscar-nominated since.