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HOLLYWOOD -- When Morgan Freeman strolls into the interview room, he does it with a sly saunter. When he sits, he does it with an easy grace.
When he speaks, his resonant voice slides out the syllables clearly and concisely, and always smoothly.
Freeman is the complete package of a genuine gent.
He is also one helluva a fine actor, as we had confirmed after performances in Seven, Chain Reaction, Unforgiven and The Shawshank Redemption.
The acting community knew about Freeman before then, but mainstream movie fans were given notice with the release of the Oscar-winning Driving Miss Daisy.
Freeman's remarkable portrayal of the aging chauffeur astounded viewers with its depth and design, and simplistic honesty.
When the Mississippi-based actor is reminded of his shining example of how to play old, the self-deprecating Freeman grunts a "thank you" before explaining the method to his magic.
"Years ago my acting instructor," says Morgan, with a twinkle in his eyes, "told me that in order to play age well, you had to imagine that your testicles are made out of Christmas balls."
You don't get tips like that every day, especially from a sly, smooth gent with a wicked wit.
Freeman can also add 'high-priced bankable movie star' to his personal credits with the release of Kiss The Girls, the movie version of the popular thriller.
Opening Friday, the picture deals with a serial killer and the trackdown. Freeman is a cop and psychologist who gets involved with the case after his niece goes missing. Ashley Judd is a doctor and an escaped victim who helps him try to find her.
In keeping with a formula that seems to have worked before, Freeman teams up with a young actor again as he had in Shawshank Redemption (with Tim Robbins), Seven (with Brad Pitt) and Chain Reaction (with Keanu Reeves).
The difference this time is that Freeman counts in large amounts. To confirm the studio's faith in Freeman's box-office draw, high-profile female stars Meg Ryan, Michelle Pfeiffer and Demi Moore were considered but never signed for the role opposite him.
If it's a celebratory moment, for an actor who nearly quit the business 15 years ago when the business quit on him, you'd never know it.
He's certainly not impressed with his star ranking, nor is he accepting Kiss The Girls as his breakthrough benchmark. What is it, then?
"Another job," says the 60-year-old.
Another 'cop investigating a serial killer' job.
"I know," agrees Freeman, who accepts those two parallels to Seven, "but I try very hard not to do the same thing twice."
What he is consistently adept at is providing his movies with weight and substance.
"He's got a credibility, and warmth, and humanity," says Kiss The Girls' director Gary Fleder. "He's like John Wayne and Gary Cooper. He comes on the screen, and you know who he is."
That's no fluke, after 30 years of acting. He made his debut on Broadway with Pearl Bailey in Hello Dolly! in 1968, worked in theatre mostly after that, and nearly quit the craft in the early '80s when he couldn't find a job.
Playing a pimp in Street Smart led to his first Oscar nomination and then to Driving Miss Daisy. He hasn't been unemployed since, although he would appreciate time off.
Over the last year, he's worked on Chain Reaction, Kiss The Girls and Hard Rain (set for release later in the year). And he thought he'd had enough for a while.
"I meant to take last winter off and go sailing," says the six-foot-four Freeman.
Then Steven Spielberg called to offer him one of the main roles in Amistad, the movie about a real-life slave ship mutiny.
"It was serendipity in terms of my life," he says. "It's an incredible story and an amazing event that few people know about."
So, sailing this year seems like a definite possibility for Freeman.
Well, not exactly.
He plans to direct again. He last did with the acclaimed Bopha! four years ago.
"The time is now and the time is right," he says of his project about coming of age during the Depression.
It's called A Day No Pigs Would Die, and he's poised and ready to begin shooting soon.
That means no sailing for another winter. He doesn't even have time to involve himself in his other obsession -- horseback riding on his expansive Mississippi spread.
"No," he says, "I don't have time to go sailing.
"And this would be about the time I'd go sailing, because I stop riding into the woods at hunting season. I hang up my saddle and go sailing. Now, I can't even do that."
A rich and famous Freeman grins at his apparent lifestyle in crisis.
"I know it's rough," he says, mocking the setback, "but I think I can handle it."