By LOUIS B. HOBSON --
BEVERLY HILLS -- For one of Hollywood's elder statesmen, Morgan Freeman is feeling good and looking good.
At 60, Freeman is one of the few actors who can play roles 20 years older or 20 years younger.
In Driving Miss Daisy, Freeman easily convinced audiences he was in his 80s.
In the No. 1 film in North America this week, Kiss the Girls, Freeman shaves off 20 years to play Alex Cross, a forensic detective hunting a serial killer.
"It's not about how you look, but how you feel. If you keep slim and in shape, you can easily fool the camera. For actors, it's not vanity to keep yourself in shape, it's a necessity," explains Freeman.
Once he had accepted the role of Cross, Freeman headed for the nearest gym.
"I knew this was going to be a very physical role, so I started working out daily with weights. It made me feel great -- but I quit the day we wrapped the film."
Freeman lives on his ranch with his second wife Myrna and one of his nine grandchildren.
When he had completed filming Kiss the Girls, Freeman had planned to take a month off to go sailing.
Then he received a call from Steven Spielberg with an offer to star in Amistad, the story of a real-life mutiny on a slave ship.
"It's an important part of my African American heritage, so I put everything else on hold."
Once again, Freeman is looking forward to a sailing vacation.
"I'm a rancher and a sailor. I'm as much at home on the water as I am on the land."
Freeman's water wings came in handy while he was filming his next movie, Hard Rain. It's the story of a group of bank robbers whose heist is interrupted by a flash flood.
"We spent most of the shoot in and under water. I wasn't worried about myself. I'm an actor and they pay people to protect me. I was worried about the crew. They certainly don't pamper crews on a movie shoot."
Freeman's co-star in Hard Rain is Christian Slater, who is currently facing assault charges for a fight that occurred at a Hollywood party when Slater was under the influence of alcohol and drugs.
"Christian is a wonderful guy. We worked together previously on Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves. I'm genuinely sorry about the troubles he's having."
Freeman says he was aware Slater was using drugs.
"I was not aware Christian was a drug abuser. Having crossed that line is what has landed him in trouble.
"It's the same thing with Robert Downey Jr. He went from being a drug user to being a drug abuser. Anyone who works with these guys knows they're using drugs or alcohol, but we assume they're in control or we would do something to help them."
Critics are already comparing Kiss the Girls to Freeman's mega-hit Seven -- and that upsets him.
"Yes, both films are about a cop pursuing a serial killer, but the plot lines are completely different and the characters I play are miles apart.
"I'm flattered that people think Seven was a brilliant movie, but I refuse to let that stop me from playing more detectives."
Freeman is eager to clear up a misunderstanding that arose when he admitted he'd had an unpleasant experience filming the terrorist movie Chain Reaction.
"People assumed I meant I didn't enjoy working with Keanu Reeves. Nothing could be further from the truth. He is an earnest, good-looking, pleasant young man.
"We just had a very rough shoot in Chicago. It was bitterly cold and that posed some dangerous situations. That automatically colors an actor's perception of an experience."
More Artists
