STREET SMART (1987) The film would have been quickly forgotten but a number of critic's groups remembered the movie at the end of the year and awarded Freeman their prizes for his role as a brutal pimp. That led to Freeman receiving his first Oscar nomination and igniting his film career.

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).

Freeman was not an overnight success. He became a film star in 1987, the year he turned 50, in his break-through, Oscar-nominated role as Fast Black, the lithe and lethal pimp in STREET SMART.

He went on to play the president of the United States in "Deep Impact" (1998) and God himself in the comedy "Bruce Almighty" (2003), before finally winning an Oscar for his role as a boxing coach in the Clint Eastwood directed drama "Million Dollar Baby" (2004).