For the director, see Morgan J. Freeman

Freeman was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Nelson Mandela (pictured) in the film Invictus (2009).
In 2008, Freeman was cast in the action-thriller Wanted, a loose adaptation of the comic book miniseries by Mark Millar and J. G. Jones. The plot revolves around Wesley Gibson (James McAvoy), a frustrated account manager who discovers that he is the son of a professional assassin and decides to join the Fraternity, a secret society of which Sloan (Freeman) is the leader. Principal photography took place in Chicago; co-star rapper Common remarked on the set atmosphere: “Freeman is a cool guy. He’d be walking around joking and singing and just dancing. You know, artists are free and I just felt the freedom in him.”[110] The film received generally favorable reviews; Peter Howell of Toronto Star thought it was original and one of Freeman’s bolder performances to date.[111] Freeman narrated The Love Guru (2008),[112] before appearing in The Dark Knight (2008), the second installment of Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy, in which he reprised his role as Lucius Fox.[113] Freeman returned to Broadway in 2008 after an eighteen-year absence to co-star with Frances McDormand and Peter Gallagher in Clifford Odets’ play, The Country Girl, directed by Mike Nichols.[114]