Morgan Freeman ‘So Very Envious’ of Denzel Washington’s Career

With the longevity and body of work that actor Morgan Freeman has, it comes as a surprise that he is actually “envious” of another actor.

According to Insider, 85-year-old actor, admitted in an exclusive interview with The Sunday Times that he is “so very envious” of Denzel Washington‘s career, because of the artistic freedom that the 68-year-old “because he’s doing what I wanted to do.”

Freeman said he appreciates the progress that Black people in the arts have made over the years in Hollywood.

“When I was growing up there was no ‘me’ in the movies,” Freeman said. “If there was a Black man in a movie he was funny. Until Sidney Poitier came and gave young people like me the idea that, ‘OK, yes, I can do that.’”

He also spoke about speaking to the legendary Poitier, saying that the older actor admired Freeman in pretty much the same way he acknowledged Washington’s breadth of work.

“And I spoke with Sidney way back. He said, ‘I wanted to be like you,’” he said. “Generationally, though, I do think we’re moving ahead in leaps and bounds.”

These days, the roles Freeman plays have a different meaning. It either has to be something that strikes his interest or it may be as simple as just taking the role based on how much it pays him.

“Now?” Freeman says, “It’s just… me. The character will adapt itself to you rather than the other way round, so I do what piques my interest. Sometimes it’s just the money alone.”

The Sunday Times interview was also notable for Freeman’s disdain for the term “African American” and “Black History Month,” both of which deemed an “insult.”

Freeman and Washington did appear together in the 1989 Civil War drama Glory. Washington received rave reviews for the role, won the Best Supporting Actor at the Academy Awards. Maybe before it’s all said and done, the two will appear in another together—presumably if the terms are OK with Freeman, of course.