NEWSMorgan Freeman, 89, Says 'Denzel Washington Is Doing What I Wanted to Do' in Acting Career
Morgan Freeman said Denzel Washington 'is doing what I wanted to do.'
Sept. 9 2026, Published 1:13 p.m. ET
Morgan Freeman envies only one actor.
At 89, he has some regrets about his decades-long career, as he told Rolling Stone: “Denzel Washington is doing what I wanted to do.”
Morgan Freeman said he envies Denzel Washington.
“I took the jobs that were offered, and I thought I was doing well, and I was. But not those action flicks,” he continued.
While Freeman is known for his roles in iconic pieces like The Shawshank Redemption, Se7en, Driving Miss Daisy, Glory, and The Dark Knight trilogy, he earned his true breakthrough in Hollywood through 1987's drama-thriller Street Smart.
“My career started around my age of 50—that’s when it took off. Before that, I was working different venues a lot. 20 years on the Broadway stage,” he explained. “Who I envy is Denzel.”
Morgan Freeman said he feels 'Denzel Washington is doing what I wanted to do.'
Two years after his breakout role, Freeman appeared in his only film with Washington: Glory (1989).
In the smash-hit masterpiece, Washington plays Private Trip, an escaped enslaved man who joins the Union Army alongside Freeman’s character and the film’s moral compass, Sgt. Major John Rawlins.
Washington, meanwhile, is renowned for his action hero roles, including films like Training Day, Man on Fire, and the iconic The Equalizer film series.
He also won Best Supporting Actor for Glory and Best Actor for Training Day in 2002.
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Morgan Freeman is Grateful for How His Career Turned Out
Morgan Freeman still expressed gratitude over how his career turned out.
Nonetheless, as much as he wishes his career resembled Washington's career more closely, Freeman, who won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role as Eddie “Scrap-Iron” Dupris in 2004’s Million Dollar Baby, is still grateful for how his career turned out.
“I was a child of the movies. I grew up in the movies. When I was a kid and when there was no school, I was in the movies every day. So that’s what I wanted to do,” he admitted during the interview.
Washington Also Called Freeman a 'Great Man'
Denzel Washington expressed his admiration for Morgan Freeman, calling him a 'great man.'
Meanwhile, Washington, 71, also heaped praise on Freeman.
“This great man that I’ve been fortunate to know and call a friend for 29 years now. He lives on the same patch of land in Mississippi that his grandparents worked, sails his own boat by himself to the Bahamas, flies his own plane by himself around the country,” he said during a tribute speech at the 2008 Kennedy Center Honors, per Far Out Magazine.
“Morgan Freeman is very much his own man,” he concluded.
