Although Morgan Freeman has developed a "serious character" screen persona, in real life he’s more the "wild card type" he portrays in High Crimes. Why does he accept so many quiet roles? "You get your opportunities, and you rise to the occasion as best you can," he said. "This whole thing about Morgan Freeman and gravitasing is getting old. You can't do anything if it doesn't have this wait to it -- a Morgan Freeman type role."

Waiting is what he does for good roles, and Freeman cites Shawshank Redemption as his best role yet, definitely worth waiting for. "I still don't believe they sent that to me," he said. "You can live your whole career without getting one of those scripts. Grateful sounds shallow for how I feel about playing that part."

Although his number one passion is still acting – "I'm born to act. I'm born to pretend. I'm born to not do it in real life," – Freeman said, he does take time to smell the roses. He has 125 acres in Mississippi where he makes his home, plays with horses, and "chills." Or he spends time at Ground Zero, his blues club in Clarksville, Mississippi, or on his yacht in the Caribbean.

Freeman may have achieved perfection in acting and learned to smell the roses, but he’s also had to overcome his share of serious obstacles – such as drinking – as does his High Crimes character. "I drank for a long time, and then I quit. Luckily, I'm not an alcoholic. Being an actor, I've lived my life by taking chances, to let me see what it’s like. I went to jail for real so I know what it’s like to be locked up. It was hard to quit smoking, but I finally told myself, somewhere around 49, that I wasn't going to worry about it. I quit with Nicorette."

One thing Freeman does not have to worry about is his rapport with fellow actors. "Working with him is peaches and cream," said Judd who co-starred with Freeman in Kiss the Girls and High Crimes. "I admire and respect his talent. And I enjoy being around someone not only of his endowment, but also his seasoning. He's made so many films and he has so much experience that he's just a nut. I just love him."

Freeman next appears in Levity, The Sum of All Fears and in Steven King’s Dreamcatcher. But this highly regarded and successful actor still worries about his next job. "There's a term that we use when we are trying to remember somebody that goes, 'Whatever happened to...," he said with a laugh. "None of us are here to stay. When your fifteen minutes are up – as mine were in 1980 – and you get another fifteen minutes, you cherish them. It's a second chance that you don't take for granted."