We all know that Morgan Freeman is one of cinema’s greatest character actors, but he’s also quite a character off-screen as well.
The 75-year-old Oscar winner was being interviewed—along with Michael Caine, 80—by Fox's Seattle-Tacoma affiliate TV station, Q13, on Wednesday. The duo was discussing Now You See Me, a film about a group of illusionists who pull off head-scratching heists during their performances, when Freeman began getting sleepy. He kept nodding. His eyes started to close. They closed completely. Then, his head dropped down to his chest. He was fast asleep.
A video clip (below) of the interview hiccup went viral, prompting Freeman to issue a statement about the incident that is, without question, one of the best public responses ever: “I wasn't actually sleeping. I'm a beta tester for Google Eyelids. I was merely updating my Facebook page.”
Brilliant.
But Freeman has a long history of witty, freewheeling responses in interviews. Here are some of the acting legend’s greatest quotes:
In Response to His Mid-Interview Nap: “I wasn't actually sleeping. I'm a beta tester for Google Eyelids. I was merely updating my Facebook page.”
On Smoking Marijuana: “Never give up the ganja.” -- The Guardian
On the Rules of Attraction: “Maybe I just gravitate towards gravitas.” The Biography Channel
On Academy Awards: “Is there a movie I think I should have won the Oscar for? Yeah. All of them." TV.com
On Whether He Considers Himself an Atheist, or Agnostic: “It's a hard question because as I said at the start, I think we invented God. So if I believe in God, and I do, it's because I think I'm God.” The Wrap
On Aliens: “We discuss the idea of a superior race coming here. Professor Michio Kaku has an interesting discussion on it. Intelligence apparently requires an enormous amount of protein. Which is why we eat meat. Instead of being vegetarians. We have this enormous brain capacity. Suppose a superior race did come from outer space and land here. It would need a food supply because if they were superior, they would have an even larger brain than we do. So we might—might—qualify as sustenance." The Wrap
On Staying Warm: “Let me be the first to tell you, drinking alcohol is the worst thing to do in cold weather. Hot soup is the best because the process of digesting food helps to warm you up.” About.com
On Black History Month: “You’re going to relegate my history to a month? I don`t want a Black History Month. Black history is American history.” 60 Minutes
On Former President George W. Bush: “I'm very worried about what's going on in the world at the moment because we have this Napoleonic president; by Napoleonic I mean he's a man who just seems to need to search himself. It doesn't make sense. I don't have any love lost on Saddam Hussein. If he needs to be removed from office, fine. You have to find the right way to do it, but going to war, nah, with the people. To do what. What is the real reason? Because he's harboring weapons of mass destruction? So it is with North Korea. Why are we acting to acquiesce to this? We do not need the Iraqi oil. We have Kuwait oil. It`s the same pool. That`s why Kuwait`s there. That`s why Kuwait was set up. You think that country could exist there without somebody backing it? We're talking about a piece of Iraq. So, we keep this. That`s my noise. I am terribly upset about the whole thing.” Dark Horizons
On the Failure of Bonfire of the Vanities: “I knew that movie wasn't going to work. I don`t think Brian De Palma had a clue. It struck me that he didn't read the book—or that he didn't like the book. Originally, they hired Alan Arkin to play the judge. Perfect. But it was not politically correct. They only had one black character in the film and he was not a positive character. So, they fired Alan and hired me. I was kind of a suck ass for not turning it down, but they weren't going to give it back to Alan anyway. I never did get around to seeing the movie.” Entertainment Weekly
On Why Gay Marriage Should Be Legal: “I grew up in the South but I started dancing in my 20s when I got out of the Air Force, and studying dance, you’re surrounded by gay guys all the time. You get to know them and you have to shift gears!” Newsweek
On the Legalization of Marijuana: “Marijuana! Heavens, oh yeah. It’s just the stupidest law possible, given history. You don’t stop people from doing what they want to do, so forget about making it unlawful. You’re just making criminals out of people who aren’t engaged in criminal activity. And we’re spending zillions of dollars trying to fight a war we can’t win! We could make zillions, just legalize it and tax it like we do liquor. It’s stupid.” Newsweek
On the Tea Party: “The Tea Partiers, who are controlling the Republican Party, stated … what’s this guy’s name? Mitch McConnell. Their stated policy is to do whatever it takes to see to it that Obama only serves one term. What underlines that? Screw the country, we’re going to do whatever we can to get this black man outta here! It is a racist thing.” Piers Morgan Live
