Morgan Freeman tries to avoid the pressure that comes with being widely dubbed "the voice of God".
The 88-year-old movie legend is well known for his deep, resonant voice, which has enabled him to voice news segments and documentaries and play authority figures such as the U.S. President, Nelson Mandela and even God.
In the 2000’s, Freeman portrayed God in Bruce Almighty and Evan Almighty and has now admitted to The Guardian that everybody - including himself - bought him as the biblical figure and associated him with that character for a long time.
"It was interesting, though, the outcome of playing God in the movies. Audiences bought it. I mean bought it," he shared.
"I walk into a room and they say: 'God just walked in.' I say something, they say: 'Oh, it's the voice of God.' That went on for the longest time. Ooooo-Kay! Be careful there," the Se7en star said.
When asked if that came with a lot of pressure, Freeman replied, "I vociferously avoid the pressure. It's like, be cool, hold that down, don't try to convince me that that's who I am."
The Shawshank Redemption actor credits his signature voice to Robert Whitman, his voice and diction instructor at his community college in Los Angeles.
"If you're going to speak, speak distinctly, hit your final consonants and do exercises to lower your voice," he recalled.
"Most people's voices are higher than they would be normally if they knew how to relax it. He taught that sort of thing,” Morgan Freeman concluded.
