Here is your first look at Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandela in Clint Eastwood’s “Invictus,” (via In Contention).
Along with Matt Damon – who plays rugby captain Francois Pienaar – Freeman was photographed in patriotic apparel possibly shooting a scene from their 1995 World Cup triumph as seen in the central image which features their real life counterparts.
Further, Freeman recently spoke with Style (via In Contention) about his portrayal of the iconic humanitarian. “If you are playing a living figure who’s revered by the world, you’ve got yourself a major, major undertaking. You’ve got to do this without embarrassing yourself, your audience, and especially Madiba [Mandela’s nickname]. Knowing that, you can be entirely too self-conscious. There are pitfalls, but I am going to be working with Clint.”
The feature also brought light to the fact that Freeman specifically requested good friend Eastwood to helm the project. Following on from Eastwood’s success with “Changeling” and “Gran Torino” last year, “Invictus” is already being touted as a strong contender for this year’s awards season and, by the sounds of it, predictions may not be far off the mark.
“Things are going fantastic here,” Freeman added. “Everything has just fallen into place. The thing that’s surprised me is how easy it’s been to adapt to being Mandela.”
“Invictus” will see a release on December 14th where it will go head to head with Peter Jackson’s “The Lovely Bones.”
