Morgan J. Freeman (born December 5, 1969) is an American film director. In 1997, his debut feature, Hurricane Streets, became the first narrative film to win three awards at the Sundance Film Festival (Audience Award, Best Director, and Best Cinematography). The film was bought by MGM/UA and distributed the following year. Morgan received a BA in film studies from UC Santa Barbara in 1992. Morgan spent the following year in Paris studying film theory at the Sorbonne. In 1993, he entered NYU's's Graduate Film Program where he earned his MFA. During the summer of 1994, Morgan interned at a small production company where he was introduced to Todd Solondz, who was prepping to shoot Welcome to the Dollhouse. Morgan was an Assistant Director on Dollhouse, which went on to win the 1996 Grand Jury Prize at Sundance. It was on this film that he befriended actor Brendan Sexton III, the eventual star of Hurricane Streets. Following the critical success of Hurricane Streets, Freeman wrote and directed Desert Blue. The film was distributed by the Samuel Goldwyn Company and reteamed Freeman with Brendan Sexton III. The film starred Christina Ricci, Casey Affleck, Ethan Suplee, Peter Sarsgaard and Kate Hudson (in her film debut). In 2000, Freeman wrote and directed The Cherry Picker for Showtime starring Janeane Garofalo. He directed several music videos, including two for the breakout indie band Rilo Kiley, and directed the teen hit Dawson's Creek for The WB. In 2001, Freeman directed American Psycho 2 for Lions Gate Entertainment. In 2003, he helmed the independent feature Piggy Banks, which starred Gabriel Mann, Kelli Garner and Tom Sizemore. Later that year, Freeman produced the MTV reality TV show Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County. In 2007, he created and executive produced the television series Maui Fever, another MTV reality series. Just Like the Son, premiered to immediate audience and critical acclaim at the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival and won the Alice Nella Citta Prize for Best Feature Film at its European debut in Italy at the 2006 Rome Film Festival. The film stars Mark Webber, Brendan Sexton III and Rosie Perez. Freeman most recently directed the 2009 film Homecoming, starring Mischa Barton. He produces the new MTV reality shows 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom. Freeman currently lives in New York City where he is writing his next screenplay. Description above from the Wikipedia article Morgan J. Freeman, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Read moreShow less
Biography from TMDB.
- December 5, 1969 (56)
- Long Beach, California, USA
- Producer, director and writer
- 16 on MovieCove · 19 credits in all
What are Morgan J. Freeman's films like?
Across their 13 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self and Bonds.
Genres
Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 1 · Wry 0 · Earnest 6
A split, not a type: Light 3 · Serious 1 · Dark 3
Grounded 4 · Stylized 3 · Heightened 0
Gentle 1 · Charged 3 · Intense 3
Steady 2 · Shifting 4 · Whiplash 1
Straight-faced 4 · Some laughs 3 · Funny 0
A split, not a type: Slow burn 4 · Even-paced 3 · Relentless 0
Casual 3 · Engaged 4 · Full focus 0
A split, not a type: Easy watch 3 · Affecting 2 · Heavy 2
Resolved 3 · Open-ended 3 · Ambiguous 1
Moods and endings
- Happy2
- Bittersweet3
- Ambiguous8
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Morgan J. Freeman's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 14 of their 16 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (8).
- Welcome to the Dollhouse (1995) · second assistant director · free
- But I'm a Cheerleader (1999) · thanks · free
- Finding Kendrick Johnson (2021) · producer · free
- Hurricane Streets (1997) · director, writer, producer · free
- Desert Blue (1998) · director, writer · free
- Dawson's Creek (1998) · director · free
- Born Killers (2005) · director · free
- Homecoming (2009) · director · free
Subscription and free streaming for Morgan J. Freeman's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
19 credits, 16 with a MovieCove page.
Midcredits score: 16th percentile of all shows
Midcredits score: 1st percentile of all shows (provisional, few ratings)
Finding Kendrick Johnson(2021)
Midcredits score: 79th percentile of all films
Welcome Strangers (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2020)
Smile(2015)
Midcredits score: 54th percentile of all shows (provisional, few ratings)
Teen Mom 3 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)
Teen Mom 2(2011)
Midcredits score: 6th percentile of all shows
Teen Mom OG(2009)
Midcredits score: 2nd percentile of all shows
Homecoming(2009)
Midcredits score: 22nd percentile of all films
16 & Pregnant(2009)
Midcredits score: 1st percentile of all showsMaui Fever (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2007)
Just Like the Son(2006)
Midcredits score: 70th percentile of all films
Born Killers(2005)
Midcredits score: 24th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 2nd percentile of all films
But I'm a Cheerleader(1999)
Midcredits score: 82nd percentile of all films
Desert Blue(1998)
Midcredits score: 47th percentile of all films
Dawson's Creek(1998)
Midcredits score: 44th percentile of all shows
Hurricane Streets(1997)
Midcredits score: 61st percentile of all films
Welcome to the Dollhouse(1995)
Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all films
Career shape
A full career of 17 titles from 1996 to 2022.
Biggest box office
Hurricane Streets (1997)
Highest rated
Just Like the Son (2006)
Most popular right now
Teen Mom 2 (2011)
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
How do Morgan J. Freeman's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 61st percentile, the median of all 9; across their 7 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 43rd percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up3
- 50th to 74th3
- 25th to 49th2
- Below 25th8
Shape of the crowd
6 of their 16 titles are Mixed.
- Loved with Detractors1
- Divisive5
- Crowd Pleaser4
- Mixed6
Reviewers score the atmosphere 61/100 and the pacing 43/100 in their films, across 6 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Who does Morgan J. Freeman work with?
People who share at least 2 of Morgan J. Freeman's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Dia Sokol Savage shares the most, 7.
Directors
- Brian CampbellShared titles: Teen Mom 2 (2011), Teen Mom OG (2009)See all 2 shared titles with Brian Campbell
Writers
- Lauren DolgenShared titles: Teen Mom: Girls' Night In (2022), Teen Mom 2 (2011), 16 & Pregnant (2009), Teen Mom OG (2009)See all 4 shared titles with Lauren Dolgen
- Dia Sokol SavageShared titles: Teen Mom: Girls' Night In (2022), Teen Mom: The Next Chapter (2022), Finding Kendrick Johnson (2021), Smile (2015), Teen Mom 2 (2011), 16 & Pregnant (2009), Teen Mom OG (2009)See all 7 shared titles with Dia Sokol Savage
- Brian GreeneShared titles: Teen Mom 2 (2011), Teen Mom OG (2009)See all 2 shared titles with Brian Greene
Actors
- Brendan Sexton IIIShared titles: Just Like the Son (2006), Desert Blue (1998), Hurricane Streets (1997)See all 3 shared titles with Brendan Sexton III
- Amber PortwoodShared titles: Teen Mom: Girls' Night In (2022), Teen Mom: The Next Chapter (2022)See all 2 shared titles with Amber Portwood
- Catelynn BaltierraShared titles: Teen Mom: Girls' Night In (2022), Teen Mom: The Next Chapter (2022)See all 2 shared titles with Catelynn Baltierra
- Maci BookoutShared titles: Teen Mom: Girls' Night In (2022), Teen Mom: The Next Chapter (2022)See all 2 shared titles with Maci Bookout
Cinematographers and editors
- Enrique ChediakShared titles: Desert Blue (1998), Hurricane Streets (1997)See all 2 shared titles with Enrique Chediak
- Sabine HoffmanShared titles: Desert Blue (1998), Hurricane Streets (1997)See all 2 shared titles with Sabine Hoffman
Producers
- Larry MusnikShared titles: Teen Mom: Girls' Night In (2022), Teen Mom: The Next Chapter (2022), Smile (2015), Teen Mom 2 (2011), 16 & Pregnant (2009), Teen Mom OG (2009)See all 6 shared titles with Larry Musnik
- David BurchShared titles: Teen Mom: Girls' Night In (2022), Teen Mom: The Next Chapter (2022), Teen Mom 2 (2011), 16 & Pregnant (2009), Teen Mom OG (2009)See all 5 shared titles with David Burch
- J.C. CuevaShared titles: Teen Mom: Girls' Night In (2022), Teen Mom: The Next Chapter (2022), Teen Mom 2 (2011), Teen Mom OG (2009)See all 4 shared titles with J.C. Cueva
- Anne-Marie RobinsonShared titles: Teen Mom: Girls' Night In (2022), Teen Mom: The Next Chapter (2022), Teen Mom OG (2009)See all 3 shared titles with Anne-Marie Robinson
Mixed roles
- Carly RhodesShared titles: Teen Mom 2 (2011), Teen Mom OG (2009)See all 2 shared titles with Carly Rhodes