Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon are all smile this week as they have both picked up Oscar nominations for their roles in Invictus.
But the pair had to get over difficulties to take on the roles of Nelson Mandela and rugby player Francois Pienaar.
Long before the production of 'Invictus,' Morgan Freeman had been chosen for the role of Nelson Mandela by the one person that mattered most.
The actor reveals, "Madiba was once asked who he would want to play him in a movie and he said ‘Morgan Freeman.’ When I first met him years ago, I told him I was honored that he had mentioned me to portray him."
Invictus marks Freeman’s third collaboration with Eastwood, and Lorenz observes, "Morgan and Clint are very familiar with each other’s style; they have a real shorthand. It’s a very easy, comfortable relationship, which is why they enjoy working together so much.
"Morgan understands exactly what Clint is looking for, and Clint knows Morgan will give him the absolute best performance."
"Morgan is great," Eastwood affirms. "I could not imagine anyone else in the role of Mandela. They have the same stature and same kind of charismatic nature. Morgan also has a similar vocal quality, and he worked very hard to capture Mandela’s inflections. I think he did it quite well."
Freeman, who has spent time with Mandela over the years and considers him a friend, says, "That was one of my main concerns getting his accent and the rhythm of how he talks. I’ve heard him speak often, and as we got closer to filming I watched some tapes and then suddenly I had it."
The actor points out that the most important part of his performance could not be practiced. "I wanted to avoid acting like him; I needed to be him and that was the biggest challenge.
"When you meet Mandela, you know you are in the presence of greatness, but it is something that just emanates from him. He moves people for the better; that is his calling in life. Some call it the Madiba magic. I’m not sure that magic can be explained."
Like Freeman, Matt Damon had to master a South African accent to play Springbok Captain Francois Pienaar. But the role also presented the actor with more physical challenges, starting with the most obvious.
"I immediately went online and started reading about Francois and realized that he’s a pretty big guy. I spoke to Clint and said, ‘You know, this guy is huge,’ and he said, ‘Hell, you worry about everything else. Let me worry about that.’"
"Matt may not be the same height as Francois, but he has the same tenacity and power," Eastwood remarks. "He also worked out very hard and got himself in terrific shape for the film.
"And, the director adds, "by structuring set-ups and camera angles, you can make a person look the way you need them to look."
However, there were no cameras present when Damon met Francois for the first time. The actor relates, "Francois invited me to his home and made me this incredible gourmet dinner.
"When I got to his house, he answered the door and I just looked up at him. There was a pregnant pause, and I said, ‘I look much bigger on camera.’"
Damon needn’t have worried, as Pienaar says he was immediately impressed by the actor. "He’s a great bloke. I was struck by his humility and his wicked sense of humor. He wanted to learn everything he could about me, my philosophy as a captain and what it was like for us in 1995.
"We also chatted about the game of rugby, what happens in training and about the technical aspects. We had a lot of fun."
"Francois was an enormous help to me. He spent a lot of time answering my questions about a whole host of different things," says Damon.
"I felt a great sense of responsibility to do justice to him and this story because Francois has so much integrity and I believe Mandela is the greatest world leader of our time. It’s incredible what they did and also what their country did."
Invictus is released 5th February.
Tagged in Morgan Freeman Invictus