Some careers start with a bang, whereas others start with a whisper.

The career of Morgan Freeman started with a single, uncredited moment on a busy New York street. No name in the credits and no lines to deliver. Just a young man in the background of one of the most powerful American films of 1960s. That film was The Pawnbroker. That young man went on to become one of the greatest actors the world has ever seen. 

But in 1964, nobody knew that yet. 

The Pawnbroker 

The Pawnbroker is a 1964 American drama film directed by Sidney Lumet. By 1964, Lumet was already considered a seasoned director, having released 12 Angry Men back in 1957. With The Pawnbroker, he dipped his toe into heavier material.

The movie stars Sol Nazerman, a Holocaust survivor residing in Harlem, NYC. Sol owns a pawn shop and exists as something akin to a shell of a human being. He is haunted by memories of the concentration camp where he lost his wife and family. Rod Steiger played Sol, and it was one of the most acclaimed performances of the decade. Critics were blown away. Audiences felt many different things. 

Changed forever was a 27-year-old actor named Morgan Freeman, playing “Man on Street.”

Somewhere in the background of just one single scene was the actor we know today as Morgan Freeman.

Background Extra Becomes Movie Legend 

Freeman had perhaps the smallest role imaginable. His character has no name. He was not credited in the film. He had absolutely no dialogue. Freeman was a background extra, plain and simple.

And look how far that got him. 

Hindsight is weird like that. If you know how famous someone will become, it colors their entire life in a way that can make even the mundane seem magical. Here was Morgan Freeman at 27 years old. We know he went on to become one of the most beloved actors in history, but had he stopped here? Would he be known at all? 

It’s fun to look back on his role in The Pawnbroker and see a young, hungry actor just getting started. Freeman would take roles wherever he could get them in the beginning of his career and show up ready to work. Even when he was given the single smallest role imaginable, he showed up and did the job.

Getting To The Good Part

Freeman appeared in theater productions and did television work for years after The Pawnbroker. He landed a spot on the cast of The Electric Company in 1971 and became known for his work in stage plays throughout the ‘70s.

Fast forward to Street Smart in 1987. Freeman plays Fast Black, a street pimp you immediately do not want to mess with. The role was a thrilling one that garnered Morgan his first ever Oscar nomination. It was a role that Hollywood couldn’t ignore.

Driving Miss Daisy was released a few years later in 1989, followed by The Shawshank Redemption in 1994. His narration through that film was what many consider to be the heart and soul of the story. Freeman won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 2005 for Million Dollar Baby. He had finally reached Hollywood’s mountaintop. 

But he had been on his way for decades.

An Extraordinary Actor Takes His First Step

Morgan Freeman has an air about him. It’s a certain charisma that cannot be replicated. When Freeman speaks, people listen. When he acts, you buy everything he does. That wasn’t something he learned. When he was 27 years old and had a single line in his debut movie, he had already mastered this quality.

We love watching talented people at the beginning of their careers. As film students, we can analyze these early moments and see how far these stars would go. We see them long before they were stars and try to find that glimmer of something special.

If you enjoy discovering Hollywood icons in their earliest and most unguarded moments, the Stream TV YouTube channel is something to check out. It has a wonderful video series dedicated exactly to that. You can find more information about celebrities in their very first film roles.