How did Morgan Freeman go from the Air Force to Hollywood?

Morgan Freeman. Air Force radar repairman who left at 22 to chase acting, struggled for nearly 3 decades, and became an Oscar-winning actor, director and producer.

In the military

1955 to 1959, enlisted after high school (turning down a partial drama scholarship to Jackson State University); served as an Automatic Tracking Radar repairman and left as an Airman First Class, honorably discharged; last post San Bernardino, California.

The transition

• Joined the Air Force with a romantic, movie-fed picture of military flying; once he lived the life he realized it was his romance with movies that drove him, and left in 1959 to pursue acting.
• Moved to Los Angeles, took acting classes at the Pasadena Playhouse and studied theater arts at Los Angeles City College, where an instructor pushed him toward dance.
• Worked as a dancer at the 1964 World’s Fair and with the Opera Ring musical theater group in San Francisco; made his Off-Broadway debut in 1967, 8 years after leaving the service.
• First steady income came from the PBS children’s show The Electric Company in the 1970s; he later said if the show had kept going he might still be there.
• Breakthrough came with Street Smart (1987), nearly 30 years after his discharge; he did not become a household name until his 50s.

What came next

• Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for Million Dollar Baby (2004 film).
• 4 further Oscar nominations: Street Smart (1987), Driving Miss Daisy (1989), The Shawshank Redemption (1994), Invictus (2009).
• 1 Golden Globe win from 5 nominations; 1 SAG Award win from 3 nominations.
• Earned a private pilot license (2002), instrument rating (2003) and multi-engine rating in his 60s.
• Narrated the opening ceremony of the 2016 Invictus Games for wounded service members in Orlando, Florida.

In Freeman’s own words

“When I got in and started to live that life (in the Air Force), it occurred to me that I had been functioning with my romance with movies.” (On realizing during his Air Force service)

“When you made your choice, it is providence that is your guide. Good bad or indifferent, your fate lies in that.” (On his decision to pursue acting; quoted in)

“If that show had kept going, I might still be there.” (2017 interview with Rich Eisen)

“The big danger in acting is to wait for your line. That’s what I never do. I always listen, no matter how many times we do it.” (On his working method, quoted on Wikipedia)

“Everything about life excites me. I have not gotten jaded about work and I am enjoying myself.” (Interview with Gulf News)

“If you are not working, you will constantly feel every movie is your last or that the phone is going to stop ringing.” (Interview with Gulf News)

Lessons for your own transition

• Service can clarify what you actually want: Freeman used his 4 years to discover that his real drive was somewhere else, then acted on it.
• Expect a long runway. His breakthrough came almost 30 years after discharge and stardom in his 50s; a second career can peak late.
• Do not let a comfortable ‘first civilian job’ become the ceiling; he credits The Electric Company with stability but admits he might have stayed forever.

More veterans who made the leap

See them all, and practical steps for leaving after a long career: How do I transition from the military to civilian work after 30 years?.