Per the HFPA, the Cecil B DeMille Award is given to a talented individual who has “made an incredible impact on the world of entertainment.” Freeman joins a list of winners that includes Robert De Niro (2011), Martin Scorsese (2010), Steven Spielberg (2009), Warren Beatty (2007), Anthony Hopkins (2006), Robin Williams (2005), Michael Douglas (2004), Gene Hackman (2003), Harrison Ford (2002), Al Pacino (2001), and Barbra Streisand (2000).
More on Morgan Freeman [Per HFPA/NBC]:
Academy Award-winning actor Morgan Freeman is one of the most recognizable figures in American cinema. His works are among the most critically and commercially successful films of all time and Freeman himself ranks 10th among worldwide top-grossing actors of all time.
Freeman received the 39th AFI Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011.
Freeman won the Academy Award in 2005 for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Million Dollar Baby. In 1990 he won the Golden Globe for Best Actor for his performance in Driving Miss Daisy. Freeman also received an Academy Award nomination in 1987 for Best Supporting Actor for Street Smart and in 1994 for Best Actor for The Shawshank Redemption.
In 2010 he received an Academy Award nomination, a Golden Globe nomination and a Broadcast Critics Association nomination for his performance as Nelson Mandela in the acclaimed film Invictus. He also won the National Board of Review award for Best Actor and was the film’s executive producer. The picture was produced by Revelations Entertainment, the company he co-founded with Lori McCreary in 1996 with a mission to produce films that enlighten, express heart, and glorify the human experience.
In 2000 Freeman was honored with the Hollywood Actor Award from the Hollywood Film Festival. Eight years later he received the coveted Kennedy Center Honor for his distinguished acting.
In 1978 Freeman won a Drama Desk Award his role as Zeke in The Mighty Gents. He also received a Tony Nomination for Best Performance by a Featured Actor.
His stage work continued to earn him accolades and awards, including Obie Awards in 1980, 1984 and 1987 and a second Drama Desk Nomination in 1987 for the role of Hoke Colburn which he created for the Alfred Uhry play Driving Miss Daisy and reprised in the 1989 movie of the same name.
Freeman’s most recent film credits include Alcon Entertainment’s Dolphin’s Tale. His upcoming Revelations Entertainment projects include Rob Reiner’s drama The Summer of Monte Wildhorn, and Through The Wormhole with Morgan Freeman on Science Channel which is currently in production on its third season.
Freeman is currently in production on The Dark Knight Rises, the third installment in Nolan’s Batman film series.
Source: Hollywood Foreign Press Association and NBC – November 9, 2011
