Veteran United States actor Morgan Freeman is to play former South African president Nelson Mandela in a drama based around the leader’s appearance at the 1995 Rugby World Cup, it was reported on Friday.
Freeman, the Oscar-winning star of The Shawshank Redemption, Million Dollar Baby and Seven, said he was honoured to be given
the opportunity of playing Mandela, entertainment journal Daily Variety reported.
”I have known Nelson Mandela personally for quite some time, and am continually in awe of his enormous presence in the world,” Freeman was quoted as saying. ”The opportunity to portray him in this film is a great honour.”
The film is to be based on an upcoming book by British journalist John Carlin, The Human Factor: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Changed the World, the report said.
It will focus on events surrounding the 1995 Rugby World Cup in post-apartheid South Africa and how Mandela used the tournament — won by South Africa — to bring whites and black South Africans together.
Mandela appeared in a Springbok jersey to present the trophy to captain Francois Pienaar after the final at Ellis Park in Johannesburg, which has become an iconic moment in the history of the country and sport. – Sapa-AFP