THE acclaimed veteran actor Morgan Freeman returns to the formidable role he portrayed in the hilarious 2003 blockbuster Bruce Almighty. Here, he talks a bit about playing God in the follow-up Evan Almighty, which stars Steve Carell.

Did you have any second thoughts about agreeing to play God?

I got the feeling a long time ago that eventually someone was going to come up to me and say, “We want you to play this role.” I wondered, “What am I going to do?” If it was straight role, I wouldn’t do it, pure and simple.

Do you enjoy working with Tom Shadyac as a director?

My coming back to it has everything to do with the filmmaker. I really like Tom’s head...the way he thinks, what he thinks, what he does and what he’s attempting to say. I want to say the same thing, so we usually wind up on the same page.

What’s the significance of God’s inspiring random acts of kindness in this picture?

 The idea is that a random act of kindness will lead to another and another and there’s an exponential spreading. It’s like, I will do something good for you and because of that, your belief in human generosity and interaction grows.

So, you may not do anything for me...you may never even see me again, but you’ll be more than willing to perform an act of kindness for someone else, if you see a need. And that just keeps moving.

How was it costaring opposite Steve Carell?

He’s a professional. By professional, I mean not only is he good at his craft, but he’s dedicated to it. And he himself is a terrific human being. I find that’s very prevalent in this business. Most of the people I worked with, 99.999 percent of them are just that—terrific people, lovely to work with.

You seem as enthusiastic as ever about acting?

I always have a great time working. I so enjoy doing it. People say, “You’re going to work.” And I think, “No, the work is in looking for work.” After you get it, you’re just going to play. So these are situations where I’m just having a great time, and hoping that everybody around me is having just as wonderful time.

 Evan Almighty is released by United International Pictures and distributed through Solar Entertainment Corp. It opens nationwide on August 22.

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Morgan Freeman back as God

THE acclaimed veteran actor Morgan Freeman returns to the formidable role he portrayed in the hilarious 2003 blockbuster Bruce Almighty. Here, he talks a bit about playing God in the follow-up Evan Almighty, which stars Steve Carell.

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