HOLLYWOOD, CA—In an exclusive interview with The Colon, actor Martin Freeman revealed that he and Morgan Freeman are not actually related at all.
The British actor best known for his roles in The BBC's Sherlock, The Hobbit trilogy, and most recently, Black Panther, explained that, despite their shared last name, he and the American actor, Morgan Freeman (known for films such as Seven), have no common ancestry of which they know.
To our astonished faces, Martin replied, "Yeah, I know! It shocks people every time I tell them. I can't tell you how many times I get mistaken for him, and he for me, but no, we've no common relation that I know of."
Aside from their identical last name, the two actors are frequently confused with one another due to their similar facial structures, mannerisms, and speaking patterns. "Just on the plane to get here this morning," shared Martin, "the woman sitting next to me asked if I would pretend to narrate something. I had to tell her that's not actually me, but Morgan. She thought I was pulling her leg!"
Indeed, even during the course of the interview, one of our staff mistakenly complimented Martin on his performance in the classic film Driving Miss Daisy.
"See, this is what I have to put up with all the time," related Martin.
One can hardly blame the public for the confusion. In addition to their virtually identical personalities and physical builds, both of them are also left-handed, adding to the confusion. In fact, in our brief intra-office survey regarding the actors, nearly all of The Colon staff thought that they were the same person or identical twins.
Martin assures us that he holds Morgan in only the highest respect, and that he has learned to take the confusion in stride. "I've even memorized a few lines from the Shawshank Redemption so that I can just avoid the whole explanation that that wasn't me either. I used it twice on the drive over here."
When reached for comment on the perceived similarity, Morgan Freeman stated, "No, you idiot! I'm still Martin. You just spun your chair around once!"