Talking to Morgan Freeman

The 75-year-old actor takes TV viewers into a ‘Wormhole’.

LOS ANGELES:

Oscar winner Morgan Freeman turns 75-years-old on June 1, but he’s not slowing down a bit. This summer he’ll be seen in the blockbuster Batman film The Dark Knight Rises, and he is currently shooting sci-fi epic Oblivion with Tom Cruise.

But somewhere in his busy schedule, he finds time for his pet project, television show “Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman”, which begins its third season on the Science channel June 6. Freeman is executive producer and host of the series.

With episodes entitled “What is Nothing?” and “Can We Resurrect the Dead?” film-makers interview physicists, biologists, astronomers and other academics who explore cutting edge theories on many of life’s big questions.

You tackle some provocative questions. Where do your ideas come from?

They come through a whole bunch of us. Sometimes you wake up in the middle of the night or are just lying there and something occurs to you, ‘what if?’ or ‘Why can’t we?’ And you just pose the question at sessions and toss them around — sessions with writers, producers and directors. We go to the scientists to get their input — all these people who’ve been thinking about these questions. You can always find someone who’s thinking about some question you want to ask.

What question do you want to deal with most on the show?

I keep asking one. Is there a difference — I maintain that there is — between space and the universe? In other words, scientists at the Hubble (space telescope) say that the universe is expanding. And if the universe is expanding, there has to be something for it to expand into. It’s going out into what?

There is another episode on gene therapy and whether or not there is a superior race.

It is a delicate dance but it’s not really if you realise that it’s almost an unanswerable question. We were talking about possibly genetically manipulating the human race for specific things, particularly the idea of space travel. If you do create a superior group, you won’t have a race, you’ll just have a group. We can genetically alter ourselves for specifics, but I don’t think that will make us superior.

Do you draw conclusions, or is it more important to keep asking questions?

I think it’s valuable. But the main thing is I’m enjoying the daylights out of it. It’s one of those things that really sparks the imagination.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 3^rd, 2012.