Veteran Academy Award winning-actor Morgan Freeman was honored with the American Film Institute (AFI) Life Achievement Award on Thursday, capping a career which saw the actor garnering an Oscar, a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors Guild award.


39th Life Achievement Award recipient Morgan Freeman speaks onstage at the 39th AFI Life Achievement Award honoring Morgan Freeman held at Sony Pictures Studios on June 9, 2011 in Culver City, California. (Xinhua/AFP Photo)
Freeman, who celebrated his 74th birthday last week, received the award at a star-studded ceremony held in Los Angeles. He is the second African American to receive the award after Sidney Poitier walked away with the honor in 1992.


"I come from humble beginnings," Freeman told the Washington Post before receiving the award. "It's been quite a trip."

As one of the most recognizable figures in American cinema, Freeman has been able to delve to the core of a character and infuse it with a quiet dignity.


In 2004, he won the Academy Award for his role in the film "Million Dollar Baby." He has been nominated five times for an Oscar.


Founded in 1967, the award is aimed at honoring a single individual's contribution to enriching American culture through motion pictures and television.


AFI's Silver Theatre in downtown Silver Spring of Maryland, north of Washington D.C., has been screening a selection of Freeman's most popular films in recognition of his career.


VietNamNet/Xinhuanet