Morgan Freeman Tells Stephen Colbert Why He’s Taking on TV: “It Pays Too”

Morgan Freeman sat down with Stephen Colbert on Friday’s Late Show to discuss working as a TV actor.

Colbert asked the “rich voice” Oscar-winning actor why he’s opting to work on television when he’s had great success on the big screen: “It pays too,” Freeman replied, prompting laughter and claps from the audience.

“We were thinking about just branching out a little because there’s a lot of good stuff coming up on TV and there’s an awful lot of outlets, so why not?” Freeman explained of television roles.

The actor then complimented Colbert on scoring his own show, saying that he “deserved it.”

Freeman and the late-night host chatted about the actor’s most recent project, Madam Secretary, of which he is the executive producer and plays the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in Sunday’s season premiere episode. The actor auditioned for the role and said that the director “liked me a lot.” Colbert then asked who is directing Sunday night’s episode: “me,” Freeman said. The duo then joked that Freeman is “sleeping with the director.”

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When the two discussed Freeman’s hosting duties on Through the Wormhole, Freeman corrected Colbert about “loving” science. “Science, it fascinates me,” Freeman said of not “loving” it. “I said you like it,” Colbert refuted. “No, I’m true you used the word love,” Freeman told Colbert before asking the audience for their opinion and proving the Late Show host wrong.

“One of the things you can always depend on – this is one of the truths of the universe, and you heard it first from here — whatever we decide we want to do is what we do,” Freeman offered to Colbert and the audience.

To end his visit to the Late Show, Freeman then “auditioned” some “iconic” lines, including Titanic‘s “Draw me like one of your French girls” and Home Alone‘s “Oh no! It’s Christmas and I’m a small boy who’s been home alone.”

Madam Secretary’s season premiere airs Sunday on CBS.