MORGAN FREEMAN - FREEMAN HONOURED BY US COLLEGE

Oscar-winner MORGAN FREEMAN urged wannabe actors to never give up their acting dreams as he accepted a university college honour yesterday (07MAR06). The UNFORGIVEN actor, 68, was honoured with the Spencer Tracy Award for lifetime achievement in cinema by the University Of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Freeman said, "Once you've gotten the job, there's nothing to it. If you're an actor, you're an actor. Doing it is not the hard part. The hard part is getting to do it." Freeman, who won an Academy Award last year (05) for MILLION DOLLAR BABY, said he felt privileged to receive a Tracy award, after previous recipients JAMES STEWART, MICHAEL DOUGLAS, DENZEL WASHINGTON, TOM HANKS and SIR ANTHONY HOPKINS. He enthused, "To be included among this group of highly accomplished actors is just magical."