The Film Society of Lincoln Center announced today that Morgan Freeman will be honored at the 43rd Annual Chaplin Award Gala held at Lincoln Center on Monday, April 25, 2016. 

The event will be attended by a host of notable guests and will include movie and interview clips culminating in the presentation of The Chaplin Award. 

“The Board is delighted to honor Morgan Freeman with the Chaplin Award this year,” said Ann Tenenbaum, the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s Board Chairman. “He is one of the most gifted actors of our time and his body of work has changed the film landscape. He is universally loved as an actor and as a humanitarian, and we are thrilled to add the Chaplin to the long list of distinguished awards he has already received.”

“Morgan Freeman is one of most highly regarded and beloved actors of his generation and we are excited to honor all of his achievements with the Chaplin Award, our biggest fundraiser of the year, which recognizes those whose mastery of their craft has made an impact on the art of film,” said the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s Executive Director Lesli Klainberg. “Whether in a leading or supporting role, he brings a quiet gravitas to each of his memorable performances in such films as Lean on Me and Driving Miss Daisyto Street Smart, The Shawshank Redemption, Seven, Million Dollar Baby, and Invictus.”

Freeman adds this honor to his long resume of previous career honors that include the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the 2011 Golden Globe Awards, the 39th AFI Lifetime Achievement Award also in 2011, and, in 2000, the coveted Kennedy Center Honor for his distinguished acting.

He will next be seen in Focus Features’ "London Has Fallen," Warner Bros’ "Going in Style," Alfa Films’ "Now You See Me 2" and Paramount Pictures’ "Ben-Hur." 

For ticketing and additional information on the 43rd Annual Chaplin Award Gala, go to filmlinc.org/gala.

The Film Society’s Annual Gala began in 1972 when it honored Charlie Chaplin, who returned to the U.S. from exile to accept the commendation. Since then, the award has been renamed for Chaplin, and has been presented to many of the film industry’s most notable talents, including Alfred Hitchcock, Billy Wilder, Laurence Olivier, Federico Fellini, Elizabeth Taylor, Bette Davis, James Stewart, Robert Altman, Martin Scorsese, Diane Keaton, Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks, Sidney Poitier, Barbra Streisand, and, last year, Robert Redford.