The Herald - The Herald Magazine
Freeman goes behind bars to uncover
MORGAN Freeman has form when it comes to daring prison breakouts. At least if you take his iconic role in Shawshank Redemption, whereby his character Ellis ‘Red’ Redding (a contraband smuggler who narrated the 1994 hit film) unknowingly helps the protagonist escape, he does.
But the Academy Award winner, 84, is now set to take things up a notch with Great Escapes, a new eight-part series that takes viewers on a step-by-step account of famous real-life jailbreaks.
In a first for Sky History, Freeman will deliver an in-depth look into eight cases of renowned breakouts from some of history’s toughest prisons, be it a death-defying escape from Alcatraz, fleeing the fortress of Dannemora or the ‘Pittsburgh Six’, who tunnelled their way to freedom.
“They’re fascinating stories,” the Tennessean says of his decision to work on the project.
“The idea that someone, anyone, could pull off a prison escape, particularly out of a maximum-security institution, like Dannemora, like Alcatraz, which are built to hold you... Well, you’re not supposed to be able to figure out how to get out!” muses the Hollywood actor.
“And these stories are about people who not only figured it out but pulled it off! It’s fascinating drama. They’re fascinating mysteries. The mystery being, can they pull it off?”
Also featured in the series is
Narco criminal El Chapo; the World War Two jailbreak from the Stalag Luft III Prisoner of War camp, on which the iconic The Great Escape movie is based; the UK’s biggest ever prison break in which IRA members broke out of Belfast Prison known as ‘The Maze’; and the story of escape artist James Earl Ray, who was convicted of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jnr.
In each episode, Freeman explores the determination of the convicts who masterminded the unimaginable. With unparalleled access to central figures including relatives, police and fellow prisoners, the series follows the infamous escapees on their journey from plan to execution.
“All of these stories are about people who actually pulled it off and the kind of ingenuity that it took to do that,” notes the Hollywood actor, who also serves as executive producer on the show.