Avoids talking about the film that portrayed him

Morgan Freeman, who plays the former South African president, admits he was left frustrated when Mandela refused to give his opinion.

Nelson Mandela has seen ‘Invictus’ – but no one knows if he was happy with how he is portrayed in the film.

Morgan Freeman, who plays the former South African president in the new movie, admits he was left frustrated as the freedom fighter refused to give his opinion after being treated to a special big-screen showing.

Speaking at the UK premiere of the movie in London’s Leicester Square last night (31.01.10), Morgan told BANG Showbiz: “Yes I know that he has seen it. You know, he won’t say what he thinks of it. So you have to kind of gather from his reactions.

“I was sitting next to him and when I first came on the screen he said, ‘I know this fellow’.”

However, the 72-year-old star did confirm that South Africans accepted him playing the legendary historic figure, and even called him by the honorary title bestowed upon elders of Mandela’s clan – Madiba.

He explained: “You know, South Africans starting calling me Madiba. I was totally accepted. I remember getting out of a car one time and I was walking into a stadium and someone shouted, ‘You walk like him, you walk like him!’, people were giving me lifts.”

Despite the Clint Eastwood-directed movie telling the story of Mandela’s relationship with the captain of South Africa’s rugby team, Francois Pienaar – played by Matt Damon – Morgan admitted he doesn’t understand the sport.

He said: “No, I’m not a fan of rugby. I still don’t know what rugby is about. They do much the same thing as American football, they get a ball and they run into each other with it.”