After watching the one and only Morgan Freeman accept the Cecil B. DeMille award at this year’s Golden Globes, it got me to thinking about his body of work. Clip after clip during the obligatory introductory montage showed Mr. Freeman in a variety of roles, but one thing most of them had in common was that despite the vast differences between each role, they tended to be inspiring ones. He’s played the Principal Joe Clark to an underprivileged inner-city school in Lean on Me, he’s played the President to the United States forced to deal with an impending apocalypse in Deep Impact, he’s played God (yes, that God) in Bruce Almighty, he’s even played Nelson Mandela (Nelson Mandela!) in Invictus. Is there any inspiring role that Mr. Freeman will not take on and subsequently perfect?! I mean, let’s be real: he even so quintessentially embodied the Jesus figure in Unforgiven.

Among Freeman’s top inspiring roles, one seems to stand out so fully above all the rest. Not that the other roles are somehow flawed or bad (except for maybe his ill-fated role in Dolphin Tale), but instead that this famed one is so good that it has managed to transcend all the rest. As I’m sure you have guessed by now, the role I speak of is that of Red in Frank Darabont’s 7-Oscar nominated film, The Shawshank Redemption (1994). Yes, while Red is a self-admitted (and not to mention, convicted) murderer sentenced to a 40-year stint in prison, Freeman somehow managed to make what otherwise could have been an unlikable, incredibly disturbing character into one that is more worldly than his 40-years behind bars could possibly allow.

On top of this worldliness, Red comes equipped with irreplaceable advice and a compelling character to boot. I’d even venture to say it is Red, not his actually innocent counterpart, Andy Dufresne that really makes the movie. This is not least because despite Red’s questionable moral character, he manages to prove to the viewer as well as to himself that he is the most awe-inspiring individual in this film world.

This becomes especially clear in the scene in which Red comes across the parole board for the second time in the film. Instead of denying his involvement in the crime, he decides to tell the truth and, on top of that, manages to put the parole board members in their place. This scene is inspiring, for sure, but also achieves the perfect chill and heartfelt-tear-inducing ratio.

Watch the clip below. And afterwards, feel free to ask yourself if there is any role Morgan Freeman can take on and not make somewhat inspiring and chill-producing, Dolphin Tale aside of course.