Hollywood icon Morgan Freeman has shared the significance behind his decision to wear two gold hoop earrings, which have become as synonymous with the star as his distinctive gravelly voice.
Unlike many of his famous co-stars, Morgan didn't get his big break in acting until he was 49-years-old, landing the role of Fast Black in the film Street Smart in 1986. His incredible performance earned him his first Oscar nomination and it wasn't long before he established himself as one of the most talented actors in Hollywood.
Best known for his roles in The Shawshank Redemption,Bruce Almighty, The Dark Knight trilogy, and Million Dollar Baby, Morgan is believed to have amassed a whopping £199m fortune – however, he has never swapped out his classic gold hoops for something fancier.
Revealing that his jewellery choices are more than a fashion statement, the 87-year-old explained that the earrings are actually insurance in the case of his untimely death, and he has been wearing them long before his rise to stardom.
Addressing his Instagram fans, Morgan shared: “These earrings. I get asked all the time about them. The truth is, these are worth just enough for someone to buy me a coffin if I die in a strange place. That's why sailors used to wear them and that's why I do. Now you know.”
Scottish law once required fishermen to wear gold earrings, which were used to pay for funeral expenses if they drowned and washed ashore. This was a similar custom for sailors, who would even sometimes engrave their homeport on the earrings so they could be identified and returned to their families for a proper burial.
During a 2016 interview with Fox, Morgan shared: “When I was a kid, I saw a pirate movie with Burt Lancaster, who wore an earring. I thought that was sexy. Then I learned that sailors wore gold earrings to pay for funerals if they died in foreign lands. I'm a sailor, so that nailed it.”
The actor also described feeling an “attachment to the sea” in an interview with The Guardian. Morgan said: “I always wanted an earring. It has to do with my attachment to the sea. When I was around 35, I was separated from my wife, and she said, 'I'm going to pierce your ear.' I'm an avid sailor, a dyed-in-the-wool blue-water man.”
He became an avid sailor after being gifted a boat; Morgan recalled: “When I was 30 years old, a man gave me a boat. It was in a reservoir in Vermont, and I learned to sail it. Then, I was hooked on sailing. That was in 1967, and I’ve been doing it ever since.”
