Morgan Freeman Took on 1 Terrifying Nelson Mandela Moment Involving a Low-Flying Plane

The 2009 biographical drama Invictus was one of the year’s most popular flicks. With a star-studded cast, heartfelt emotional moments, and lots of careful attention to detail, Invictus told a true story and did it well — earning lots of acclaim for star Morgan Freeman. Partially based on a 2008 book, Invictus featured several real-life events, including one that, while ultimately very inspiring, terrified Nelson Mandela’s security team when it occurred. 

Morgan Freeman played Nelson Mandela in ‘Invictus’

Invictus is based on the 2008 book Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Made a Nation, written by John Carlin. According to IMDb, it tells the story of South African President Nelson Mandela, who, during his first term in office, decides to try to unite a land still reeling from apartheid by enlisting the national rugby team to try to win the 1995 Rugby World Cup.

Directed by Clint Eastwood, Invictus features a cast full of major stars. Morgan Freeman portrays Nelson Mandela, in a performance that garnered massive critical acclaim, while Matt Damon plays Springboks captain François Pienaar.

While there are a number of highly dramatized moments in the film, Invictus does remain very true to the source material in general — and at least one scene was taken directly from real life. As noted by BuzzFeed, this moment occurs right before the film’s final rugby match. A low-flying plane buzzes the field, causing panic in Mandela’s security team and terrifying the assembled fans — only for everyone to realize that the underside of the plane has a message of support: “Good Luck Bokke!” This happened in real life as well, with BuzzFeed noting that the pilot’s name was Laurie Kay.

‘Invictus’ earned a number of award nominations

While Mandela himself was scared by the plane, along with the members of his security team and the fans in the stadium, the film shows what happens when he sees the message on the plane and breaks into a pleased grin. In real life, Mandela and the pilot weren’t strangers, having met several years prior when Mandela had asked Kay “if he could upgrade members of his delegation from economy class.” BuzzFeed notes Kay was utterly “charmed” by Mandela. So it seems likely the pilot never actually intended to scare the leader with the stunt.

Invictus was full of heartfelt moments like this one — and critics sat up to take notice. It received two Academy Award nominations, including a Best Actor nod for Freeman and a Best Supporting Actor nomination for Damon. It has held up well over the years, with many viewers discovering it anew in recent years. On the review site Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a 76% on the Tomatometer and a 75% audience score, with one critic praising Invictus as “a film that will likely entertain both history buffs and fans of sports films.”

Morgan Freeman is one of Hollywood’s most distinguished actors

For Freeman, Invictus was a jewel in his already-laden crown. The actor, who has been a Hollywood mainstay since the ’90s, when he had his big breakthrough, memorably portrayed Mandela in a way that truly stirred viewers. Over the years, Freeman has acted in such popular movies as The Shawshank Redemption, Driving Miss Daisy, Million Dollar Baby (another collaboration with Eastwood), and Amistad. He also made waves for his role in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight trilogy. These days, at the age of 85, Freeman is still going strong, selecting interesting projects and always connecting with fans.