Morgan Freeman has played a variety of roles throughout his career, but one thing has remained consistent: he always wears gold earrings to events.

Throughout his fifty-plus years in the film and television business, Freeman has played various legendary characters, from God in Bruce Almighty to Ellis in The Shawshank Redemption.

However, while attending awards ceremonies or gatherings, one item he hasn’t changed is his gold hoop earrings, which admirers of the 87-year-old actor note he’s never seen without.

Freeman has been seen wearing a single black glove in public lately, but his gold earrings have been a wardrobe staple for as long as anyone can remember. Why?

Freeman began his career as a dancer before joining a musical theater group in San Francisco. After appearing as an extra in Sidney Lumet’s 1965 drama picture The Pawnbroker, he made his Broadway debut in 1968.

Freeman’s first TV show and credited film role were both in 1971. Freeman’s breakthrough performance came in 1987’s Street Smart, when he was approximately 50 years old.

And he’s since gone on to star in a slew of classics, including Bruce Almighty and The Dark Knight Rises, with his most recent cameo coming in the 2024 Amazon Prime movie Gunner.

Freeman has gone on to win several acting accolades, including an Academy Award and two Golden Globe accolades, and is supposedly worth $250 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth; nonetheless, he has never altered his gold hoops.

Why? He stated in an Instagram photo, “These earrings are my favorite. People frequently ask me about them. The truth is, my possessions are only valuable enough for someone to buy me a coffin if I die in an unfamiliar place.

That’s why sailors wore them, and I do too.”

Burt Lancaster’s portrayal in The Crimson Pirate, a movie about a fictional pirate in the Caribbean, also served as inspiration for Freeman.

During Hollywood’s Golden Age of Cinema, Lancaster wore similar gold earrings in the 1952 film.

In 2016, Freeman told Fox News that he believed the appearance was sexy’ and hence embraced the item.

He said, “I thought that was sexy.” Then I discovered that sailors wore gold earrings to pay for funerals if they died in a foreign country. Given that I am a sailor, this information resonated with me.