Zach Braff Says Morgan Freeman Became His 'Voicemail' After Losing a Bet
Zach Braff Says Morgan Freeman Became His 'Voicemail' After Losing a Bet
Lexi LaneSun, March 8, 2026 at 1:00 PM UTC
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Zach Braff and Morgan Freeman in 2017Credit: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty -
Morgan Freeman lost a bet to Zach Braff while appearing in one of his films
Braff shared on The View on Tuesday, March 2, that Freeman became his "voicemail message" because of the bet
The two worked together on 2017's Going in Style and 2023's A Good Person
Morgan Freeman and Zach Braff had some friendly competition on set.
Braff, 50, appeared on an episode of The View on Tuesday, March 2, where he shared that he made a bet with Freeman, 88, while directing him.
"Morgan lost a bet to me, and for years, he was my outgoing voicemail message," Braff said.
"For years, my message was, 'Hello, this is Morgan Freeman. Zach Braff can't come to the phone right now,'" he added, leaning into the Oscar-winning actor's signature deep voice.
Braff collaborated with Freeman on his 2017 film, Going in Style, and again for 2023's A Good Person.
"On top of not doing small indies, he doesn't do films that aren't set up yet," the director told Forbes. "I just didn't think there was any chance he was going to say yes, but my father always used to say, 'You have to try, and there's no harm in asking,' so I did."
"I just thought, 'He's given me a courtesy call.' I picked it up, and he didn't even say hello," Braff noted about his conversation with Freeman for A Good Person. "He just said, 'I see myself on every page of the script.' I said, 'Does that mean yes?' and he said, 'Yes, that means yes.' That was thrilling, but then we had to figure out how to make it in COVID times in New Jersey."
Morgan Freeman and Florence Pugh in 'A Good Person'Credit: Killer Films/Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/Alamy
During Braff's interview on The View, he also discussed his experience directing Harrison Ford in Apple TV+'s Shrinking.
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"What's happening in that photo?" host Sara Haines asked, pulling up an image from the set of the two laughing together.
"I told him a story I probably can't tell here, but I love making him laugh," Braff replied. "He's just a lovely man, Harrison. He's gruff. Very gruff. But once you get past that, we have a good time together."
Zach Braff and Harrison Ford laughingCredit: Zach Braff/Instagram
"You ever have moments, you mention you're this boy from New Jersey, where you're like, 'Oh my gosh, I'm directing Harrison Ford. I'm hanging out. I'm making him laugh.' Does that ever hit you?" Haines, 48, said.
Braff noted that the "secret" is that Freeman and Ford are "so used to people being weird around them," but he acts like "they're not famous" and "that relaxes them."
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"That's how I treat Whoopi [Goldberg]," Haines joked.
Season 3 of Shrinking is currently airing on Apple TV+. Braff has also reprised his role in the Scrubs revival, as season 10 of the show premiered on Wednesday, Feb. 25.
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
