Morgan Freeman to play former Secretary of State Colin Powell in a new biopic Morgan Freeman (The Shawshank Redemption, Million Dollar Baby) is set to play former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell in the new biopic Powell, according to THR. The film comes to us from Marshall director Reginald Hudlin for Ashok Amritraj‘s Hyde Park Entertainment and Revelations Entertainment. Hudlin will direct the upcoming biopic.