Morgan Freeman Says He Was 'Relieved' to Walk Away from Plane Crash

The Going in Style star found himself in an unnerving situation in December 2015 when his private plane had to make an emergency landing

Photo: Rick Maiman/AP

Morgan Freeman is known for his calming voice and presence on-screen. But the veteran actor, 79, found himself in an unnerving situation in December 2015 when his private plane had to make an emergency landing.

“The last time I was nervous or anxious was about a year and a half go when my plane crashed,” he tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue. “I was anxious as it was happening but I had some time to contemplate it.”

The Oscar winner had been traveling from his home in Mississippi to Texas to shoot a segment for the series The Story of God.

“We had blown a tire on takeoff, and I knew that the [emergency] landing was not going to be fun or easy,” Freeman says. The plane, carrying only the actor and the pilot, made a controlled forced landing and veered off the runway at Tunica Airport in Mississippi.

For more of Freeman’s One Last Thing interview, pick up this week’s issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday

“I’ve been in a lot of sticky situations,” the actor says. “I’ve stared death in the face a few times and didn’t scream or anything — just said, ‘Well, this may be it.’ ”

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The actor, now starring in the new heist comedy Going in Style, was “just relieved we could walk away from it,” he adds. “It was a little anxiety-causing, but I’m naturally calm.”

Asked about the last time he was moved to tears, Freeman revealed it was when Barack Obama was elected President. “I was home in Mississippi watching on TV. I never did meet them,” joked the actor, who visited with the Obamas several times over the years. “We haven’t done that yet.”