Freeman 'cried' seeing 1969 Moon landing

(MENAFN- Arab News) WASHINGTON: American actor Morgan Freeman said Friday he became teary-eyed when he watched US astronauts set foot on the Moon for the first time 45 years ago.

'I cried" said Freeman 77 at a US space agency event to commemorate the 1969 Moon landing when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin hopped out of the Apollo 11 and walked on the lunar surface.

Armstrong famously described the moment as 'one small step for man one giant leap for mankind."

Freeman was 32 years old on July 20 1969 when he and countless others around the world saw televised images of white-clad American astronauts becoming the first humans to step on the Moon.

'I was in my apartment in New York lying on the couch watching this. I cried yeah" said Freeman.

'We just landed on the Moon" he said incredulously.

'It was such a momentous event to have actually done that and come back. Proof positive that whatever we can imagine we can do."

Freeman is perhaps best known for his roles in the movies Driving Miss Daisy The Shawshank Redemption and Million Dollar Baby for which he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.