Film legend is a cut above all others

BY TOBY PORTER
toby@slpmedia.co.uk

“And did those feet, in ancient times, walk upon England’s mountains green?”

That question of whether the Almighty visited this Sceptred Isle vexed William Blake 200 years ago this year. But it took quite a time for God – or at least the man who played him – to pass this way.

And when the feet of Morgan Freeman, who depicted the Supreme Being in Bruce Almighty and its sequel Evan Almighty, trod this fair land, it was an area almost as humble as a Bethlehem stable – Peckham to be precise.

The star of Driving Miss Daisy, Seven and The Shawshank Redemption went there to explore the city’s homelessness crisis with a Peckham barber, Joshua Coombes, who is trying to help South London’s rough sleepers – one haircut at a time.

It was for a globe-trotting documentary series, The Story of Us, which began on National Geographic last weekend.

The six-parter is the follow-up to The Story of God, with the first programme revolving around Mr Coombes, 30. The social activist has been pounding London’s streets for three years, offering a free haircut to any homeless person who wants one.

He has already spread his message in the US, Mexico, Ecuador, Australia, Greece, France, Germany, Spain and Canada, posting “before” and “after” pictures on Instagram.

The former punk guitarist has launched a social media campaign, #DoSomethingForNothing, which encourages others to do as he’s done: give over something, anything, to help people less fortunate.

It was his globe-trotting exploits which brought him to the attention of Mr Freeman’s Los Angeles-based production company, Revelations Entertainment.

“Joshua is a Samaritan,” said Mr Freeman. “He’s out there trying single-handedly to change people’s ideas about just life itself.

“His motto, ‘Do something for nothing’, reminds me so much of Nelson Mandela. His task in life is probably to do as much as you can for others for nothing.”

Mr Coombes started his career in Clapham salon Willie Smarts. “Seeing all the homelessness around London, it was just an obvious thing to me: these guys need a haircut,” he said. “So I just put my clippers and scissors in my bag and started doing it every Sunday.”

But Revelatons Entertainment’s call came as a shock. “It was surreal seeing Morgan Freeman walk around Peckham,” he said – especially when word of the acting legend’s presence in SE15 quickly spread and a crowd gathered, in April last year. “Within minutes everyone was out of every shop. But he was so cool with it.

“As we were walking, this car screeched to a halt and someone shouted, ‘Oh my God it’s Morgan Freeman.’ I asked him if he was OK with that. He just shrugged and said, ‘At least they said my name. Some people just shout “God!” at me’.”