7. President Tom Beck (Morgan Freeman) in Deep Impact (1998)
On one hand, President Tom Beck of Deep Impact fulfills his job description to a T: he leads America with solemnity and grace. But it’s an entirely different matter to lead the nation through an extinction-level catastrophe. While Morgan Freeman is a distinguished president, his first meeting with an ambitious MSNBC journalist (Téa Leoni)—who suspects the big secret around “Ellie” is some garden-variety extramarital affair—paints Beck more like a mafia boss than a democratically elected leader of the free world. If you think Freeman can only play stately gentlemen and wise elders, his introduction in Deep Impact will make you see him in a new light.
