Morgan Freeman doesn't like to beat around the bush. He subscribes to the "tells it like it is" philosophy. So, if you're going to ask him a dumb question about how "challenging" it was to play the role of an organized crime leader in the new thriller "Lucky Number Slevin," you're going to receive the appropriate response.

"More [expletive] to put to rest here? Playing is no challenge," Freeman says. "Every time you get a role, you get to go play with other people in the sandbox and so there is no challenge there. The major challenge is getting the work, finding the sandbox."

Freeman takes a dramatic pause and then continues.

"You know what you have to do to prepare for these roles? Go get the costume fitting," Freeman says. "Read the script, and you're there."

Now, to be fair, Freeman gives his tough-love answers with a beaming smile on his face and a sparkle in his eyes. Still, one would have thought finally winning an Oscar last year for "Million Dollar Baby" would have tempered Freeman's attitude a bit, but not really.

"It took a little weight off, because a lot of people were going around saying, 'You won the Academy Award for such and such.' 'No. I didn't.' 'You didn't? Well, you should have.' That's a done deal now," Freeman says.

The accolades should have made Freeman feel more secure, but he still worries about getting jobs (he laughingly calls Samuel L. Jackson his biggest competition) and about the day when studios will start looking for a "Morgan Freeman type" because the real thing has gotten too old. Still, there is always time in his day to remind journalists of just how dumb their questions are. For example, when asked whether it would be hard to keep his role of Lucius Fox "fresh" in the next "Batman" movie...

"See, now you're asking an unanswerable," Freeman says. "That's up to the writer and the director. Are you going to write Lucius Fox into the next 'Batman' film and if you do, are you going to hire me to do it? If they hire me to do it, I'll not worry about the freshness of it. That's not my job. My job is to take it off of the page just like I did for the first time."

Questions for Mr. Freeman anyone?

"Lucky Number Slevin" opens nationwide April 7.