Morgan Freeman makes a great authority figure. His warm but rumbling voice, piercing eyes and increasingly snowy hair lend him all the essential qualities of command. No surprise that he is so often cast as a military officer, the president of various nations, and even God. (Where does he go after that? Galactus, maybe?)

What we really need is a diagram that clearly illustrates the many roles Freeman has played, and how they relate to one another in terms of authoritative presence. Oh, you say there is one? Indeed there is, and it is brilliant. Check it out after the break.

I believe Maxim Online originated this image, but it has spread around in the last couple days.

Along with the chart has come some comment thread controversy, thanks to the fact that Freeman’s role as a freed slave is ranked below that of pimp and prison inmate. Those latter few rankings really only serve to build to a Driving Miss Daisy joke, but I can see why people are a little miffed over the structure. A slave might rank low, but a free man? Even if he was only free in theory? Got to be more than a prisoner, at least.

So, what the hell, let’s change it around, like so. There. All better?