Morgan Freeman interested in playing politics on screen, not real life

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- You couldn't pay Morgan Freeman to run for office.

The Oscar winner plays the vice president in the thriller "London Has Fallen," and has also played the president, a senator and even Nelson Mandela in past roles.

But never in real life.

"I wouldn't be in politics if it paid," he said with a laugh.

Recalling something he heard about politics recently that stuck in his head, Freeman said: "Politics is the gentle art of getting votes from the poor and donations from the rich while promising each that they would protect one from the other."

In "London Has Fallen," ISIS-like Middle Eastern terrorists turn a funeral for London's prime minister into a plot to assassinate the world leaders who've assembled for the ceremony.

They are especially after the president of the United States. The film is packed with action scenes and stunts.

The film is expected to take the No. 2 spot at the box office this weekend. It is rated R for violence and language.