He is one of my favorites. I especially love him and Gene Hackman together. I bet Mr. Freeman is just like his characters in real life: honest, upstanding and down to earth. He kind of reminds me of my ultimate favorite in that sense, Jimmy Stewart.
Note, that I wouldn't have made that joke if I hadn't already read that he was making jokes and seems to be okay. He's a great actor, seems like a really good guy and I wish him the best.