by Gabrielle Russon

It’s that smooth, deep voice that narrated penguins waddling through Antarctica. It’s also the voice that played God.

But on Tuesday, Morgan Freeman shifted tones and was the voice of a humanitarian agency the actor co-founded to help hurricane victims. He spoke during a Q&A with reporters at the National Press Club about the Grenada Relief Fund, which educates about the risks of such natural disasters.

Freeman said some people falsely assume after a hurricane comes, it will never happen again, as lightning proverbially never strikes twice. “They’re going to come fairly often and they’re going to do incredible damage,” the Academy Award winner said. “We’re trying to convince people that complacency is dangerous. We must plan for these catastrophes. We must keep people on their toes.”

He’s joined the ranks of celebrities acting as spokesmen for causes, such as frequent Capitol Hill visitor Bono from U2. “Everybody’s pet project is important,” said Freeman, whose home state of Mississippi, where he owns a restaurant, was hit by Hurricane Katrina. “You have to choose the one you can handle.”

But the conversation eventually shifted into politics and Hollywood after Freeman said he was endorsing Barack Obama for president but wouldn’t go on the campaign trail, as talk show host Oprah Winfrey has done recently.

Freeman compared the Illinois senator to former president John F. Kennedy, saying they both were high-minded thinkers. “My prayer is that we can get this young man in,” he said. “Given the chance, he can do good things.”

The moderator asked about a rumor that he was considering running for Sen. Trent Lott’s empty seat in Mississippi.

“Hmmmmmmmmm,” Freeman joked, pretending to think hard at the podium. Then he said, slightly more seriously, “I have never had any political ambitions. For one thing, politicians don’t make enough money.”

The rest of the afternoon, the 70-year-old freely quipped one-liners in response to journalists’ questions.

His thoughts on what aspiring young actors should do to break into the business? “Act,” Freeman said.

What does Freeman do to make himself a better actor? “I steal blatantly from other actors,” Freeman said.