Marcus Freed Has a Loose Screw in His Head — And He Calls It a Blessing

Marcus Freed has a remarkable ability to find the good in even the most traumatic experiences — including surviving a hit-and-run that left him hospitalized with a brain injury.

Seven-and-a-half years later, the British-born actor, educator and author recounts the ordeal in his one-man show, “Marcus is Alive,” now playing at The Hobgoblin Playhouse as part of the Hollywood Fringe Festival.

On Nov. 3, 2017, Freed was on his way to a Shabbat dinner when he was struck by a car on Olympic Blvd in Beverly Hills. The driver, who called himself Jonathan, vanished without offering any identification. Freed lost consciousness and woke up in Cedars-Sinai hospital, where he learned he had suffered a brain injury. Four days after surgery, he had a brain hemorrhage and underwent a second operation. His recovery took months.

While most would respond with anger or despair, Freed insists the experience was a blessing — which is a central theme in his play. Talking to The Jewish Journal, he explained how he reached that conclusion:

“As a result of the driver who hit me disappearing soon after the accident, it took on a profound journey to learn to release and forgive him. As a result of the miraculous crowdfunding campaign, it helped save my life and helped me stay in America because the medical and recovery bills were so massive.  I saw an outpouring of love that I never knew existed. It was almost as if I gone to my own funeral, seeing who would’ve come along and what they would’ve said.”

Freed said that because of the way everything happened, it profoundly changed the way he looks at life in terms of being in a state of continual gratitude.

“The doctors also said that what happened to me was a medical miracle — there are people who had less of an impact but ended up brain-damaged, or physically disabled for life in other ways or dead. So whatever happens, I feel like I have won in that sense.”

“The doctors said that what happened to me was a medical miracle — there are people who had less of an impact but ended up brain-damaged, or physically disabled for life in other ways or dead. So whatever happens, I feel like I have won in that sense.”

Before the accident, Freed was a busy actor, teacher and writer. He taught Kabbalah classes and authored several books, including “The Kosher Sutras: The Jewish Way in Yoga & Meditation” and “The Kabbalah Sutras: 49 Steps to Enlightenment.” He had also written, developed and performed his one-man shows in 18 countries, and acted in television, film, theater and corporate videos.

It took him years to return to the stage, yet he harbors no resentment over how abruptly his life was interrupted. After the events of Oct. 7 in Israel, he felt a deep need to help. Last September, he flew to Israel and assisted wounded soldiers across the country. The experience left him physically and emotionally drained, and he eventually returned to London.

“I felt a bump on the side of my head and felt a screw had gotten lose and fallen out,” he said. “I had to go and see a neurosurgeon in London and she found out I had actually two screws that had fallen out and were under the skin.”

After he had the screws tightened back in place, he went to recuperate at his parents’ house in London. His father was gravely ill, and the visit gave him the chance to spend precious time with him during the final months of his life, until his passing in January this year. Freed believes it’s all connected — had it not been for his accident, he may never have had that time with his father or the many blessings that followed, including the creation of his one-man play.

The show opened to a sell-out crowd on June 8.At the end of the show, a woman approached him and said that she herself was a victim of a hit and run which resulted in a spinal injury. She said that Freed perspective on the accident had helped her.

Others in the audience found the play deeply inspiring. Freed’s optimism and outlook on life — his ability to see the good in everything, even the difficult and painful moments — is both uplifting and contagious.

When asked whether he sees himself as lucky or unlucky because of the accident, Freed didn’t hesitate — he considers himself lucky.

“The Talmud teaches us that we should bless both the good and the bad, because ultimately everything is good. The Torah teaches that within every curse there is a blessing, and the more we are thankful for that blessing, the more the barucha [blessing] is revealed. Hamlet said, ‘Nothing is good or bad but thinking makes it so.’”

Billed as “Fleabag meets Fiddler on the Roof,” the play is a raw, witty and heartfelt account of Freed’s hit-and-run accident, two emergency brain surgeries, six failed marriage proposals, a psychic investigator and how he became a wayward rabbi. It ultimately asks the big questions: Why is Marcus still alive — and why are any of us here?

“Marcus Is Alive” will have two more performances in LA, on Sunday, June 22 and Thursday, June 26 at 7 p.m. Following his LA run, Freed will spend the summer in Scotland, performing at the Edinburgh Festival.

Performances of “Marcus is Alive” are at The Hobgoblin Playhouse, 6440 Santa Monica Blvd., For tickets, visit https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/12051?tab=tickets, or call (323) 591-4849.