I have questions. 1. Did you use a grid for this, or strictly freehand? 2. Is that white charcoal making the highlights? I really like the handling of tone.
Cheated😥 Traced the outline.
No charcoal, but used Caran d’ache luminance white and various cool and warm greys too.
Hmm. So far my attempt to put white onto a black background achieves nothing.
Tracing an outline IS NOT cheating. If it allows you to achieve your desired result, you still need to do all the work. I would say, in this case, you have achieved your desired result, as we can clearly recognize Sydney Poitier ( 
just kidding). Great job in representing the wonderful Morgan Freeman. I love it.
Thanks. It did take a lot of work, drawing every individual curl of hair. Should change the topic to mixed media, I suppose, as I used a number of greys in coloured pencils, as well as different graphite pencils.
I would have liked to watch over your shoulder as you worked.
Beautiful portrait. The texture details are awesome.