October 29, 2004

By Veronica Mixon

Jamie Foxx has definitely become an A-list actor. The Oscar buzz around his superb performances Ray Charles in the biopic Ray and the critical acclaim he received for the summer hit, Collateral in which he starred opposite Tom Cruise proves this fact. The 37-year-old actor who hails from Terrell, Texas was raised by his grandmother who adopted him as an infant. After attending college on a music scholarship, Foxx entered show business on a dare – a girl friend insisted he get up on stage at a comedy club. His early work on TV’s In Living Color and The Jamie Foxx Show made him a popular with audiences. Foxx’s early movies include the cult comic hit, Booty Call and The Player’s Club. But, his 1999 appearance as a troubled but talented football player in Oliver Stone’s Any Given Sunday marked a major turn in his career. Suddenly, Foxx exhibited a poignancy and depth in his characters. He wisecracked and charmed audiences in the action thriller, Bait and delivered a powerful supporting role as Drew Bundini Brown in Ali. Foxx’s next role will be that of Ricardo Tubbs in the big screen version of Miami Vice.

Q& A

How did you prepare for the role in Ray?
Everybody knows who Ray Charles is and the first thing I did was lose weight. Eddie Murphy said you have the jaw and that will help you. I said Eddie I don’t know what that means but I’m going to run with it. And, then when I put the shades on, it all came together. [But mostly] it was nuances -- how he acts when he’s not on; how he orders his food and how he gets angry.

How hard was it to get Hollywood to take you seriously?
I never factored Hollywood in it. I’m a black actor and so I don’t really worry about Hollywood. I just do my thing. I learned from Keenen Ivory [Wayans]. Be on time. He said, ‘the reason why I’m hard on you Jamie is that when you’re mediocre as African American, you’re not going to make it.’ I ran into him at the comedy awards show and he’s still echoing the same thing. Try to stay at the top of your game. I asked Lorne Michaels (TV's Saturday Night Live) why do people fall off. He said, ‘it’s the projects. If you choose the right projects, you don’t ever have to worry.’

What was it like meeting the real Ray Charles?
When I met Ray, he said let me check out these fingers. ‘Oh, you got strong fingers.’ We sat down at duel pianos. He said if you can play the blues, you can do anything and he started playing Thelonius Monk. That’s like riding the mechanical bull and you’ve had too made drinks and you fly into the bar. I hit a wrong note and he said 'why would you do that?' The notes are right under your fingers, you just have to play them. When I got the Thelonius Monk riff, he said you got it. The kid’s got it!’ He slapped his thigh and walked out. That’s when I never we got it.

Could you talk about Ray’s relationship with Della Bea?
I think Della Bea [was] the most significant relationship because she weathered all the storms. She never wanted to be in the limelight. She was strong. It was a tough, tough thing to be married to [the] man. She knows he’s complex, a genius [and she] knows he has to be protected at the same time, even today. She still has her dignity.

Is it easy to get in and out of character?
CCH Pounder (TV's The Shield) taught me this: the characters are like putting on a coat. You put the coat on while you’re working. You take the coat off because you need that freshness. I know people who stay in character and it’s the worst thing. You can’t go out. I like to switch it off and when I come in the next day, I switch it back on.

How does it feel to be on the A-List?
This is the Cinderella times right now. It’s like flying out of LA and it’s pretty. Then you say we going to have some [bad] weather over Chicago. So, to be honest, I have a couple good projects coming up. It’s great right now and it makes you a little nervous. [But] I gotta stay top of the game.

If there was a biopic of your life, who would you want to play you?
Maybe he’s not born yet. Hopefully I’ve got a little living to do.

Have you given up comedy?
I went to Comedy Awards and ESPS Awards and all those comics -- Bernie Mac and Cedric the Entertainer in the audience and I had to keep the heat on them. It’s a friendly competition right now. We have a great community. We just honored the Wayans family. I ran into Chris Tucker. Amen. I let them know don’t sleep on me. I’ll go back on the road again.

There’s Oscar talk. If you won, who would you thank?
If you win? I’ll thank my grandmother. I don’t know what I’ll do. I’ll thank Ray Charles, everybody!

{Note: Jamie Foxx’s grandmother passed away several days after he gave this interview and before the film opened on October 29, 2004.}

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