Jamie Foxx is not just limited to the genres of action or comedy, he has excelled in playing more serious and significant roles in his career as well. Right now, Foxx is a notable actor in Hollywood with a resume of several successful and acclaimed titles under his sleeves.
The most fascinating role Foxx ever played forged the actor fine-tuning his acting prowess. Certainly, filling the shoes of legendary musician Ray Charles on screen was not a piece of cake. But Foxx’s dedication to the role helped him to overcome the hardship he faced and ultimately it came to fruition.
Jamie Foxx Addressed Hardest Part of Shooting Ray
With Taylor Hackford’s 2004 biographical musical drama based on Ray Charles, Jamie Foxx proved that he is capable of going beyond action and comedy movies. But the hardship was outwith the tolerance level of the action star. “Imagine having your eyes glued shut for 14 hours a day. That’s your jail sentence,” Foxx recalled of shooting the movie (via The Things). Speaking to Tribute Magazine, Foxx went through excruciating details of the difficulties he faced in the movie.
“Not being able to see was tough because I put the prosthetics on my eyes so that I really couldn’t see a thing for 12 or 14 hours a day. It makes you think: What would you rather give up-your sight or your ability to hear? Most people say hearing because they want to see the colors or the mountains and they want to see the beauty of what the world has to offer. For Ray to have had that snatched from him, and for me to have had that snatched from me every single day while I was making this, was tough. So I understand a person who is sentenced to that-it must be a tough thing for a person,” he told the magazine.
Certainly, the movie taught a valuable lesson to Foxx and that was not just making him an improved actor but by the end of it, he came out as more compassionate for the visually impaired people. Foxx won an Oscar for his role in the film.
Receiving the Blessing From Ray Charles Himself
Ray was indeed a project close to Foxx’s heart as the actor himself had the primary essence of taste of the movie as a musician. But meeting Ray was something Foxx would never forget. “It’s beautiful, can’t top it. It’s all about the moment,” Foxx told Tribute. “You know you’re never going to be able to take all the money in the world with you, you can’t take your house or any of that stuff with you,” he continued. “But it’s the moments you can always go back to and say, “Man, I can remember that time with Ray,” he added. Recalling an instance of meeting Ray, the 55-year-old said:
“You know, I was ready and I was up for the task, I thought. But when I got to meet Ray and work with him, we were playing the blues, going back and forth and I hit a wrong note and he stopped me and says, ‘Why the hell would you do that?’ I was like, Huh? Hey, I’m sorry. Ray would say, ‘The notes are right underneath your fingers, man.’ So at that point, I started to understand more about the character of the man and that the music has to be perfect for him because his life is all about sound and the sound is the harmony, and if the harmony is off it’s bad for him. So that was my testing ground and once I got it right he was like, ‘The kid’s got it!’”
Made with just $40 million, the acclaimed movie went on to gross over $124 million at the box office.
‘Source: The Things, Tribute.
