Known for his comedic brilliance and jaw-dropping performances, Jamie Foxx has consistently entertained audiences with his charisma and talent. Foxx also is a decorated actor, including having won the most prestigious award in acting – the Academy Award.
He took home the Oscar for his portrayal of Ray Charles Robinson in Taylor Hackford’s
Ray. However, Foxx had a surprising reaction to his golden statue. Forget the usual mantelpiece display – according to reports, Foxx opted not to handle his Oscar after a strange fear took hold.
Jamie Foxx Did Not Take The Oscar Home Due To This Strange Fear
Jamie Foxx‘s career boasts a long list of impressive films, but 2004 holds a special place. He landed a role alongside Tom Cruise in Collateral that earned him a nomination for Best Supporting Actor at the Oscars. Though he didn’t win for Collateral, another Foxx film, Ray, received Oscar recognition that year.
Foxx’s portrayal of musician Ray Charles Robinson was a smash hit, earning him the coveted Best Actor award. However, there was a twist – Foxx didn’t take the Oscar home! During an interview with Jerry Seinfeld, Foxx jokingly explained that whenever he held the award, he found himself speaking in an English accent.
“As a matter of fact, we win the Oscar for Ray. When I win the Oscar, I don’t take the Oscar home. I give it to my manager. “You take this”. “You want it?” (Manager asked) “No”. I said, “Because, if I take that I will buy into the Oscar sh*t and I won’t be funny anymore.
Cause’ when you hold the Oscar – For whatever reason, when I was holding that Oscar, I automatically started to speak in an English accent. “There, I was in the Jungles of Africa knee deep in Hyena dung when I was approached by the music of Ray in a spiritual form” (Jamie Foxx imitating the accent). And, I was like “Get the f**k out. I don’t want none of that sh*t”.”
Jamie Foxx was worried that if he took Oscar home, he would buy more into this thing, and then it won’t be funny anymore. As a result, he entrusted his manager with keeping the statue safe.
Jamie Foxx Was Not Very Serious Of His Oscar Nomination For Ray
Jamie Foxx won the Oscar for Ray where other nominated actors included Leonardo DiCaprio, Johnny Depp, Clint Eastwood, and Don Cheadle. While Foxx made his name in history, he was not very confident in winning the award earlier.
At the Tribeca Film Festival, Foxx revealed that the event was nothing more than an excuse for a party to him because he thought there was no way to win it.
He said,
“When I was up for the Oscar I didn’t take it seriously at all. I thought there was no way to win that. I took Oscar season as an excuse to party. I was like, ‘Oh, I’m nominated? Break out the champagne and let’s party.’ I remember having paparazzi on me for the first time. I remember going absolutely nuts. I went to the Golden Globes and there was champagne involved and I was just wrong on the red carpet. I was disrespectful to the process.”
Fans can relive the magic of Ray on Amazon Prime Video.
