By Darlene Donloe
There is
something about Jamie Foxx. It’s like a party every time he enters a room. So it was recently as he conducted interviews
in support of his latest action movie, Sleepless,
set for release January 16.
His mischievous,
boyish smile lights up the room. His gregarious, comical persona keeps
everything upbeat.
He’s in a great
mood as he talks about his latest role as Vincent Downs, a Las Vegas undercover
police officer who gets caught stealing cocaine from a drug lord who flips the
script when he kidnaps Downs’ teenage son in an effort to have his illegal spoils
returned. Downs is pursued by Jennifer
Bryant, an Internal Affairs investigator (Michelle Monaghan) and Rob Novak, the
drug kingpin (Scoot McNairy). Downs has
one night to save his kid and to save his own life.
The film is
directed by Baran Bo Odar (Who Am I, The Silence) and stars Foxx, Michelle
Monaghan, Dermot Mulroney, David Harbour, Tip “T.I.” Harris, Gabrielle Union
and Scoot McNairy.
A multi-talented
entertainer, Foxx likes to mix up his roles, easily switching from comedy to
drama. He has appeared in Annie, The Amazing
Spider-Man 2, Horrible Bosses 2, Rio 2, Django Unchained, White House Down,
Dreamgirls, Collateral, The Kingdom, Ali, Miami Vice, Booty Call and more.
He’s currently producing
a comedy project on Showtime called White
Famous.
Although he is
extremely busy, I recently caught up with the Academy Award® and Grammy Award® winner
at the Four Seasons hotel in Beverly Hills to talk about the action/thriller
and his career.
Jamie Foxx
Q: Jamie, the
director said that he gave each one of you one word as a connection to your
character. He gave Michelle [Monaghan] the word “anger.” What word did he give
you?
JF: He talked to
me about the sexiness of the character. (laughter) He would just walk up and
whisper, ‘sexy.’ That’s all I needed to get my engine going.
Q: This business
is always changing. How do you stay relevant and working?
JF: An agent
told me 10 years ago, ‘Foxx, the world is going to change. This whole thing
called the internet is going to go crazy. It's going to change everything. But
you know what’s not going to change? He said, ‘talented people.’ When you’re talented you will always have an
opportunity to work. You will always have work in this business. The ones to be
afraid are those who just have something propping them up. Always be
appreciative of the ebb and flow. Sometimes when people have huge successes,
they forget about the acting of it. You should always look at it as another job
and another opportunity to flex your muscle as an actor.’ It's the absolute
truth because of all of this, the ones who really act really stick out more. I
was talking to Jeremy Piven. I said to Jeremy, ‘It’s tough being a white male
actor. It’s a billion of you.’ I said, ‘Jeremy, it’s nine of us, I’m going to
work. It’s me and Will and Samuel and a few others. They gotta call me at some point.’
Q: In the movie, I noticed one of your teeth was
chipped. Did Michelle [Monaghan – his
co-star] make contact during your scuffle in the movie?
JF: Yeah, she
tagged me during one of the fight scenes. I told her to keep going. I got it
fixed. My best friend is a dentist in Atlanta.
Q: Your
character is a bit shady.
JF: It’s great to play those characters that look
and have layers. The good and the bad. More interesting to watch.
Q: The film takes place in Las Vegas. At one
time you lived in Vegas. Why?
JF: I moved
there because I ran out of money. It was 1994, after the earthquake. I had just
enough cash to get me a 5,000 sq. ft. place. $200,000 can go a long way in
Vegas. I wanted to get out of the city [Los Angeles]. I liked it because you
could get steak and lobster for $4.95. At that time I was performing at the Hilton
before all those big hotels came. It was an interesting time in Las Vegas.
Q: Pun
completely intended. On Any Given
Sunday, what is Jamie Foxx doing?
JF: It’s about
football and I got the kids. My daughter and her niece and nephew live with us
now. We hit the breakfast thing. We all
go out. To unspoil my children, they owe me certain things. It can be something
like 100 shots on the basketball court. We watch football. It’s really fun.
There is also a religious component to Sunday. Now my daughter is learning the
books of the Bible. Sundays are fun.
Michelle Monaghan and Jamie Foxx
Check out some clips from the movie.
“What Happened To Your Face”:https://www.dropbox.com/s/ds9n7t1cjxpwc94/SLEEPLESS_What%20Happened%20To%20Your%20Face_Clip_h264.mov
Q: I was told that you were entertaining and something like the ring leader on the set. Did you feel it was your duty to keep everybody up?
JF: With both of
us [Michelle Monaghan included] we never want to forget we’re doing something
called make believe. We’ve been here 14 hours with Evian water and craft
services. You try to make it like it’s something fun to do. If you create the ‘woe is me’ attitude that
will have an effect on everybody. Keep
it in perspective and lets get to the finish line.
Q: When are we going to get some music from you?
JF: We’re
recording something right now. It should be out later this year.
Q: You are
executive producing a new half-hour comedy project. Tell me about it.
JF: It’s a show on Showtime called White Famous.
It’s with black comedians. All of us are like trying to be mainstream, but you
don’t want to lose that edge. Jay Pharoah is the lead guy. The first one is
called, Will You Wear A Dress? That’s because in our culture the black comedic
culture is like – I don’t have to wear a dress to be funny. Well, I’ve done it,
Eddie [Murphy] has done it. We’ve all
worn dresses. So Pharoah gets a part but
finds out he plays the girl. He doesn’t want to wear a dress. He comes to see
me to talk about it. They tell him Jamie
Foxx wants to see you. When he comes to
see me, I come from around the corner and I already have a dress on. So I talk
to him and ask, ‘So what’s the problem?’
Q: Jaime, you’re turning 50 this year. Have you
thought about that?
JF: Turning 50,
man. My daughter is like, ‘will you
please catch up with your age?’ I go to clubs. I DJ at clubs. I’m hanging with
Drake and Kanye. I’m hanging with these girls. They are like ‘I’m 21 and she’s 22
and she’s ancient, she’s 27.’ When I told her how old I was you would have
thought I told her I had a terminal disease. I live young and keep the weight
off. It's the way you live your life.
Sleepless, directed by Baran Bo Odar, stars Jaime
Foxx, Michelle Monaghan, Dermot Mulroney, Gabrielle Union, David Harbour, Tip
‘T.I’ Harris, Gabrielle Union and Scoot McNairy.
Sleepless is RATED R; Running time: 1h 35m.
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