Jamie Foxx holds his new award from officials at the African American Film Critics Association in high regard because it’s particularly “special” to be recognized by his “own people”.
The Oscar winner picked up the Best Supporting Actor prize on Wednesday night (January 22, 2020) for his role in real-life Death Row drama Just Mercy, and he was truly touched to be recognized for his work by members of the AAFCA.
“People say so much about the other awards, but it’s special when it comes from your own people,” he said at the Los Angeles ceremony. “It’s just special.”
Meanwhile, Jordan Peele was also feted, taking home Best Director and Best Picture for Us, and he thanked AAFCA representatives for supporting his big filmmaking “risk”.
“I knew that I wanted to bring something different, something that people weren’t expecting,” Peele shared of the follow-up to his feature film directorial debut, Get Out, which also earned him the Best Director honor in 2018.
“I wanted to take a risk,” he continued. “It means so much to me to be acknowledged for this huge risk, this huge swing… This encourages myself and a whole lot of other people to take big swings.”
Us also claimed the Best Actress accolade for Lupita Nyong’o, while Eddie Murphy was named Best Actor for Dolemite Is My Name, and his co-star, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, scored the Best Supporting Actress award.
Other winners, announced last month (December 2019), included Parasite (Best Foreign Film and Best Screenplay), Kelvin Harrison, Jr. (Best Breakout Performance for Waves), and The Black Godfather (Best Documentary).
