NEW YORK, Aug. 26, 2000 — He’s the guy who made booty calls famous and then, last year, stunned everybody with a poignant dramatic performance in Oliver Stone’s “Any Given Sunday.”
Suddenly, things began to change for Jamie Foxx, who is one of a handful of bright, successful black comics working in Hollywood today.
“A different crowd started to notice me. I got a chance to go to different places. I met Vice President Al Gore at a luncheon in Beverly Hills, and I got invited to the Playboy Mansion,” says Foxx. “That was just a dream until a few months ago. It was incredible. Have you ever been? It’s nice Christian atmosphere.”
Foxx, who tickled audiences’ funny bones with his outrageous antics on “In Living Color” and “The Jamie Foxx Show,” is rapidly building a diverse career. By teaming with Stone, the 32-year-old performer has pulled away from the pack of other comedians — the Wayans brothers, Chris Tucker and Martin Lawrence — and exhibited some solid acting muscle.
“I’m definitely modeling my career after Eddie Murphy because of the fun, but not necessarily Mel Gibson — more Tom Hanks or Robin Williams,” Foxx said. “Because it gives you a chance to do different things. Now, if I take on a project that’s off the beaten path, people won’t question me because it’s a chance to do something with great people.”
His new film “Bait” is part of that process, although he didn’t know it was going to be an action comedy when he first signed on. After the first director left, Antoine Fuqua (“The Replacement Killers”) stepped in and altered the tone of the film. It wasn’t a problem for Foxx, who says he took a page from Robin Williams and contributed something different to each take.
“It’s a form of control that I learned from Jim Carrey and Damon Wayans,” he says.
The small-town, Texas-born comic first appeared on stage in local talent shows as a dancer. After college, he honed his comedy in Los Angeles on open-mike night, often performing before gang members from the Crips and Bloods at the Comedy Store or the Improv. But the true challenge was entertaining black audiences at the Comedy Act Theater, where the late Robin Harris performed.
“Once you have a black audience, then it’s all good,” he says.
Foxx also sings and has a single on the soundtracks for both “Bait” and “Any Given Sunday.” He’s launched an Internet Web site, Foxstarhunt.com, for ambitious unknowns to display their talents to prospective casting agents, directors and Foxx’s new TV show, “These Nuts.” But his dream project is the urban remake of “A Star is Born” and he’s hoping to star opposite Lauryn Hill or Aaliyah (“Romeo Must Die”).
“The film is set in Los Angeles, and it’s a little dark and artsy,” explained Foxx, who has worked closely with the screenwriter. “The character is a little bit like Bobby Brown, a little bit of Ike Turner — not necessarily abusive to everybody else, but abusive to himself. He has that knack — to see something in somebody else and make it work.”
“Bait” hits theaters Sept. 15.
— Veronica Mixon
