Jamie Foxx is one of Hollywood’s most popular actors, and his role in Ray helped with that. He’s known for his work as an actor, comedian, singer, songwriter, and record producer. One of Foxx’s acting strengths is being an excellent imitator. Foxx is known for his ability to imitate the voice and mannerisms of anyone he closely studies.
With his career starting in 1989, Jamie Foxx has starred in several commercially successful movies. His most notable performance for which he received accolades in several prestigious awards was in 2004 Ray. Foxx played musician Ray Charles Robinson. In honor of his music and film work, here are 10 things you didn’t know about Jamie Foxx.
1. The Movies You Know Jamie Foxx From
Jamie Foxx has appeared in about 50 films. As one of Hollywood’s popular actors, Jamie has starred in several films where he’ll be easily recognizable. Some of his most popular appearances in film are in Ali (2001), where he played Muhammad Ali’s (Will Smith) assistant trainer, and Max Durocher in Michael Mann’s Collateral (2004). Foxx played Ricardo Tubbs in Miami Vice (2006), Curtis Taylor, Jr. in Dreamgirls (2006), Django Freeman in Django Unchained (2012), Max Dillon/Electro in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014) and Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), and Bud Jablonski in Day Shift (2022).
2. Jamie Foxx Was A Multi-talented Child
Jamie Foxx was a smart kid and learned to play the piano at 5 years. As a third grader, Foxx was a natural at telling jokes. He played quarterback in football and also basketball in High School. Despite being multi-talented in music, comedy, and sports, Foxx received top grades in school. Foxx earned a scholarship to study music and performing art composition at the United States International University in San Diego, California.
3. How Jamie Foxx Chose His Stage Name
Although he was a natural as a stand-up comedian, Jamie Foxx’s first professional attempt at it was in 1989. His girlfriend dared him to perform in an open mic at a comedy club. When Foxx first discovered the club called on female comedians, he chose to settle for an ambiguous name. In honor of the American stand-up comedian Redd Foxx, Foxx chose the stage name Jamie Foxx that night and continued with it. The actor was born Eric Marlon Bishop in Terrell, Texas, on December 13, 1967.
4. Jamie Foxx’s Television Debut
Jamie Foxx began his professional acting career in television. Foxx joined the cast of the sketch comedy TV series In Living Color in 1991. Foxx played several roles on the show as a main cast and appeared in 95 of its 127 episodes. Jamie Foxx stayed on the show from 1991 to 1994. While on the show, Foxx also had a recurring role as Crazy George on Fox’s comedy-drama Roc. Foxx appeared on 7 episodes of Roc from 1992 to 1993. He also performed a stand-up special, Jamie Foxx: Straight from the Foxxhole, as himself in 1993.
5. Jamie Foxx’s Success As A Musician
Jamie Foxx has released five studio albums, 18 singles, and 12 music videos. Foxx’s studio albums include Peep This (1994), Unpredictable (2005), Intuition (2008), Best Night of My Life (2010), and Hollywood: A Story of a Dozen Roses. Two of the albums, Unpredictable and Intuition, were certified platinum. Unpredictable peaked at number 1 on the US Billboard 200 and US R&B album charts. Intuition peaked at number 3 and number 1 on the same charts, respectively. As an established musician, Jamie Foxx has been featured as a guest artist on over 20 tracks.
6. Jamie Foxx Has Received A Star On the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Jamie Foxx’s success as an actor is evident by being awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Stars are given to personalities who have contributed to the growth of the entertainment industry. Jamie Foxx was awarded his star in September 2007 in the Motion Pictures category. Foxx Star is located at 6801 Hollywood Boulevard.
7. Jamie Foxx’s Current Top 3 Highest-grossing Movies
Jamie Foxx has achieved a lot in his three-decade career by every measure of success. Foxx has starred in several Box Office hits, earning over $200 million. Foxx’s third highest-grossing movie is Rio 2 (2014), the sequel to the 2011 animated film Rio. Foxx was the voice of Nico. The movie earned $498.8 million at the Box Office.
Foxx’s second highest-grossing movie is Sony’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Foxx joined the second installment as Max Dillon and Electro. The movie earned $709 million at the Box Office. Jamie Foxx’s highest-grossing movie is the MCU movie Spider-Man: No Way Home. Foxx reprised his role as Max Dillon/Electro. The movie is Foxx’s only film to have crossed the $1 billion milestone, almost touching $2 billion. The movie earned $1.922 billion at the Box Office.
8. The Nominations & Awards Jamie Foxx Has Received
Jamie Foxx has received nominations and wins in some of the most prestigious award associations. Foxx has been nominated twice for an Academy Award. Although he lost his nomination for Best Supporting Actor in Collateral in 2005, he won his nomination for Best Actor at the 77th Academy Awards in the same 2005.
In his three nominations at the Golden Globe Awards, Jamie Foxx won his first nomination for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy for his performance in Ray in 2005. As a musician, Foxx has received nine nominations at the Grammy Awards, winning his seventh nomination in 2010 for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals with the song “Blame It” with T-Pain. Foxx has also received two nominations at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts Awards, winning one in 2005. In his five nominations at SAG Awards, Foxx won his first in 2005 with Ray.
9. Other TV Shows Jamie Foxx Was In
After being a main cast member of In Living Color, Jamie Foxx appeared as a guest star in several other TV shows. In 1996, he appeared as Jamie King on The WB sitcom The Jamie Foxx Show. Foxx appeared in all 100 episodes, spread across 5 seasons. He’s also credited as the show’s creator, director, and executive producer.
Foxx hosted Saturday Night Live as himself in 2000 and 2012. Foxx has also hosted several award events like the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards, 2003 & 2004 ESPY Awards, BET Awards 2009 & 2018, and 2015 iHeartRadio Music Awards. Foxx’s last TV series appearance was in 8 Dad Stop Embarrassing Me! episodes (2021) as Brian Dixon. Foxx was also the show’s co-creator, writer, and executive producer.
10. What Jamie Foxx Is Doing Next
Jamie Foxx has a busy filming schedule, as he’s credited with having eight upcoming movies. Foxx will play Slick Charles in the multi-genre film They Cloned Tyrone. He’s also playing the voice of Bug in the comedy Strays.
One of Foxx’s movies, Geechee, which he’ll only feature as a producer, is in the post-production stage. There’s no official announcement for its release date. Foxx will play The Ferryman in God Is a Bullet and Willie E. Gary in the courtroom drama The Burial. Foxx will also play Bokushi in Tin Soldier, Biggz in Groove Tails, and an unknown role in Back in Action. No official release date has been announced for these five upcoming Jamie Foxx movies.
Strays is scheduled for theatrical release on June 9, 2023.
They Cloned Tyrone is scheduled for release on Netflix on July 21, 2023.
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