Jamie Foxx
Interview By: Dan Portnoy
DanielPortnoy@TheCinemaSource.com
Meet Jamie Foxx: comedian; musician; actor; and as of recently, Oscar Winner. When you sit down with a man like Jamie Foxx, you can expect a variety of things. You can expect him to make you laugh, you can expect insight, and you can expect to find out anything you ever wanted to know about him (he's not shy folks). But in addition to his outgoing personality and hefty resume, Foxx has also reached out to help those affected by Hurricane Katrina. He is also an enormous advocate of the NAACP and promotes awareness and knowledge of the group throughout the nation. By taking the initiative and helping those in crisis, Foxx has become a real life hero rather than being limited to only playing one in film.
But for those of you who enjoy seeing Jamie Foxx on screen as I know I do, you will have the chance to see him once again in Sam Mendes' film, Jarhead. In the film, Foxx plays Sgt. Sykes, a down-to-business marine who is charged with commanding a scout/sniper group during the Gulf War. The men under his command include Anthony Swofford (Jake Gyllenhaal), a fresh out of boot camp aspiring sniper, and Troy (Peter Sarsgaard). The film follows the experiences of these characters as they move through Saudi Arabia and Kuwait discovering things about themselves, the War, and the world around them.
To fit into the role of Sergeant Sykes, Foxx had to gather some background through a real military Sergeant. Although he politely refused to reveal the name of the Sergeant, he did describe some of the advice he received and protocol he learned and had to master in order to make his character seem more authentic. For starters, he taught Jamie how to march. He had his own style, a 'flare' to his march, that Foxx was excited to pick up.
Foxx also learned how to deal with issues involving race and operating procedures. 'He said 'Jamie you got to be a whole lot better. You got to understand some of these guys may come from parts of the country where there may not be any black faces, and now here's this black face telling you what to do.' To rise above race and treat all soldiers equally is the way to run a successful squad. Jamie was able to take the advice and transfer it into his character, much of which he owes to the Sergeant. 'He was real instrumental in solidifying the character.'
The character created was Sgt. Sykes, a hard core marine that wouldn't trade his job for anything. As Foxx explained the mentality of his character, I reverted back to the film and nodded my head as I was able to see what he was trying to convey. 'We have to be simple, we have to have one agenda and that's it, we can't worry about race, gender and color. If not we'll end up dead or we'll end up not achieving our mission.'
As a child, toughness was second nature and discipline was his town's pride and joy. 'We had a small town so everybody raised you. We always talked about if you got in trouble at the neighbor's house you'd get a whippin' over there, then when you get home you get a whippin' over there. Our town was about discipline'they made sure you were on the right path.' As he grew older, his path rarely strayed. He eventually wanted to go to college but didn't have the money. The G.I. bill had just passed, so Foxx considered joining the army. 'I took the test to go into the army, and I'll never forget when my recruiter came and I was playing the piano waiting on this choir thing and he said 'don't come here' and I said why and he said 'you ain't gonna be able to do that at all.' And he actually got me some information about different colleges to go to.' Had Foxx gone into the army we may not have had the pleasure of his talent in the film, television and music business. Phew, lucky us.
Let's come back from that little walk down memory lane and jump into Jarhead, well kind of. The filming of Jarhead began before the 2005 Oscars; and if you hadn't already heard, Jamie Foxx received the Oscar for Best Actor for his performance as Ray Charles in the film Ray. You would think that kind of achievement might cause Foxx to take a little something off his next role as Sgt. Sykes, but then you'd be wrong. 'You got to stay in focus, that's your job. It's like what would you do if you won the lottery' Would you win the lottery and quit your job and everything like that' I'm the guy that if I won the lottery I'd go back to work'After I won (the Oscar) we went back to work that Tuesday, cause on Monday I was recuperating.' Well, we can't blame him for taking a little time to celebrate; I mean it's only the most prestigious award in cinema.
'Nobody really expected Jamie Foxx to win'with me I was just that guy that was telling jokes about O.J. Simpson and Michael Jackson on HBO.' Before Ray and even Collateral (for which he was nominated for best supporting actor) I may have agreed with him, 'may have' being the key phrase. Because even his performances in Ali and Any Given Sunday showcased Foxx's growing acting potential.
With Jarhead coming out at a time when our country is in the midst of yet another war, it's the kind of film that gets people thinking, gets them talking. 'What's great about this movie coming out at this time is that it keeps it in the air, it keeps people talking about it.' Talking is something that moviegoers will be doing about Jamie Foxx for some time. With three films in the works, including Michael Mann's Miami Vice, audiences will continue to get their Foxx fix. And as if film isn't enough, this December music fans will get a chance to purchase his new CD, Unpredictable. Success, thy name is Jamie Foxx.
