Jamie Foxx: Mr. Everything

Let's cut to the chase...

You know who Jamie Foxx is so no need for a long intro paragraph documenting the man's many talents and accomplishments. Instead we'll get right to the meat of things with what could be another career altering role in the upcoming film The Kingdom.

HHDX: What did this role in The Kingdom mean to you?
Jamie Foxx: It meant a lot. It was great to work with Michael Mann again [Mann directed Foxx in Collateral and Miami Vice], work with [director] Peter Berg who Ive always admired as an actor and as a director, with a subject matter thats pretty intense, but the way Peter Berg would say, Just say this line right here. I guarantee youre gonna get a laugh. Say this line here because we also got to get the entertainment here at the same time, so it was just a fun ride.

HHDX: You were in Jarhead, a film that didnt do very well at the box office.
Foxx: It didnt? Shit. I dont know. Its better than Stealth! I gotta get it right!

HHDX: Do you think this film has a chance to be a box office hit?
Foxx: I dont know. When youre working with Michael Mann and youre working with Peter Berg, thats not the first thing that you think about, the commercial success. The first thing you think about is the work of it, the art of it. When you look at Al Pacino; we did something where we honored him and we looked at his body of work. And you look at his body of work and everything he did and most of them werent the commercial success, but theyre the ones you remember. Thats not to say I dont want to be commercially successful because you dont want you to say that again but you know that youre doing a piece that when you look back on it, you can be happy.

HHDX: How much research did you do into Saudi Arabia?
Foxx: The research started out with, well, first we got to go with the Fed, the Federal Agents and train for this. And they show you bombs! Thats what was crazyblowing stuff up in front of you. And to see how their approach was as opposed to mine because I was like Oh my God! What are they gonna do? And it was just another day in the office for them so we had to sort of match that. Its not how we view it. We view it on this huge scale and they view it as We got to get up, go to work, this may happen, this may not happen, that was the reason for putting some of the jokes in there because thats how light these guys are. And it was just painting a picture.

HHDX: What was it like striking a balance between the politics and the entertainment?
Foxx: I dont know if it was political as it was. When you watch Ashraf [Barhom]s character, you lock on to him and say Wow. Look at this dude whos a cop in Saudi Arabia. How does he work within this? And you start following him and his plight and it wasnt political. It was just about this guy trying to go to work and do his job.

HHDX: Ashraf said he didnt know who you or your co-star Jennifer Garner were when he signed on.
Foxx: Hes lying! He asked me for my autograph and everything! I was signing his chest. The whole nine. Dont let him lie to you. He was marveling.

HHDX: Youve been so successful with dramas lately that do you think theres been a shift in perception where people no longer view you as a comedian but as a dramatic actor?
Foxx: Yeah, and Im gonna tell you, it pulls at your comedic soul because youll watch a Rush Hour or (Adam) Sandler or (Ben) Stiller or (Eddie) Murphy and go Aw, man! But every comic role I did was sort of in the lane of someone else so if it wasnt as good, youd sort of get compared. If it wasnt as good as Murphy, it was terrible. If it wasnt as good as Tucker, it was that. So its not necessarily this lane of drama but doing characters and doing pieces, Im happy with that lane. And then Sirius Radio gave me a chance to do a comedy station so if you ever want to hear how its goin down with the jokes, hit me on Sirius 106 in the Foxxhole and we give it you good over there! And dont write in because it gets bad.

HHDX: You just finished a six-month tour. Did that help you re-energize?
Foxx: It helped me get it out because we write ten jokes a day. I hang out with nothing but comedians and so we sit and write all these jokes and they wanted me to go out and do a music tour and they wanted me to sing first but the album [Unpredictable] wasnt hot anymore. It was hot at one time but if you dont get out there while its hot, then aint nobody trying to hear it. So I said I gotta do comedy first and get my jones and then come back and do music within the same show. And they fought me on that but when we finally went out and did San Diego and did the comedy first, people whove been coming to see you perform for years see Oh, he aint changed! And then you go to Detroit and its 12,000 mostly urban, mostly black folks thats wearin mustard suits and hats and drinking dark liquor and sitting on the stage shoutin Holler at me, Foxx! They dont want you coming up in there with, [puts on a pretentious-sounding voice] Oh, I won the Oscar, They dont want to hear that and most of them dont even know! But man, I love that Grammy you won! Talk about the Grammy, Foxx! So it was a chance for me to really get back and get away because I dont ever want to get behind those gates with the dogs and the butlers or whatever it is and lose that thing.

HHDX: How difficult was it to film the action scenes?
Foxx: Ill tell you the danger of it. The danger of it was the climate. We were in Phoenix. It was 115, maybe 130 degrees on that black-top so you had to pay attention to yourself. Thats why I think Jennifer Garner is the strongest person in the world after having a child and getting back in shape and being out in those conditions and handling it. The other danger was that we had to pay attention. There were a lot of guns going off simultaneously. You had to make sure you werent in anyones path because even though they were blanks, it can still cause damage. And then the physicality of going through those hallways and blowing up stuff, but thats just the fun part of it. Thats what you dreamt about when you were a kid and you said Man, I wanna blow stuff up and be the hero and run around and save the day, so although it was taxing it was still fun.

HHDX: What about your stunt man?
Foxx: You know I did all of my---Im lying. I didnt do any of the stunts. I was probably the worst. Could you get in there! [motions fanning himself] But its fun because you get to hang out with those stunt guys and the cool thing about stunt people is that they have a voice too and something they want to show us so hats off to those guys that were trying to show you a new thing because youve seen probably every stunt in the world but to see them put that thing on is phat.

HHDX: Were you part of the group that went to Abu Dabai?
Foxx: Yeah, it was beautiful over there. They treated us really well over there and its the most incredible visual youll ever see. Its like the palace was 850,000 square kilometers and I was a mile away from my sisters room. It was incredible. Any food you want. Any cuisine. It makes the food court here look crazy. It was different worlds. They pick you up in the Phantom Rolls Royce. It was like shooting a music video the whole time! Riding in the Mercedes and there was guns

HHDX: I understand youre currently working on a biography.
Foxx: Yeah, its a great one. Its called The Soloist with Joe Wright and if you havent seen his film, hes opening the Venice Film Festival with his movie Atonement. Hes the youngest director to open the Venice Film Festival. Were doing The Soloist and its about a guy who lived underneath the L.A. freeway and hes schizophrenic. A guy from the L.A. Times, Steve Lopez, has a wreck on his bicycle and hears this beautiful music coming from a violin with only two string and he writes this story about him and the next thing you know they get this bond together. Its one of those pieces where you look at it and you go Wow. Its one of those.

HHDX: Do you resemble him at all?
Foxx: Yeah. Hes African-American. [room erupts into massive laughter] Hes a black dude.

HHDX: Youve played the leader in a number of ensemble projects. Do you get the sense of being the leader off-screen on these projects?
Foxx: Well, whats best for me right now is having that ensemble until you graduate to your Will Smith-ness. Its good to have people around. You gotta graduate to that. But I like that because Im used to working with an ensemble. When I was on In Living Color, it was ensemble. Even when you work with someone like Will Smith, I was able to fit in somewhere so I like that comfortable spot where youre not having to put everything on your shoulders and youre working with people like Chris Cooper, Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman. So you know that youre in good company.

HHDX: How does winning an Oscar affect your choice of projects in what you can do but also in what you can no longer do?
Foxx: You know, I want to do everything. I want to do the Rush Hour-s, I want to do all of the stuff but I have a great team with the agents and my manager who tell me Foxx, if you do that, you may put yourself out there and you may not be able to come back to what youve built and those people in this room [referring to us journalists], youre not necessarily catering to them but you have to use them as a measuring stick for your body of work, So we see how much we can get out of it and how smart and how clever and how provocative we can be and we can show you something different. Because your fans, most of your fans are going to go and support and see what you do but when you think of people that are writing about you and watching your career and thinking What will they say? What will they ask you about this character since you did this character that way? so thats the beauty of picking the pieces.

Whats perfect happiness for you?
Foxx: Manthe pool is about 92 degrees, the jacuzzi is about 102, and an avocado farm.

HHDX: As an African-American man
Foxx: Yes.

HHDX: In leadership
Foxx: [putting back on the faux-pretentious voice] Yes.

HHDX: Would you come up with a different approach in how
Foxx: Yes. [the room bursts into laughter yet again]

HHDX: You used a different sense of leadership style?
Foxx: Oh yes, most definitely! Whenever you do a piece, you always ask, Is there anyone whos African-American whos doing this job?" Even when were playing Marines and we met these Caucasian guys, I went out on my own to find and found a brother in the Marines and he said First of all, when doing this job, its colorless. And with the black folks, youre gonna have to work harder, And then he switched and said when he marched, and he asked me to do my march, he said No, no, no, you gotta roll your feet because they know whats going on. And he made sure my shoes were shined just a little extra because he said as an African-American we have to work a little harder, hold ourselves to a different standard. So you take that and you put that in the movie. Same way as with the federal agents. You say, Okay, you gotta work a little harder because you have to make sure they respect you, and do things differently because thats how they are in the real world. I come in and say, You have to have that extra professionalism. Dont make that joke right now. Stay right here right now because they are watching you, and I think thats what helps build the character.