Jamie Foxx had one of the best experiences of his life when he worked alongside Tom Cruise in Collateral. The movie was a commercial success and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 star’s performance also received critical appreciation. But according to Foxx, none of this would have been possible without the advice of director Michael Mann.
Working with a star like Tom Cruise is a dream for many actors. Before bagging the role of Max Durocher, Jamie Foxx was also one of them. This negatively impacted his performance during the filming of Collateral before Michael Mann stepped in and advised him to act more naturally instead of trying to impress his co-star.
How did Jamie Foxx learn an essential lesson from Michael Mann?
The 2004 movie directed by Michael Mann focused on the story of a cab driver Max Durocher who takes in a passenger Vincent played by Tom Cruise unknown of the fact that he is a hitman. Both Jamie Foxx and the Mission Impossible fame gained immense praise for their roles of Max and Vincent. But as revealed by Foxx, director Mann had a significant role in elevating his performance.
When the Baby Driver actor spoke to Yahoo, he admitted that he was in a desperate attempt to impress his co-star Cruise during the filming of Collateral. That’s when the filmmaker stepped in and strictly warned him to be himself instead of making it artificial by trying to impress the Vanilla Sky actor.
“It was tough, because you wanted to do your best. So I’m in the cab, ACTING. And Michael says, ‘What are you doing?’ And I said, ‘I gotta do my thing. You know who’s in the backseat, and I gotta do my thing!’ He says, ‘How about you not do your thing?'”
Jamie Foxx further explained the incident that his performance was not reflecting the actions of that of a real cab driver. He was more conscious about the presence of Tom Cruise which affected the performance.
“I said, ‘What do you mean?’ He says, ‘When was the last time you got into a cab and some cab driver was doing that thing? Or were they tired of driving that cab, trying to get home, so the last thing they gave a sh*t about is who’s in the backseat? Do it that way.'”
The 55-year-old agreed that he was moved by the filmmaker’s advice which helps him to date. It played an important role to make him understand to act more naturally. The role of Max Durocher also earned him an Oscar nomination. But interestingly, it was not the first time that his attempt to impress Cruise taught him an important lesson.
How did Jamie Foxx lose a movie trying to impress Tom Cruise?
Long before starring in Collateral, Jamie Foxx also auditioned for a part in the commercial and critical hit Jerry Maguire. Unfortunately, his audition was completely ruined when he was awestruck to meet the Ethan Hunt star. Trying to impress Cruise, he made the situation so awkward that ultimately the role went to Cuba Gooding Jr.
Confessing his experience, the Oscar-winning actor stated that he messed up the whole audition trying to indulge in a conversation with Tom Cruise which only turned awkward with every minute.
“I had no business being there, I felt. So I’ll never forget making a fool of myself by … speaking to Tom, and Tom said, ‘Where do you live.’ I said, ‘Oh, I got two houses. I live in LA and Vegas, you know what I’m saying?’”
Cuba Gooding Jr. eventually got the role of Rod Tidwell and also won the Oscar for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. But on the other hand, it must be also acknowledged that the Django Unchained actor also came a long way from there and went on to land some of the biggest hits as well as an Academy Award for his lead role in Ray.
Collateral can be streamed on Paramount+.
Source: Yahoo!
