Jamie Foxx won the Oscar for portraying musician Ray Charles in the 2004 film, Ray. The Django Unchained actor joined the ranks of eminent black actors, becoming only the fifth one to win the prestigious award. The Kingdom actor was riding the crest of his career, as he also won an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor that year for his performance in Collateral.
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 actor, who was recently entangled in an anti-Semitic controversy, had revealed that his Oscar win carried a distinct significance when compared to his fellow black actors, including Denzel Washington and Halle Berry.
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Jamie Foxx Felt His Oscar Win As A Black Actor Was Different
Jamie Foxx’s Oscar win definitely stands out because, unlike his peers, the 55-year-old actor started his journey as a standup comedian before moving his way up toward more intense and dramatic roles. The Annie actor found success with the comedy sketch show In Living Color and also headlined his own sitcom, The Jamie Foxx Show.
The Ali actor also emphasized that he was not just a celebrity, but an ordinary black man who was “harassed by cops”. During an interview with Oprah, Foxx drew parallels between his Oscar win and those of his fellow black actors and commented:
“Because it’s like this: Halle and Denzel are supposed to win the Oscars. Speedy and I were always just a couple of Wet Willies with cops harassing us. You know how our folks are: When one of us wins, we all just want to celebrate.”
Foxx also revealed that he was not your conventional celebrity Oscar winner, as he was more approachable to non-celebrities. The Baby Driver actor remarked that none of the other Oscar winners could hang out with friends at a bar, talk about stories from Oscar after-parties and crack jokes.
Jamie Foxx Said Ray Charles Made The Oscar Win Even More Special
Jamie Foxx was elated by the fact that the award was bestowed for his exceptional performance as Ray Charles. At that time, the Oscar winners typically portrayed tragic characters in drama films. Foxx took pride in defying this norm, as Ray Charles was anything but a tragic figure.
The Miami Vice actor shared his admiration for Ray Charles, who served as an inspiration for generations of musicians and even popularized the rhythm and blues music genre. Foxx said in an interview with ABC News:
“Winning the Oscar was probably the most joy artistically a person could have. Because Ray Charles was celebrated. That movie was celebrated in such a way that everybody could get around it. It was a healthy character. It wasn’t a tragic character. It was a redemptive character.”
Tragically, the legendary Ray Charles passed away before he could attend the screening of the completed film. The critically and commercially successful film is now available for rent on AppleTV+.
Source: Oprah
