The movie Jamie Foxx almost quit midway through: “It shredded me”
Some actors are hard to put in a box, with an array of roles that make them hard to define or even describe, and Jamie Foxx is one of those performers. With roles in the films of Quentin Tarantino, Edgar Wright and Jon Watts, the actor defies easy categorisation with comedic and dramatic roles that show his ability to blend action with comedy. He makes it seem easy, but there was one project that wasn’t so simple for Foxx that he nearly found himself quitting.
The Soloist, directed by Joe Wright in 2009, follows a homeless Juliard-trained musician who forms a relationship with a journalist on the lookout for a story. The story is based on the life of Nathaniel Ayers, a talented cellist who also suffered with schizophrenia, with Foxx transforming himself for this character as a deeply vulnerable man in urgent need of care, finding a sense of hope through a reporter’s conviction in his story (played by Robert Downey Jr).
The role stands out in Foxx’s filmography, remaining as one of his more sensitive and dark characters, which is perhaps why he nearly quit the film entirely. The actor found the part incredibly emotionally difficult, revealing: “It was something that I enjoyed, but it shredded me. I went to places that I never thought I would ever go. I just remember being in my bathroom broke down, talking to my manager like, ‘I don’t know if I’ll be able to finish this.’”
The part is extremely demanding given how fragile his character is, facing an endless stream of bad luck that makes it hard to find hope. It’s one of those stories that feels painful because it tests the limits of the human spirit in how much one person can endure.
Foxx expanded on this, saying, “You had to lose your mind every day you’re on set, and sometimes you didn’t have enough time to get your mind back before the weekend.” Foxx’s manager even encouraged him to speak to a therapist, something that Foxx now does on a regular basis after discovering that he “had no idea that the mind could be that fragile.”
However, despite his struggle with the inherent sadness of the story, Foxx persevered and has since starred in other projects with similar thematic strands. The actor is the lead voice in the Pixar film Soul, endlessly praised for its weighty and existentialist story that does not dismiss children’s intelligence, creating a lasting message that speaks to the importance of pursuing your passions and living life to the fullest. Foxx plays an uninspired music teacher who dies right after being given the gig of a lifetime, exploring an underworld of souls where he discovers the importance of finding fulfilment from many different places, not just your work.
Foxx is set to star in the upcoming Netflix film Back in Action alongside Cameron Diaz, playing a couple who quit their jobs as CIA agents to start a family, only to be forced back into the undercover world after their secret identities are leaked.
