Jamie Foxx stars in The Kingdom.
Much has been made about the fact that Jamie Foxx attended a recent L.A. press day for The Kingdom with a big burly bodyguard at his side. But this did not interfere with the friendly vibe struck by the actor at a recent press conference in Beverly Hills to promote his new action drama.
When a reporter pointed out that not too many people had seen his previous Middle Eastern-themed offering Jarhead, the actor replies that it was still better than Stealth. And when Foxx was told that Kingdom co-star Ashraf Barhom claimed he did not know at the outset who his co-star was, the singer, stand-up comic and all-around charismatic guy suggests, “He’s lying. He asked me for my autograph, signing his chest, the whole nine yards. Don’t let him lie to you.”
Foxx is fantastic in The Kingdom, summoning up the kind of quiet intensity that earned him a Best Supporting Oscar nomination for Collateral. As the leader of an FBI forensics team sent to Saudi Arabia to investigate the terrorist bombing of an American compound, the actor develops a great odd-couple charisma with the aforementioned Barhom, who plays a local police officer assigned to help the U.S. group.
Question: What were the biggest challenges when filming The Kingdom ’s elaborate action scenes?
Foxx: The danger of it was actually the climate. We were in Phoenix and it was 115 or maybe sometimes even 130 degrees on that black top. That’s why I think Jennifer Garner is the strongest person in the world, after having a child, getting back in shape and then 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, so you had to make sure you weren’t in anyone’s path. Because even though we were using blanks, they can still cause damage.
Question: You shot for a week in the city of Abu Dhabi in United Arab Emirates. What was that like?
Foxx: It was beautiful and the most incredible visual you’ll ever see. The palace we were in was 850,000 square meters; I was a mile away from my sister’s room, it was just incredible. It was like shooting a music video the whole time. Any food you wanted; they pick you up in a Phantom Rolls Royce.
Question: At one point in the film, you make a funny reference to your hometown of Terrell, Texas. Where did that ad lib come from?
Foxx: It’s good to tip your head. Because living in Terrell at one point seemed so like being on an island. It was 12,000 people; railroad tracks separated the north and south sides. It’s good to let them in on what’s going on, because your hometown always wants to know, “Did you forget about us?”
Question: What were your expectations going in to The Kingdom?
Foxx: When you’re working with [producer] Michael Mann and [director] Peter Berg, box office success is not the first thing that you think about. The first thing you think about is the art of it. I was at that recent American Cinematheque tribute to Al Pacino, and when you look at his body of work, most of the things you remember are the ones that were not big commercial successes. Not to say that I don’t want to be commercially successful; but here, you know when you’re doing the piece that you’re going to wind up with something you’re happy to look back on.
It’s fun to be in the world of Michael Mann again (director of the Foxx films Miami Vice and Collateral). And Peter Berg I’ve always admired as both an actor and a director, so being able to work with him with a subject matter that is pretty intense was appealing. But the way Peter would say, “Just say this line. I guarantee you’ll get a laugh. Say this line because we have to get the entertainment also at the same time.” It was just a fun ride.
Question: Having won the Oscar and become associated with dramatic acting more than comedy, have you found people’s perception of you as an artist has changed?
Foxx: Yes, I’ve noticed that, and I’m going to tell you what. Sometimes it pulls at your comedic soul, because you watch a Rush Hour or Sandler and Stiller and Murphy, and you go, “Maaaan.” But every comic role I did was in the vein of someone else, so you would get compared and if it wasn’t as good as Murphy, it was horrible. So by having this lane of not necessarily drama but characters and doing pieces, I’m happy with that lane. And Sirius Radio gave me my own comedy station, so if you ever want to hear how it’s going down with the jokes, hit me on Sirius 106 in the Foxx Hole.
Question: You also recently completed a six-month stand-up comedy tour. How was that?
Foxx: I hang out with nothing but comedians and we write jokes every day. They wanted me to go out and do a music tour, but the album wasn’t hot anymore. And if you don’t get out when the album is hot, ain’t nobody trying to hear it. So I said I got to do comedy first and get my Jones, and then come back and do music on the same show. They fought me on it, but when we finally went to San Diego and did the comedy first, people got a chance to see, “Oh, he ain’t changed.”
I mean you go to Detroit and there’s 12,000 mostly black folks wearing mustard suits and hats, drinking dark liquor and sitting on the stage shouting, “Holler at me Foxx!” They don’t want you coming in there saying, “Well, I won the Oscar you know…” So it was a chance for me to really get back to my beginnings. I don’t ever want to get behind those gates with the dogs and the butler and whatever it is, and kind of lose that thing.
Question: Your next project The Soloist sounds very interesting. What can you tell us about it?
Foxx: The director, Joe Wright, with Atonement is the youngest filmmaker to ever open up the Venice International Film Festival. The Soloist is about a schizophrenic guy who lives underneath the freeway. L.A. Times columnist Steve Lopez has a wreck on his bicycle, hears this beautiful music coming from a violin with two strings. He sees this guy and writes a story about him, and the next thing you know they get this bond. It’s beautiful. It’s one of those pieces where you go, “Wow.”
I’m learning to play the cello and violin. We went downtown to where he [Nathaniel Ayers] lives, and this guy is still posh, even within his situation. Before he sleeps, he cleans the whole area; he pays attention to detail like you wouldn’t believe. And not to give the whole thing away, but when he plays, that’s what drowns out the voices in his head.
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