Jamie Foxx: Encyclopedia II - Jamie Foxx - Acting

Jamie Foxx - Acting

Bishop changed his name to "Jamie Foxx" as a hook to get more opportunities to perform at comedy clubs, and he became known for his appearances on comedic TV series, particularly when he joined the cast of In Living Color during the third season. In Living Color launched the careers of a number of comedians, including Jim Carrey and the Wayans brothers. When In Living Color was ended, Foxx was given his own show, The Jamie Foxx Show, which produced 100 episodes from 1996-2001 and still reruns in syndication. Foxx's film debut came in Toys (1992) with Robin Williams.

Foxx's first prominent dramatic role came in 1999 when Oliver Stone cast him as the star quarterback in the football-based film Any Given Sunday. He also received critical acclaim, and an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor, for his role in the 2004 action film Collateral, where he played an ordinary cab driver who was hired for a night by a hitman (Tom Cruise) on a killing spree.

Foxx's portrayal of Ray Charles in the 2004 film Ray earned him an Academy Award for Best Actor. This made him only the third black male actor to win the award (the other two were Sidney Poitier and Denzel Washington). He also received a nomination for Best Supporting Actor for Collateral, making him only the tenth person to have been nominated for both acting categories in the same year. Foxx also became the first black actor to have double nominations in one year.

In recognition of his work in 2004, Foxx received an unprecedented three Golden Globe Award nominations in acting categories. He was nominated for his lead role in Ray, his supporting role in Collateral and for his portrayal of Stanley Williams in the television movie Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story.

Foxx was seen at many Miami Heat playoff games in the 2005 campaign. He is starring in a film version of Miami Vice, scheduled for release in 2006. He also has a film hitting the box offices in 2007 called Damage Control.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Acting", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki