Electric company

Confession time: I have never liked Jamie Foxx.

Perhaps I just couldn't shake off the loud, brassy and flamboyant persona he cultivated since his early days as a stand-up comedian, and even on the sitcom, The Jamie Foxx Show.

So I was pleasantly surprised at the soft-spoken gentleman sitting before me at Fuse Bar in Marina Bay Sands.

Foxx was in town last month to promote The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and also to take part in Earth Hour, a conservation awareness event.

The US actor was accompanied by Spider-Man co-stars Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone, and director Marc Webb.

Foxx was slightly early for the interview, so the 46-year-old waited patiently for Stone to wrap up.

And just a minute into our interview, the charismatic Foxx had charmed us all just by talking earnestly about how he tried to inject humanity into his characters.

In The Amazing Spider-Man 2, which opens here May 1, we get to see Foxx in two different roles.

Initially, he is Max Dillon, an electrical engineer with bad hair at Oscorp Industries, content to be a small fry who idolises Spider-Man.

A freak accident turns him into Electro, an angry, crazy, blue-coloured baddie with the power to control electricity.

Foxx explained that Max became obsessed with Spider-Man (Garfield) after the web-slinger helped him out of trouble.

But when he felt betrayed by Spidey, an "uncontrollable rage came out".

"(Max) just snapped and when a person's mind goes, it's a very tricky situation. Max became evil and sinister," he said.

Being obsessed with something or someone is "quite common in real life", Foxx said, adding that he found inspiration from "over-zealous fans who are on the borderline of insanity", much like Electro.

MORE SERIOUS ROLES

And judging by his recent work, it is no wonder that Foxx has his fair share of passionate fans.

Born Eric Marlon Bishop, he started out as a stand-up comic and took on his stage name.

Foxx only began taking on more serious roles in 2004, where he played legendary blues musician Ray Charles in the biopic Ray.

It paid off handsomely, winning Foxx an Oscar for Best Actor.

Hollywood sat up and took notice, and the reluctant hero roles started pouring in, including Jarhead (2005) and The Kingdom (2007).

"(US actress) Ellen Barkin once said to me after winning my Oscar that I have a window period of seven years to do something special and not chase after money with crazy, goofy stuff," Foxx said.

Sometimes, it could be tough trying to keep his integrity.

"How many great movies do you see, and how many movies do you see?" Foxx said.

Could he be referring to Steath, his 2005 action flick that bombed at the box office? Or the critically-panned Law Abiding Citizen, which was released in 2009?

"Luckily, I was able to explore music and I had quite a bit of success there, so that sort of elongated my career," he said.

Foxx has four albums to his name, with his debut album Peep out in 1994.

But it was only a decade later - riding on Ray's success - that his second album Unpredictable became a hit in 2005. His collaboration with US rapper Kanye West on Gold Digger also gave him his first Grammy for best rap solo performance.

Foxx also won another Grammy in 2010 for best R&B performance with the song Blame It, featuring rapper T-Pain.

Through all this, Foxx never married but fathered two daughters, Corinne, 20 and Annalise, 5.

And a piece of advice that came soon after his first taste of success stayed with him.

"I'm not sure if what Ellen (Barkin) said was based on some scientific fact, but her advice stuck in my head.

"Around the seventh, eighth year, Django Unchained happened," Foxx said, adding that the Western movie changed his career.

"Django performed so well internationally; and to Hollywood, the international appeal of an actor is the biggest thing."

ACTOR TO LEGEND

Directed by Quentin Tarantino, the 2012 movie saw Foxx as the titular slave determined to rescue his wife (Kerry Washington) from Leonardo DiCaprio's brutal Mississippi plantation owner.

Made at a budget of US$100 million (S$126 million), Django Unchained went on to gross over US$425 million worldwide.

"I told Quentin that he's the best director in the world because he can turn actors into legends. He knows how to mix integrity with box-office success.

"Django made things easier to acquire, like Spider-Man. It allows me to keep my commercial success intact but still pursue things that have gravitas."

He added with a laugh: "Thanks to Django and Spider-Man, I can now suck for seven more years!"

This article was published on April 9 in The New Paper.

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