The 13 best Jamie Foxx movie and TV roles, ranked
Years ago, a young boy named Eric Marlon Bishop aspired to be a professional football player. But that dream never came to pass, and at the age of 22, on the dare of a girlfriend, Bishop decided to try his hand at stand-up comedy. That's when Jamie Foxx was born. The actor selected his gender-neutral stage name when he realized that female performers were often called first at open mics. The rest, as they say, is history.
For the last 30 years, Foxx, 55, has oscillated from roles in mega-budget franchises, raunchy comedies, character dramas, action vehicles, and even musicals. He's disappeared completely into each of his roles, whether it be an electronically supercharged villain, the president of the United States, or an innocent man on death row. His impressive resumé has proven him to be one of the most chameleonic presences on screen and one of a handful of actors who can be consistently relied upon to give a commanding performance regardless of the film they're in.
In April 2023, Foxx's daughter, Corinne Foxx, announced that her father was hospitalized and recovering after suffering a "medical complication" on the set of the upcoming Netflix action-comedy Back in Action with Cameron Diaz. Corinne shared another update in May, noting that her dad was out of the hospital, back to playing pickleball, and well on the road to recovery.
As we anxiously await his return to good health (not to mention his next film), EW ranks Jamie Foxx's best movies and TV shows to date.
13. <i>The Players Club</i> (1998)
The Players Club is the only feature film written and directed by Ice Cube, and based on his supremely confident work, it's surprising (and a bit tragic) that the streak ended here. An ensemble dramedy-thriller about a young student, Diana (LisaRaye McCoy), who takes a job at a strip club, The Players Club is unruly and chaotic, with a reckless tone and a rocket-powered climax that feels like an outtake from Death Wish 3. Yet it's also wonderfully shot, with a dextrous use of Steadicam, clever compositions, and a fantastic use of music throughout. Its story is also big-hearted and ultimately redemptive, with a sympathetic view of the women at its core.
Without a doubt, the most assured performance in the film comes from Foxx, who plays Blue, a naive DJ who falls for Diana. He's easily the most natural actor in the entire cast, (which ranges from those treating it as a serious melodrama to those behaving as if they're in a MADtv sketch). And when the third act inexplicably makes Blue the protagonist, Foxx rises to the occasion and closes the film on a high note.
Where to watch The Players Club: Amazon Prime Video (to rent)
12. <i>The Soloist</i> (2009)
Joe Wright's drama is based upon the true story of Nathaniel Ayers (Foxx), a musician suffering from mental illness, and Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez (Robert Downey Jr.), who helped Ayers in his rehabilitation process.
Somewhat forgotten after its muted 2009 release, Wright's film is a low-key but impactful drama in the style of a character piece that Hal Ashby might have made in the '70s. It's worthwhile alone for Downey's lived-in performance, one of the few times the actor has appeared as someone other than an Avenger or Sherlock Holmes since his franchise wheels started turning. He and Foxx make terrific scene partners, bringing out the best in each other whenever they share the screen. (The duo reunited briefly in the zany 2010 comedy Due Date, though their chemistry demands a feature-length buddy-comedy reunion.)
Foxx is wonderful here as Ayers and avoids many of the pitfalls actors can fall into when playing mentally ill characters. Instead of milking the situations for melodrama, Foxx always finds the truth at the center of each scene and uses it to reveal tiny — though hugely affecting — character notes.
Where to watch The Soloist: Max
11. <i>In Living Color</i> (1991-1994)
Outside of a few small movie roles and a handful of appearances as Crazy George on Roc, In Living Color was Foxx's first major acting gig. Alongside future headliners Jim Carrey, Jennifer Lopez, and Damon Wayans, Foxx quickly became an audience favorite, both for his keen comic timing and his character Wanda, a lovelorn woman eternally on the prowl.
Speaking to Complex in 2015 about the legacy of In Living Color, Foxx remarked that, "sketch comedy has changed, as far as Black folks, where we don't do it anymore. It's all Saturday Night Live, which is sort of sad, because In Living Color was not just sketch comedy, there was a flyness to it. It was a lifestyle. It's a shame that we don't have that platform [anymore]... You can't think of a crew of African American artists under the age of 30 who are really sort of blazing that trail... I'm trying to find those guys to give them the avenue so we can branch them out from TV to the movies and keep that going."
Where to watch In Living Color: Not available to stream
10. <i>Any Given Sunday</i> (1999)
Oliver Stone's over-cranked sports film stars Al Pacino as Tony D'Amato, the head coach of the (fictional) Miami Sharks football team, who is contending with an injured, pill-popping quarterback Jack Rooney (Dennis Quaid), the team's owner and manager (Cameron Diaz, in the first of three collaborations with Foxx), and Willie Beamen (Foxx), who assumes Rooney's position after his injury.
Any Given Sunday was the first time Jamie Foxx was able to flex his dramatic muscles in any substantive fashion on screen. Stone originally wanted Sean Combs (then in his "Puff Daddy" era) for the role, but was dissuaded when the rapper's toss was less than adequate for a star QB. It was a massive win for Foxx, who was known mostly for In Living Color and The Jamie Foxx Show up until this point. Along with Pacino, it's Foxx — playing the character with the most varied arc — carrying the dramatic heft of Any Given Sunday.
Where to watch Any Given Sunday: Amazon Prime Video (to rent)
9. <i>The Amazing Spider-Man 2</i> (2014)
While many villains in modern superhero movies are simply evil because the script requires them to be so, Foxx's performance as Max Dillon, a.k.a. Electro, in Marc Webb's troubled follow-up to The Amazing Spider-Man (2012), towers above his contemporaries. As Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) grows into his powers and begins his romance with Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone) in earnest, his childhood pal Harry Osborn (Dane DeHaan) reappears to assume control of Oscorp. After his poor business practices are brought to light, Harry employs the help of the put-upon Oscorp scientist Max (Foxx), who after taking a tumble into a pool of eels is beginning to use his new electricity-harnessing superpowers to subvert Spider-Man's mission of peace.
While the film as a whole wasn't very well-received, Foxx is not to blame, playing his storyline so aptly that it may be Max, or even Electro, that one wishes a happy ending for. (As complicated as Peter Parker's struggles have been, nothing really comes close to Max's mother forgetting his birthday.) It's another instance of Foxx appearing convincingly downtrodden, tempering his natural charisma and flair for character comedy by largely playing Max straight: A lovable loser who simply makes it too easy to take advantage of him. Watching him take power in the film's second half is a thrill, and while his return in 2021's Spider-Man: No Way Home was fun, Foxx didn't have as much room there to play the role with the same satisfaction.
Where to watch The Amazing Spider-Man 2: Starz
8. <i>The Jamie Foxx Show</i> (1996-2001)
In the '90s, when just about anyone who'd ever held a microphone on stage was playing a version of themselves on a sitcom, Foxx entered the fray with this funnier-than-average take on the genre. He stars as Jamie King, an aspiring musician who comes all the way from Terrell, Texas, to make it in Hollywood but finds himself doing grunt work at his Aunt Helen (Ellia English) and Uncle Junior's (SNL alum Garrett Morris) hotel.
What the series gets right is mostly due to Foxx's performance. So many similar sitcoms — wherein comedians transpose their stage personas into eponymous television characters — place the lead in a position where events mostly happen around them rather than to them. In contrast, Foxx as the protagonist and anchor has a great deal of fun toying with Jamie King's airheaded braggadocio. This lends the show a genuine, freewheeling goofiness that eschews the straight-man archetype and instead favors the more madcap energy usually supplied by supporting characters. It's as if Karen Walker (Megan Mullally) took the reigns of Will & Grace, or if Maryann Thorpe (Christine Baranski) eclipsed Cybill Sheridan (Cybill Shepherd) on Cybill — and it's a joy to behold.
Where to watch The Jamie Foxx Show: Max
7. <i>Ali</i> (2001)
This portrait of a decade (1964-1974) in the life of world heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali (Will Smith) was the first of three collaborations between Foxx and director Michael Mann (followed by Collateral and the poorly received retooling of Miami Vice). Ali is gorgeously lensed by Oscar-winning cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki and features one of Smith's most commanding performances, though the film's compressed time frame occasionally frustrates in its narrow vision of Ali's life and career.
As Ali's incredibly talented and deeply troubled trainer Drew Bundini Brown, Foxx executes a nuanced character portrayal that serves moments of comic relief while never losing sight of the real person he's playing or the tone of the film he's in. Coming on the heels of his role in Any Given Sunday — a terrific performance which nonetheless was dismissed by some as Foxx simply playing up aspects of his own personality — Ali served as a showcase for a young actor still developing his dramatic skills. We see shades of the quieter, more reserved Foxx that has become a hallmark of the actor's finest turns on screen.
6. <i>Baby Driver</i> (2017)
Foxx's performance as Bats, the Big Bad in Edgar Wright's effervescent musical-action-dramedy, is the one truly live wire in an entertaining picture that is often too mannered for its own good. He enters the movie by immediately unsettling all that came before him, and when he exits stage left (if you catch our drift) it's a wonderful moment of genuine shock, a bit of pure and unadulterated Edgar Wright-ness.
Foxx elaborated upon his somewhat irreverent approach to playing Bats in a 2018 interview with Yahoo Entertainment: "This is always weird because, when you do press… if you talk about the real integrity of the character, they take the one word that you want to say and [report only that]. But I wanted to play the Black guy. And what I meant by that when I was talking to Edgar was, I wanted to play everything that is scary to people about a Black man… Now, of course in the press, trying to explain that, they'll say, 'Jamie Foxx wants to scare all white people…' But that was the character choice — not to be anything like Jamie Foxx… It's going back to Quentin Tarantino, Michael Mann — using the discipline of 'Don't do your thing, really be who the character is.'"
Where to watch Baby Driver: Amazon Prime Video (to rent)
5. <i>Just Mercy</i> (2019)
Destin Daniel Cretton's (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) gripping legal drama is based on the memoir by Bryan Stevenson (played by Michael B. Jordan), an attorney dedicated to clearing the name of Walter McMillian (Foxx), who was wrongfully convicted of murder and incarcerated for six years on Alabama's death row.
Cretton — an accomplished director of small character pieces such as The Glass Castle and his must-see feature Short Term 12 — is wise enough to craft Just Mercy in the mold of the inspirational courtroom dramas while also planting the feet of his film more firmly in reality. He still doesn't miss an opportunity to indulge in an emotional monologue, but what keeps the film feeling centered amidst more familiar beats are the all-around brilliant performances from his cast, which also includes Brie Larson and O'Shea Jackson Jr. The cream on top is Jamie Foxx in a quiet, contemplative register in which he appears perfectly at home. This is a role that could have earned him his second Oscar, though he didn't even secure a nomination.
Where to watch Just Mercy: Amazon Prime Video (to rent)
4. <i>Soul</i> (2020)
One of Pixar's best movies in at least a decade, Soul tells the story of Joe (Foxx), a middle-school band teacher who is granted an opportunity to play his dream concert before unceremoniously plunging to his death down a sewer grate, thus embarking on a quest to meld his body and soul back together. Writer-director Pete Docter's (Up) gentle comedic drama does exactly what all great family entertainment should do: It appeals to everyone, regardless of age. The film is note perfect, with the fairly simple plot belying the smartly written jokes and old-soul wisdom at its center.
Perhaps surprisingly, Foxx had lent his voice to only the Rio films (as a supporting character) and an errant episode of television here and there before he starred in Soul. It's fair to say nothing Foxx had done before in the vocal arena foreshadowed the exceptional work he does here. Joe is one of the actor's finest turns, a part which, if it were performed in a live-action feature, would have certainly netted him a slew of nominations. It's the sort of character that represents a pivot in an actor's career, one when they transition into middle age and are able to not only take on more complicated roles, but call on their own experience to deepen the story.
3. Django Unchained (2012)
Freed by bounty hunter King Schultz (Christoph Waltz, anointed 2013's Best Supporting Actor for his rousing turn), former slave Django (Foxx) goes on a search for his wife Broomhilda (Kerry Washington) and attempts to free her from vicious rancher Calvin Candy (Leonardo DiCaprio).
Quentin Tarantino's follow-up to Inglourious Basterds is this deeply depraved and genuinely nasty exploitation movie, the director's most convincing homage to '70s grindhouse cinema to date. (Though his 90-minute cut of Death Proof comes very close, as well.) With wall-to-wall splatter orchestrated with masterful precision by Greg Nicotero, Django Unchained is the director's most creatively violent film. Even for all of the limb-lopping in Kill Bill, nothing in Tarantino's filmography comes close to the fusillade of bullets unleashed here, which by the third act take on a bizarre slapstick quality.
Foxx is brilliant in the title role, beginning the film as a man so terrified he can barely speak and transitioning into a cold-blooded machine of revenge who controls any room into which he walks. He masterfully fuses archetypes of the silent Western hero à la Clint Eastwood as well as the cool, detached swagger of blaxploitation heroes from the films Tarantino idolizes. (For Django completionists, Foxx also turns up as the character at the tail end of Seth MacFarlane's A Million Ways to Die in the West to provide that film's sole chuckle.)
Where to watch Django Unchained: Paramount+
2. <i>Collateral</i> (2004)
Michael Mann's stylish urban thriller — and a sort of cousin to his earlier work Heat — stars Tom Cruise as a silver fox hitman who hitches a ride with Jamie Foxx's cabbie for a night of murder and existential crises in downtown Los Angeles.
For his role in Collateral, which came out just months before Ray, Foxx found himself nominated in both the lead and supporting actor categories at the 2005 Oscars. (He was also dual-nominated for the two performances at the Golden Globe and SAG awards, and won both for Ray.) In his second collaboration with Mann, it seems Foxx found the register of acting which continues to suit him best. Often cast (especially early in his career) as larger-than-life characters wielding exaggerated swagger, Collateral offered an opportunity for Foxx to slow his tempo and play earthbound emotions.
It's interesting, too, that Jamie Foxx is one of the few actors (perhaps the only) to play a hero to Cruise's villain — and he does so with success. Though this may be among the hardest gigs in Hollywood, Foxx makes it look tremendously easy on screen. Not only does Cruise have the flashier role, but he's Tom Cruise. Yet through it all, Foxx is able to hold his own and keep the audience rooting squarely for him in a performance that is consistently reserved, quiet, and understated. In a terrific film, Foxx is one of the very best things.
Where to watch Collateral: Pluto TV
1. <i>Ray</i> (2004)
Taylor Hackford's by-the-numbers-but-better-than-average biopic of Ray Charles features Foxx's most immersive performance, as the embattled musician who fought loss of vision and heroin addiction to become one of the most influential singers in history.
Fresh off of Collateral, Ray sent Foxx into the Hollywood stratosphere and won him a well-deserved Oscar for Best Actor. His performance here is real, vital, and filled with emotion. You feel his pain, with some sequences practically begging you to turn away from the screen. There are moments in Ray when Foxx looks so convincingly like the man he's playing that you'll wonder if the film hasn't lapsed briefly and inexplicably into archival footage. It's an uncanny performance, all the more so because there's not a trace of impression to it; Foxx completely inhabits Charles, and it's stunning to behold.
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