Jamie Foxx Talks Struggles He Had on Set of Django Unchained

By: Taren Vaughan

Jamie Foxx is back at it again, on the acting side of things this time, as the multi-talented entertainer has a number of talents up his sleeve. He most recently landed a role in the film Django Unchained. And even with fellow comedians trying to rain on his parade, the anticipation of the new movie that he is starring in is high as movie goers are more than ready for it to be released in theaters. Although coming from a comedic background, Jamie Foxx has taken on serious roles before in the past but none quite like this one as he is playing a freed slave in the new Quentin Tarantino film. And with the role that he is taking on, there were some things that Jamie had to get used to on set, one of them was the excessive use of the “N” word. When it comes to stand up shows that they put on, a number of Black comedians drop the “N” word more times than can be counted during their routines, the late great Richard Pryor being one comedian that did it the most out of them all.

As some African American comedians today continue to let the word fly from their mouths during their performances, when heard repeatedly in a different setting can be very hard for some of them to stomach according to Jamie Foxx. During an interview that he did with Jay Leno on The Tonight Show, Jamie spoke on how difficult it was for him to portray a freed slave and how hearing the “N” word repeatedly used throughout the filming of the movie was a hard thing for him to deal with even though it was all an act:

“That was tough for me, having to act like I can’t read, or having to be subservient to someone, or to hear the N-word over and over again, which is what I asked for because that’s the way they labeled us at that time and it was tough.”

As it was hard for Jamie to hear the word, he says that it was equally as hard for his cast mate Leonardo DiCaprio to use the word himself, adding that Samuel L. Jackson had a piece of advice to give Leo on using it:

“It was even tougher to see Leonardo come in and he had to say these words to me. And at one point he went, “Aw, buddy, this is tough”. And then, which was funny but not funny, Samuel Jackson, who plays his house servant, leans over to Leo and says ‘Hey MF, this just another Tuesday for us. Get over this’.”

Check out Jamie Foxx’s interview with Jay Leno below:

Django Unchained is set to hit theaters on Christmas Day.