Behind the Casting of Ray: How Foxx Landed an Oscar Winning Role
By Joe Tracy, Publisher of Hollywood Lot Magazine

One of the biggest challenges the filmmakers of the movie Ray faced was who they would cast in the lead role, playing the part of the legendary Ray Charles. It was a challenging role, requiring a person to have musical talent while also being able to perfect Ray’s moves and capture the humanity of Ray through Ray’s blindness.

There wasn’t a clear-cut choice going into auditions as to who would play the part of Ray. Jamie Foxx, who ultimately played Ray in the movie, actually sold himself to the filmmakers not only as a great actor for the role, but also as an accomplished musician.

It seems that Foxx had been playing the piano since he was three years old and was so talented that he received a university piano scholarship. The filmmakers were floored. After discovering Foxx’s musical history, the filmmakers began to see Foxx as the clear-cut choice.

Ray producer Taylor Hackford recalls when Foxx told them of his impressive musical background and his university piano scholarship.

“When Jamie told me this, I just kind of sat back and thought, ‘My God,’” says Hackford. “I’d like to say it was planned, but it wasn’t. We got lucky.”

With Foxx as the clear favorite for the role, due to his multiple talents that seemed to perfectly fit the role, the big test as to whether he was right for the role was now up to Ray Charles! The producers arranged for Foxx and Charles to meet, with the producers knowing Ray Charles wasn’t an easy person to impress or relate to.

“Ray was not easy… and when it came to music, he demanded perfection,” says Hackford. “Jamie came over and immediately started playing the piano and Ray could hear at least that he could play. So they started playing and Jamie is playing a little funk and Gospel, but then Ray goes into some Jazz, some Thelonious Monk. And I’m thinking, ‘Oh, no, Jamie doesn’t know it.’ Ray was saying, ‘Come on, man, it’s this,’ and he keeps playing this Monk phrase, only Jamie is not getting it. Then Ray gets even tougher, saying, ‘Come on, man, it’s right under your fingers.” And I’m thinking, ‘This could really blow up in my face.’ But when Jamie finally got it, Ray, who had been pretty tough on him, said, ‘This is it. This kid can do it, see? He’s the one. Ray anointed him right then and there and you could see Jamie just kind of glow. In a sense, he had won the role directly from Ray Charles.”

Foxx was excited to have landed the role of Ray Charles. He made it his goal to really understand Ray, the man, and portray that on screen.

“When I read the script I realized that this was a really phenomenal story, not just about music, but about a man who overcame all kinds of difficulties to become a real leader of culture,” says Foxx. “The way he intertwined everything he experienced in his life to make this amazing music; it was really something special.”

Foxx set out to capture the true “spirit” of Ray.

“The key word for me was nuance, because I didn’t want to simply impersonate him,” says Foxx. “Rather, I wanted to capture some part of his spirit, that’s all. There were a lot of little touches which I tried to layer – his musicality, his warmth, his sense of balance, his posture – until the physical side of things all fell into place.”

And fall into place they did.

Ray Charles was a master of music. He was also a master of talent, seeing that Foxx was perfect to play him in the movie. And Charles was right. Jamie Foxx went on to win the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Ray.