Jamie Foxx is all set to play a “modern day ‘Daddy’ Warbucks” in “Annie” and supervillain Electro in “The Amazing Spider-Man 2“–but one other thing he’d really like to do is direct.
He’s already whetted his appetite with the completion of “…And She Was My Eve,” the Canon short he directed as a part of Ron Howard’s Project Imaginat10n. “As long as I can do some cameos, I could give up acting,” the actor told the Journal.
“Here’s the thing about actors, everyone has a cycle and people get tired of seeing their faces. It’s too much,” said Foxx.
Although he had helmed a couple episodes of “The Jamie Foxx Show,” the 45-year-old actor is looking to dive deeper. “I’m comfortable with [directing] now. I want more. I’d love to be behind the camera,” Foxx added.
“There’s a lot of pressure to be in front of the camera these days. It’s hard to be a movie star. Back in the day, if they were doing the movie ‘Batman,’ you wouldn’t know who Batman was until “Batman” came out. It would come out and you would love it. Now, the curtain is constantly being pulled back. Ben Affleck gets offered ‘Batman’ and with social media all of a sudden, you see Ben Affleck before ‘Batman’ is shot trying to make sense of why and make people understand. That’s too much,” Foxx said.
But not enough to make him turn down the role of Electro/Max Dillon in the coming “The Amazing Spider-Man 2.” In the Marvel Comics, Electro is a supervillain who has the ability to control electricity. The character will make his cinematic debut in the 2014 film.
The 2012 release “The Amazing Spider-Man” grossed $752 million and starred Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone, both of whom are returning to reprise their roles as Spider-Man and Gwen Stacy, respectively. The film’s director, Marc Webb, will also return for the sequel.
“I wanted to when I took this role, I told Marc Webb, Electro really wants to hurt Spider-Man. He hurt Max Dillon so bad in the beginning of movie, I took it step further, Max’s mom doesn’t even remember his birthday, so that when he turns you understand why he’s so angry [at Spider-Man.] I ad libbed on the set, I ad libbed a line when Electro is getting ready to fight Spider-Man I said ‘itsy bitsy spider went up down the water spout, down came Electro and wiped the spider out.’ That alone made the whole project lift up like ‘wow, here’s a person really upset with the guy,” Foxx said.
Foxx is currently shooting “Annie,” a Will Gluck-directed adaptation that stars Cameron Diaz, Rose Byrne, Quvenzhané Wallis and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje. Hi character, Benjamin Stacks, is a cellular phone mogul “who has never dropped a call” who is running for mayor. “And the next thing you know he falls for Annie,” Foxx said. The score, which includes four original songs, is being produced by Will Smith and Jay Z and “just floors you,” added Foxx.