How Jamie Got His Shine Back

(image via bbc)

When he's not imitating Clive, or Tyson, or Ray, or simply getting bloated on the sauce in Miami with "Cock Out" Colin Farrell, Oscar winner Jamie Foxx is somewhat existential about his roots doing stand-up and how, perhaps, his wealth and fame affect his comedic edge (Cue to: Aerosmith's "Dream On"). From Moviehole:

"Moviehole: Have you ever have a moment you thought you�d quit?

"Foxx: Oh yeah, man, I moved to Vegas right after In Living Color. I couldn�t get any work and it was like if you lived in LA, you�ve got to have your shine on. If you ain�t shining, and you did quick. The minute they found out the show was over, I remember seeing this girl, and this is when I knew it was time for me to get out. This girl was walking towards me, and I was like, Oh, yeah. She�s probably been watching the show.� And she says hi. I say hey. She said, �Do you know where Chris Tucker is?�"

Zing! A touch, a touch; I do confess't:

"�Uh, uh, uh.� and I was at the Comedy Store. It�s like, �Yeah, I�m trying to find- - I think he�s- - I don't know, he�s somewhere around there.� And she looked back and said, �You look so familiar.� And I was like oh, man, my shine is gone."

And how does one go about getting ones shine back?

"So I�ll never forget moving. I had to move to Vegas because it was bad here. (Expletive) was going, �Whatcha� gonna do now man? That stuff is over.� And another Chris Tucker story, at one point I had gotten so into myself because I thought everybody was watching In Living Color. Everybody watched In Living Color. I remember going up on stage one day and doing rich jokes in front of these folks from the hood. �Yeah, man, I just got that Range Rover. Anybody else? My house went into Escrow. Anybody? Man, it�s crazy when your house go on escrow.� It was like, �What are you talking about.� So I dropped the mic, �Thank you, I�m Jamie Foxx.� I walk off stage and as I�m off stage, outside the club talking to somebody, I hear the doors open [and audience roars]. �Who is that? What is that? What are they laughing about? I just left the stage.� And I walked in and it was a young, thin black guy with bulging eyes by the name of Chris Tucker. This was years ago and he was killing them. And I sat down and I said, �That�s what I need to do. I need to go back and find what it is that I do� because I had lost it. So I moved to Vegas and then we put our heads together and Warner Brothers at the time was looking for some shows. I like the people that like me. It wasn�t ABC, it wasn�t CBS, it was Warner Brothers. We went there and we did The Jamie Foxx Show and I got a brand new start. I said, �I don�t want to ever slip like that again.� Then I�ll tell you, years went by and I�m in the Laugh Factory and they bring out, �Coming to the stage�� and it was Chris Tucker. And he had a suit on and a red tie and he was telling rich jokes. �I wonder if you girls really love me for me or for my money.� And it was like wow. I went to him and said, �I see what�s happening. You�ve gotta go back and get it.� "

The full interview here.