After winning a Best Actor Academy Award for his role as Ray Charles in “Ray,” Jamie Foxx found himself catapulted to a level of fame he’d never experienced before. Despite dipping his toe into a few dramatic projects before “Ray,” Foxx had previously made a name for himself as a singer, comedian, and all-around charismatic fellow. After his Oscar win, he worked with famed director Michael Mann on the films “Collateral” and “Miami Vice.”
Foxx had signed on to “Miami Vice” before he won his Academy Award, so when production on the film began, he demanded a pay raise so that he would make more money than his co-star, Colin Farrell. Both Mann and Farrell had reputations for being difficult to work with — Mann for his aggressive directing style and Farrell for his longterm addiction issues — but it was Foxx whose demands caused the most issues during production on “Miami Vice,” and it wasn’t the first or last time that Foxx’s career suffered from his on-set behavior.
Foxx’s strangest contract stipulation was his refusal to film any scenes that took place on a boat or a plane. Foxx “was afraid of boats, afraid of planes — there were a lot of things where he was afraid for himself,” a crew member told Slate. It’s understandable that Foxx wanted to avoid danger, but he was also shooting a movie about drug trafficking in Miami, a city well-known for its coastline. Oh, and the movie was his idea in the first place.
