By Ron Wynn
NASHVILLE, TN — Jamie Foxx has enjoyed a great amount of notoriety and fame, as well as winning both an Oscar and a Grammy. But he feels his latest role as the principal voice in Disney’s “Soul” is a career highlight. He told Variety last week it was vital for him to be himself in any role, and to be an advocate for positive Black images.
“In my career, I’ve never had to apologize for being Black,” Foxx said. “I was on ‘In Living Color’ — I had a Black boss [Keenan Ivory Wayans, who Foxx touts as a mentor], Black writers, Black creators. Then with ‘The Jamie Foxx Show’ it was all Black. So, I’ve never had to worry about turning my Black up or turning my Black down. I’ve just been me and it is always worked out for me. When I do that, great things come out of it.”
He is quite positive about “Soul.” “For me to be able to say, and be proud to say, [I’m] the first African-American lead in Disney-Pixar, that’s amazing,” Foxx adds. “That feels good.” Foxx is the voice of Joe Gardner, an aspiring jazz musician, who works as a middle school teacher in New York City while he awaits his big break. Just as things are looking up, an accident separates Joe’s soul from his body, and he winds up in the Great Before, scrambling to make it back to Earth in time to play a gig that could kick-start his music career.
The entire “Soul” team — led by the film’s director, co-writer and Pixar Chief Creative Officer Pete Docter and producer Dana Murray — took the task of depicting Black culture in authentic fashion. “We wanted it to be as correct as we could, to be as authentic as we could,” Docter explains. “Because I think when you are in the audience, and you can tell something’s not quite right, it has an effect on the potency of the film. What we’re always trying to do is just move people, make them care, make them feel something. And I think those two things are very connected.”
The filmmakers enlisted such heavyweights as Ryan Coogler, Kenya Barris, Quincy Jones and Yo-Yo Ma to lend their expertise and perspective, plus others like Jon Batiste (who composed original music for the film) or Daveed Diggs and Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson (who voiced characters Paul and Curley in the film, while also consulting on the story).
Another big name participant is Tina Fey (who voices 22, a reluctant soul who Joe unwittingly becomes a mentor for during his time in The Great Before). She also greatly enjoyed her role, particularly with the film debuting amid the pandemic.
“It’s really been making me think a lot about a life well-lived and separating that from achievement, from external validation, and chasing that,” Fey says. “It’s really about [asking] ‘Are you present for the people in your life? Are you present for yourself to enjoy small moments, to enjoy stillness, to enjoy the process of getting where you’re going?’ And I think that is something we’ve all been reflecting on these last eight or nine months.”
“Soul” is now streaming on Disney+.
