How is it that Jamie Foxx came about to play the role of Ray?
The casting of Jamie Foxx as Ray really helped make the movie because of his award-winning performance. The filmmakers had been very impressed with Foxx’s performances in the movies Any Given Sunday and Ali. Even though Foxx has a comic background his dramatic performances were well mastered. But while the filmmakers liked Foxx for the role, they were concerned that he couldn’t portray the same soulful music connection that Ray had with the soul of music. That was until they found out that Foxx, like Ray, had played piano since he was three and even earned a university piano scholarship. Casting the role of Ray was a no-brainer after learning that information.
