Why Oprah staged an intervention for Jamie Foxx

During the 2004-2005 awards season, Jamie Foxx was having the time of his life as rave reviews of his Ray Charles biopic, Ray, and a Best Actor Oscar nomination catapulted his career.

“I’m having such a good time and I’m not knowing I’m f**king up,” Foxx shared on Howard Stern’s SiriusXM show.

“I’m drinking … I’m doing every f**king thing you could possibly imagine.”

But his hard partying came to a screeching halt after Winfrey phoned the actor.

“‘You’re blowing it, Jamie Foxx,’” the 49-year-old remembered Winfrey telling him. “‘All of this gallivanting and all this kind of s**t, that’s not what you want to do … I want to take you somewhere. Make you understand the significance of what you’re doing.’”

In an effort to get Foxx on a better path, Winfrey organised a meeting for him with several legendary black actors at Quincy Jones’ home.

“We go in the house and there are all these old actors,” Foxx said. “Black actors from the ’60s and the ’70s. Who look like they just want to say, ‘Good look.’ They want to say, ‘Don’t blow it.’”

He finally learned the gravitas of the situation after meeting Sidney Poitier, who is the first African-American to win an Oscar for Best Actor.

Poitier apparently told Foxx at that crucial meeting, “‘I want to give you responsibility … When I saw your performance, it made me grow two inches.’”

At that moment, Foxx says, he broke down.

“To this day, it’s the most significant time in my life where it was, like, a chance to grow up,” Foxx said.

Foxx went on to win the Academy Award for Best Actor.

Warning: Explicit language

Jamie Foxx reveals Oprah staged an intervention

This story originally appeared in the NY Post and is republished here with permission.