Jamie Foxx Convinced Marvel Star Idris Elba to Give Up His Potential Movie With Quentin Tarantino For Selfish Reasons
Django Unchained, which is regarded as one of the finest works of Quentin Tarantino, stands out for its gripping storytelling, setting it apart from his other films, which usually incorporate elements from diverse genres and pop culture. In the movie, the role of a freed slave named Django Freeman was portrayed by actor Jamie Foxx. Initially, Tarantino considered various actors for the role, including Marvel star Idris Elba, before landing on Jaime Foxx. But the director axed the former from contention in the casting process early.
Quentin Tarantino turned down Idris Elba in Django Unchained
Quentin Tarantino considered a list of actors for the role. The movie maker met with a string of actors, including Will Smith, but the Men in Black actor turned down the role, opening it up for other stars to secure it. The Wire alum Idris Elba was also in line for the opportunity to play Django, but the filmmaker shot down the actors because he didn’t want a Brit to take up the role.
Tarantino’s interaction with The Sun reveals that he did not want an English actor playing the role in an American story. He admits Elba was also in the running, but he ruled out the Brit as he didn’t want any “phony accents” in the film.
“They put on their gargoyle masks, and they do their phony accents, and you are not telling an American story anymore. They are just making hay of it; whether it be James Mason in Mandingo or Michael Caine in Hurry Sundown, they get British actors to do this.”
Even though he was given the cold shoulder for the role, Elba still never hesitated to appreciate the opportunity.
“Hey, you know, I think that Quentin has a wonderful process of making his films, and seeing actors and deciding who could do what is a big part of that. And I was happy to meet him about it,” Elba once told MTV News.”
Jamie Foxx’s Bid to Dissuade Idris Elba from Django Unchained
But before finalizing Jaime Foxx as the famous Django, the filmmaker was on the edge of going with Idris Elba. Foxx wasn’t certain if he would play the lead in the movie. He feared Tarantino would choose Elba for the highly sought-after role before he could land it. The Oscar-winning actor revealed in a talk session with TIFF that he absolutely wanted to be part of the film. So when he got the chance to meet Idris Elba, he tried to deter the actor from taking the lead role. According to Indewire, Foxx said he told Elba that his looks would be a distraction for the viewers.
“Your beautiful black ass rides up on that horse; it’s going to be problems for everybody. But I understand that being from Texas and coming from a Southern place, it wasn’t as heightened as you guys listened to it. It was sort of like just another Tuesday. I had already learned the text and everything, so I performed it in front of him. But here’s what I think won him over: I had my own horse.”
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However, Tarantino finally wrapped up with the choice of Jaime Foxx, defying his stance against selecting a British actor for an all-American tale. In an interview in 2013, Tarantino said,
“Yeah, Idris is British, and this is an American story. I think a problem with a lot of movies that deal with this issue is that they cast British actors to play the Southerners, which goes a long way toward distancing the movie.”
Leonardo DiCaprio, who plays a plantation owner in the drama, is the only notable exception to Tarantino’s predominantly Southern star-studded cast.
He adds, “Leo is not from the South, but pretty much every other white actor in the movie is from the South. And most of the black actors are from the South. And I’m from the South”.
When Foxx read the script, he was able to visualize the role and connect with it on a personal level, feeling at home in the role. His Texax upbringing, where he was acquainted with the language, was able to knock it out of the park. Django Unchained is Tarantino’s most commercially successful movie to date. The film raked in USD 425 million in worldwide gross. The filmmaker is currently working on his last film, The Movie Critic, which is set in 1970s Los Angeles. The release date of the movie hasn’t been declared.
