'I'm still learning how to stay current': Jamie Foxx opens up about Hollywood, his big break and his future plans

He cut quite a figure when he took to the red carpet on Monday evening at the Deauville Film Festival.
Indeed, Jamie Foxx fitted in with the crop of Hollywood talent on show to promote new political thriller White House Down, but he freely admits that his initial break was a baptism of fire.

Plenty to say: Jamie Foxx, 45, has opened up to the October issue of Men's Health about fame, the desire to stay current and his rigorous fitness regime

Speaking to the October issue of Men’s Health, the 45-year-old Oscar-winner says he had to play to

his strengths in order to hold his own while starring in breakout move Any Given Sunday. 
He recalls: ‘I got into the movie and there’s Al Pacino, Cameron Diaz. The one thing I had on my side was I played football. I knew more about it than them. I relied on that.’

The film, which sees Foxx play in a fictional American football team coached by Pacino, received a mixed response from critics, but it won the actor international recognition and helped set him on the road to Oscar glory as legendary musician Ray Davies in 2004 biopic Ray.

Almost ten years on from that achievement and Foxx says that he’s doing his best to stay relevant alongside a younger crop of actors. 

Opening up: Jamie Foxx says Hollywood success hasn't made him lose sight of himself 

Read the full interview with Jamie Foxx in the October issue of Men's Health, on sale Wednesday September 4 

‘One thing I’ve learnt is you have to rely on someone to tell you what’s hot and what’s not as you get older,’ he said. ‘That’s what I do: I ask. I’m still learning how to stay current – and at the same time not lose who I am, not be too young.’

That desire to remain fresh and original means gradually pulling away from mainstream cinema and the ensuing media circus.
He said: ‘Here’s what you’re going to unlearn now. You have to pull yourself away from the media – not be so shiny in the next 10-years, because it hurts the art and that’s the only thing that’s going to survive.
‘That’s the tricky part: how do you navigate through the world and still be an artist?’
While he strives to remain current well into his fifties, Foxx still has the physique of a man half his age – but he admits he needs to modify his rigorous work-out routine.
‘I’ve been doing bench presses my whole life,’ he said. ‘The chest, the front – but I hadn’t been working my back, so it made me hunch forward.’
Foxx’s big break came relatively late – he was 31 when Any Given Sunday was released – but he admits the resulting acclaim, awards and blockbuster movies hasn’t made him lose sight of himself.
‘You just have to live,’ he admitted. ‘I did it in the ‘hood for a long time, and then I did it uptown, where the audience is Robert De Niro and Al Pacino and all those guys.
‘You still remain the same person, and you get your stamp. It’s like a passport.’ 

The main man: Jamie Foxx arrives for the screening of 'White House Down' during the 39th annual Deauville American Film Festival

In the mix: Foxx with co-star Channing Tatum, German director Roland Emmerich and producer Brad Fischer at the screening of 'White House Down' during the 39th annual Deauville American Film Festival

Special guests: Jamie and White House Down co-star Channing Tatum make an appearance on French TV show Le Grand 8

Photo op: The two actors pose for photos after appearing on French show Le Grand 8