12 Actors Who Immersed Themselves Too Far In Movie Scenes

11. Jamie Foxx - Ray

Quint Jaws
Universal

Because Jamie Foxx has been playing the piano since he was three years old, he seemed like the perfect choice to portray Ray Charles in Taylor Hackford's Ray. But just because he was a gifted pianist didn't mean the job came easy.

To ensure he could play to the standard of the legendary musician, Foxx practiced all day every day for months. When he finished filming, he would go home and continue to practise until long into the night, leaving him shattered during production.

To play the role of a blind person, Foxx took it the extra mile by glueing silicon prosthetics onto his eyelids so he couldn't open them. Wearing the prosthetics for 14 hours per day got so intense that Foxx suffered several panic attacks and went temporarily blind at one point!

This performance bagged Foxx an Oscar and made him an A-List star but it would've been a lot easier if he just shut his eyes while shooting his scenes rather than relying on prosthetics.

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James Egan has been with Whatculture for five years and prominently works on Horror, Film, and Video Games. He's written over 80 books including 1000 Facts about Horror Movies Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts about The Greatest Films Ever Made Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts about Video Games Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts About James Bond 1000 Facts About TV Shows