Aug 29, 2009, 9:00 GMT
Jamie Foxx had his teeth chipped so he looked like a tramp for his new movie.
08/10/2009 - Jamie Foxx - The Oscar-winning actor plays homeless cello prodigy Nathaniel Ayers in 'The Soloist' and visited a dentist to destroy his perfect teeth to ensure he looked right. © Robin Wong / PR Photos
The Oscar-winning actor plays homeless cello prodigy Nathaniel Ayers in 'The Soloist' and visited a dentist to destroy his perfect teeth to ensure he looked right.
He said: "My teeth look like a piano. If I am dressed as a homeless person and then you see these great teeth, it would be ridiculous. I had them chiselled down and they looked a little crooked. It worked and it gave more authenticity to being homeless."
Jamie also had his eyebrows shaved for the role because he was so determined to "get away from being Jamie Foxx".
The 41-year-old star even turned to method acting for the movie and continued to portray the schizophrenic musician after the cameras stopped rolling.
Jamie explained: "I didn't want to stay in character, believe me. But I didn't have a choice.
"I bumped into Steven Spielberg one day during filming and he asked me how I was doing. When I asked why, he said, 'That role you're playing, it can be a little touch and go.' "
Jamie admits playing the mentally unstable character triggered unhappy memories in his past. When the actor was 18, the drug PCP (phencyclidine) was slipped into his drink and he has suffered the consequences ever since.
He said: "I ended up going to the hospital. It's a horrid drug. This movie parallels what I went through 20 years ago. It was a bad mishap where someone played a practical joke on me. I thought my childhood fear was coming true, that I was going crazy.
"It makes you feel like all your worst nightmares are coming at you.
"You can't get it out of your system, I had 11 months of harsh flashbacks. When I was 26, I had a flashback. When I was 32, I had a flashback."
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