Jamie Foxx Reveals How He Convinced Todd McFarlane to Cast Him in ‘Spawn’

Performers secure roles in comic book adaptations in a variety of ways, with Jamie Foxx having confirmed that earning the title role in the upcoming Spawn reboot was a process years in the making. The actor claims that he had an encounter with Spawn creator Todd McFarlane in hopes of convincing him to consider the actor for the role, an experience which seemingly stuck with McFarlane for the better part of a decade.

“Six years ago, I flew to Phoenix to find this man and throw my hat in the ring,” Foxx confirmed with The Hollywood Reporter. “I had done all my research on Spawn. I know everything about the character and what he had done. He was taken aback. I said, ‘Whatever you decide to do, I wanna be first up.’”

More than merely professing his passion for the project, Foxx attempted to capture what made the character so unique during his exchange with McFarlane.

“And what I tried to do is stay artistically in shape,” the actor noted. “Of course, there’s the aesthetic sense of what Spawn is, but in the cerebral sense, in [Todd McFarlane’s] script, Twitch [to be played by Jeremy Renner] is going through something. He prays to God, nothing happens. Should he pray to the devil? Spawn interjects himself into Twitch’s life and Twitch says, ‘Who are you?’ I said that I want to stay artistically in shape so I can deliver the line or the feeling. ‘I’m both. I’m good and I’m evil. I was blessed by God but I was raised by the devil.’ When I explained that to him, those years back, luckily it stayed with him.”

Years later, when the time came to recruit an actor to portray the character, Foxx’s enthusiasm was evident, claiming that he’d be willing to devote himself to the movie in ways other actors couldn’t match.

Foxx noted, “Even when he was still met with the task of finding who it was, I said, ‘I challenge anyone out there not to make it competitive. I challenge anyone who was more ready. More ready to give everything. Because you can’t challenge someone as far as who’s the better actor. Because there’s always better actors, better actresses.’ It’s what you bring. Things worked out.”

Fans patiently await more news about the new adaptation, with production reportedly starting before the end of the year for a potential 2019 release.

Do you think Foxx is the right actor for the role? Let us know in the comments below!

[H/T The Hollywood Reporter]