Q+A Jamie Foxx

The 36-year-old actor, who has been in Ali and Any Given Sunday,
hosts the ESPY Awards, which air on July 18.

SI: ESPN certainly can't afford your movie salary. So what are
they doing to make this worth your while?

Foxx: To me, as I get older, it's about cool-ass moments. So I
get a chance to kick it with LeBron, Carmelo and Randy Johnson.
It's a chance to rub elbows with those folks.

SI: What athletes will you be making fun of?

Foxx: Well, you'll have to tune in and see. But there may be a
decent Kobe joke in there. Maybe.

SI: How do you get away with making fun of Mike Tyson during your
stand-up act?

Foxx: Well, Mike Tyson is a friend, and he knows it doesn't come
from viciousness. He's always been cool because he watched me
grow up doing him. When I was 21 and 22, he used to see me in a
tiny club in L.A. and he would always say, "There he is. There's
that guy." And he would make me do him.

SI: Shaq has played in your backyard court, the Foxx Hole. What
were those games like?

Foxx: We set up rules where he couldn't come in past the
three-point line. He had to stay outside and was actually
shooting jumpers.

SI: Who is the best athlete you've competed against?

Foxx: Paul Pierce, Bryon Russell and I shot hoops in the back of
my house. Paul's a pretty decent pool player, and Bryon is a
great softball player and bowler. Don't trust Bryon Russell in
bowling. When I say he's ridiculous, he's like Earl Anthony.

SI: You play Tom Cruise's cabdriver in the upcoming film
Collateral. The guy is worth like $500 million. Did he at least
tip you?

Foxx: Oh, yeah, and the tips that he gave me were stories about
coming up in his career. When we did Any Given Sunday, I would
play chess with Al Pacino just so I could hear all the wonderful
stories that he had. He's pretty good, but I would let him win
the majority of the games, because if you beat him, then you
don't get a chance to stick around to hear all his stories.
--Richard Deitsch

For more from Jamie Foxx, go to si.com/siexclusive.

COLOR PHOTO: JEFFREY MAYER/WIREIMAGE.COM (FOXX)

COLOR PHOTO: WARNER BROS./ZUMA PRESS (FOXX/PACINO)