Born on a sharecropping plantation in Northern Florida, Ray Charles went blind at seven. Inspired by a fiercely independent mom who insisted he make his own way, He found his calling and his gift behind a piano keyboard. Touring across the Southern musical circuit, the soulful singer gained a reputation and then exploded with worldwide fame when he pioneered coupling gospel and country together.
Acting
Foxx's piano playing is actually him—no hand doubles, pure possession.
Direction
Hackford fought 15 years to make this; the passion bleeds through every frame.
Sound
Ray's original masters recreated live—Foxx sang and played every note.
Director
Taylor Hackford
Jamie Foxx
Ray Charles
Kerry Washington
Della Bea Robinson
Regina King
Margie Hendricks
Harry Lennix
Joe Adams
Clifton Powell
Jeff Brown
Bokeem Woodbine
Fathead Newman
Curtis Armstrong
Ahmet Ertegun
Richard Schiff
Jerry Wexler
Larenz Tate
Quincy Jones
Terrence Howard
Gossie McGee
David Krumholtz
Milt Shaw
Wendell Pierce
Wilbur Brassfield
Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor
Mary Ann Fisher
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Foxx wore prosthetic eyelids glued shut for 12-14 hour days, causing multiple panic attacks and temporary blindness symptoms. Method acting that actually mimicked the disability.
Ray's fusion of gospel and country was initially condemned as 'devil's music' by Black churches—this film quietly argues he invented American pop by refusing racial musical segregation.
US
