During his recovery, Jamie Foxx used humor to help himself bounce back after waking up from coma following a near-fatal stroke on the set of his new movie 'Back in Action'.
- January 18, 2025
AceShowbiz - Jamie Foxx talked about navigating the challenging aftermath of a serious medical emergency. In an interview on British TV show, he recalled embracing humor to cope with his health issue during hospitalization after waking up from coma.
The actor was filming "Back in Action" in April 2023 alongside Cameron Diaz when he suffered a brain bleed that led to a stroke and memory loss. He said to Graham Norton he thought he was "being pranked" when told 20 days had passed since he first passed out.
Foxx knew he had to get back to his usual self and found solace in comedy. “I knew I had to get back and realized the way to do it was by being funny," Foxx continued. "I told so many jokes people thought I was mad, and then I would act as someone else - for three whole days I was Denzel Washington."
After his stroke, Foxx was flown to a rehabilitation facility in Chicago where he spent weeks relearning how to walk. In August 2023, he shared an Instagram update revealing that he was finally starting to feel like himself again.
The actor waited until January 2024 to resume filming "Back in Action" with Diaz and revealed on "The Graham Norton Show" that he was happy for a stunt double to step in for the action scenes to "make me look good."
Diaz, who took a decade-long hiatus from acting, also credited Foxx with bringing her back to movies. "I had 10 years of not paying attention to anything - not accepting any advances - and then I got this script and thought that maybe it was time," she added. She enjoyed doing her stunts and had "so much fun" working on the action-comedy.
"Back in Action" is now streaming on Netflix. "The Graham Norton Show" airs on BBC One Friday, Jan. 17, at 4:40 p.m. ET/10:40 p.m. BST.
