Jamie Foxx’s road to recovery has been one we’ve followed closely, as details of his past illness remained private. Now fully recovered, he’s ready to share his story. His Netflix special, What Had Happened Was, gave fans the testimony they’d been waiting for, offering an inside look at his health scare, recovery and the lessons he’s learned. With the emotions processed and the comeback complete, Jamie is back to work.

This time, he’s teaming up with Kevin Hart for Number One on the Call Sheet, a two-part documentary celebrating Black actors who have led major films while exploring the challenges and triumphs of being the top-billed star. The project highlights the significance of these roles in Hollywood and the impact they have on future generations. At the premiere, REVOLT caught up with Jamie to discuss his journey, his thoughts on leading in Hollywood and what’s next.

You have mastered comedy singing and acting. How has your multifaceted talent helped you succeed and become the number one man on the call sheet?

I put it to you this way. It's like, when I first started, that I wasn't able to do everything, and then once it opened up, it felt good. And Ray Charles, the movie, kind of allowed us to sort of open up. We went from Ray Charles to “Gold Digger” to “Slow Jamz” to all these different things. And so, it helps in this time, because, you know, as you get older, you know, these are the days where I play the father in the Disney film with the big sweater and a cup of coffee, "Children, let's go. We're gonna go to Sea World." So, I'm thankful. I'm blessed. Netflix has always been great to us. Apple has been incredible to us. So, you draw up on those things. Now, I draw up on my talents more. My hunches ain't always good, but my execution is good.

Your last stand-up special was very emotional, how did you decide what to keep personal and what to really share in that moment? Because it was really deep. I cried.

Well, here's the thing on my special. First of all, thankful to everybody that watched it and understood it. We wanted to be able to tell them that this is not a stand-up comedy special, but we didn't have a way to promote it that way, so we had to go up under the umbrella of a stand-up comedy special. But it was really a testimony. I'm gonna give you some history. I didn't get a chance to take the show out and practice it. Usually, when a person does a special, we go out for a year, we do 50 cities, and then we shoot it. No, we just showed up and Atlanta gave us grace to let us talk and explain. I said, “Because I didn't want to almost leave this planet and then come back and go, ‘Knock, knock. Who's there?’” I can't do that. And there was a little pushback on how many times I said, “God.”

What do you think the discrepancy was with your usage of it?

I said, “Hey, man, you ain't seen what I seen.” I'm gonna say what I feel. He got me. He got me through it. And so, I wasn't shy about it. I wanted to say it and get it out, and I wanted to let people feel it.

There were critics who wanted something funny and not emotionally heavy. Is there anything you have to say to the people with this perspective?

Yeah, some people were like, “Where the jokes at?” I said, “It's not that.” Go back and look at it again, because it was a thank you to everybody that prayed, man, because when it's really like that, you’re, like, ain't no jokes getting me out of this. Yeah, I'm sitting in it. I didn't say this though.

I went back to meet the nurses that kept me alive with Piedmont, 67 nurses, but one particular nurse, Black girl. She said, “Jamie, I'm from the streets. I listen to Future.” I'm like, “All right, what that mean?” “I'm just giving you a frame of reference to what I am,” she said. “But Jamie, I call you a 3 percent.” I said, “What do you mean?” “People that have your injury have less than a 3 percent chance that they leave this hospital. Usually, we put them in a box,” she said, “But when I saw it was you, I rolled my sleeves up.” And I said, “Well, man, thank you, sister.” “Why are you thanking me? You ain't special. I rolled my sleeves up for everybody [who] come in here.”

And I said, “Wow.” She said, “You got angels with you, Jay. So, promise me, when you go on that stage, talk about them angels. Talk about the miracle. We all know you funny,” she said. “But be sincere.” And I was like, “You know what? You're right!” And so that's what that was. That was me being sincere.

And for the people that got it, and it ended up being the No. 1 special on Netflix, it may end up being the No. 1 special of all time. But here's the thing, when people come up to me and burst into tears, and we have our moment. And when they watch my daughter... you know, it's just a different feeling now!

So, what’s next for Jamie Foxx?

Now that I got that out the way, I'm about to be out on the road, back on my funny ish, I'm coming. I got out all the jokes that I left out. Don't cancel me, but I got some s**t. And the thing is, and I got a portion of the crowd that’s gonna have buttons on, they on their seat to say, “funny,” “funny AF,” “not funny,” “funny as a b**ch” or “he going to hell for that one.”

Also, if you missed it, check out the official trailer for Number One on the Call Sheet, out on March 28 via Apple TV+, below.