Academy award winning actor and award winning singer Jamie Foxx has denied recent reports that he will be playing the role of reggae icon Bob Marley in a film based on the late superstar's life.

In an interview with this writer on the red carpet at the recently held BET Awards held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California, Foxx said that contrary to what had been reported in the press, he will not be playing Marley in any film.

"No, I will not be playing Bob Marley. What happened is I ran into one of his sons at a club the other day and that was about it," Foxx explained.

The 37 year-old superstar, who won the Best Actor Oscar award for his brilliant portrayal of the late Ray Charles in the biopic, Ray, recently released the album, Unpredictable on J Records. The album which accumulated multiple weeks at the top of the Billboard album charts, has sold over 3 million copies to date.

Foxx recently wrapped up shooting the big screen adaptation to the groundbreaking 1980s television series, Miami Vice. "It was a hard shoot but a great shoot. Actually, Miami is my favourite place to vacation, too. But the movie comes out on July 28," said Foxx.

Foxx is also starring in the big screen adaptation of the Broadway musical Dream Girls, which is set to open later this year. "Dream Girls is our stuff. Eddie Murphy is on his way to getting some kind of award, Jennifer Hudson and Beyonce were great. It's a great film. And, to have that caliber of actors involved in this film, I think we have something great here", Foxx said confidently.

Foxx, who was also nominated for a Best Supporting Oscar for his role in Collateral, has starred in the television series, the Jamie Foxx Show, and In Living Colour.

His collaboration with rapper Kanye West, Gold Digger, won two awards at the 2006 BET Awards. The song came out on top in the Best Collaboration category, while it tied with Mary J Blige's Be Without You for Video of the Year. Foxx was also nominated in the Best Actor and Best Male R&B artiste categories.

Asked about his onstage kiss with American Idol winner Fantasia at the BET Awards, Foxx typically remarked "Fantasia has the juiciest lips. The kiss was fun and dramatic and I hope to do it again."

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