How Did Samuel L Jackson and Jamie Foxx Help Leonardo DiCaprio With N-Word Problem on Django Unchained Set? Back in Action Star Reveals

Jamie Foxx spilled the beans on how he and Samuel Jackson helped Leonardo DiCaprio with slur words on the sets of the popular movie, Django Unchained. Details below.

Written by Rashi Desai , Entertainment Journalist

Published on Jan 24, 2025 | 09:48 PM IST | 71.8K

Leonardo DiCaprio via Getty Images

Jamie Foxx is opening up about how he and Samuel Jackson helped Leonardo DiCaprio with his dialogues containing slur words on the sets of the popular film, Django Unchained.

In conversation with Vanity Fair, the actor revealed that the Titanic star had difficulty cursing on camera and even after multiple takes, the actor could not spell out the N-word.

Recalling the dialogue between DiCaprio, Jackson, and himself, the Back in Action star shared that he provided tips to the Oscar-winning actor to carve his character in a way that is totally different from him in real life.

The actor-comedian revealed to the media portal, “The subject matter, the N-word specifically, Leo had a hard time saying the N-word.” He further added, “We’re doing a read and Leo says [the N-word] and then he goes, ‘Hey man, hey, guys cut. I just can’t do this. This is not me.’”

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Explaining about the tricks, Foxx asked the Wolf of Wall Street star to imagine him not as Jamie Foxx but as his character in the film, Django. He said, “I said, ‘Leo, in slavery days, we would never talk to each other.’”

The comedian continued to reveal, “‘So I’m not your friend. I’m not Jamie Foxx. I’m, you know, I’m Django.' I said, ‘You won’t be able to play that character unless you really understand what slavery was about. It was tough. It was horrific. Ain’t no kiki-ing with the slaves.’”

As for the movie, the 2012 release was declared a hit on the box office. Alongside DiCaprio, Samuel Jackson, and Foxx, the movie went on to star Kerry Washington, Christopher Waltz, and Walton Goggins in the Quentin Tarantino directorial.

The movie is available to stream on Prime Video.