Foxx thanks gran after best actor win

Jamie Foxx scooped the best actor Oscar for his portrayal of the late blind musician Ray Charles, in the music biopic Ray.

The 37-year-old Texan star began singing on the stage and said: “That’s for Ray Charles. Give it up to Ray Charles and his beautiful legacy. Thank you Ray Charles for living.”

“Taylor Hackford (the director) – you took a chance. That love for Ray Charles is deep down in the earth, somewhere you opened it up and everyone is drowning in this love. Thank you for waiting 15 years to get me to do it.”

He also thanked his “grandmother, my first acting teacher”.

“She would say stand up straight, act, put your shoulders back, act like you’ve got sense. When I acted like the fool she would beat me. She wanted me to be a proper gentlemen.

Visibly moved, he said: “She still talks to me now but now in my dreams, and I can’t wait to go to sleep tonight because we’ve got a lot to talk about.”

His win beat Clint Eastwood (Million Dollar Baby), Leonardo DiCaprio (The Aviator), Johnny Depp (Finding Neverland) and Don Cheadle (Hotel Rwanda), but Foxx had been the favourite all along.

Charlize Theron wore an eggshell blue dress to announce the winner of the prestigious actor in a leading role Oscar.

Julia Roberts, who recently gave birth to twins, presented the award for best director to Clint Eastwood, leaving Mike Leigh’s hopes of Oscar glory dashed again.