Jamie Foxx Deserves an Award for His Madea Portrayal in SNL's Tyler Perry Parody
The actor and singer played a wild dual role in the faux movie trailer.
If they gave out Oscars for Saturday Night Live sketches, Jamie Foxx should be first in line to get one.
When the Back in Action star hosted SNL for his second time on December 8, 2012, he and Season 38 cast gave us banger after banger, from "Maine Justice" to "Swarvoski Crystals" to the iconic game show "Dylan McDermott or Dermot Mulroney?" Foxx gave his all to every one, but it was the pretaped "Tyler Perry Presents: Alex Cross" that showcased Foxx's acting chops in the wildest way possible.
Also known as "Tyler Perry's Alex Cross 2 Madea: Special Ops," Foxx played Tyler Perry in a dual role. That's right: Foxx's Perry played Alex Cross and Madea at the same time. The sketch aired a few months after the premiere of Alex Cross, a crime thriller starring the real Perry as the titular detective. But to many audiences, the multi-hyphenate Perry was better known for playing Mabel "Madea" Simmons, a character he based on his own family members. Foxx combined both into one epic crossover that sounds like it might actually work ... except for one problem.
If you're picturing Foxx playing Cross and separately playing Madea, you've got it wrong. He's actually one half Cross, one half Madea. Half dress, half suit. One sensible heel, one men's dress shoe. "The first buddy cop movie starring only one actor," the narrator says.
This bizarre, often cross-eyed combo character faces off against the bad guy (Taran Killam) in a series of action scenes that allow Foxx to really show off. By the end, you almost want the movie to be real.
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Jamie Foxx parodied Tyler Perry again 12 years after "Tyler Perry Presents: Alex Cross"
In 2024, Foxx — who first rose to prominence as a gifted sketch actor on In Living Color in the early '90s — once again participated in a Tyler Perry parody. Not Another Church Movie starred Kevin Daniels, Vivica A. Fox, Lamorne Morris, Tisha Campbell, and Mickey Rourke as the Devil.
Daniels played "Taylor Pherry," a man given a mission from God to make a movie about his family and defeat the Devil. Foxx, meanwhile, played God.
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Jamie Foxx was given the Ultimate Icon Honor at the 2025 BET Awards
During the BET Awards on June 9, 2025, Foxx tearfully accepted the Ultimate Icon Award after being introduced by Stevie Wonder. He spoke about having suffered a stroke in April 2023 and credited his 14-year-old daughter Anelise for keeping him alive. When she heard that his vitals were not looking good, she snuck into his hotel room to and played for him.
"As she played the guitar, my vitals dropped," he said. "And I realized that God was in that guitar."
Thankfully, Foxx is alive and well.
Watch "Tyler Perry's Alex Cross 2 Madea: Special Ops" from Season 38, Episode 9 on December 8, 2012 above and stream any episode anytime on Peacock.
