But Winfrey's work doesn't done. Foxx realized that the gathering he was at was Sidney Poitier, the first Black person to win the Best Actor Oscar (for 1963's Lilies of the Field). Foxx remembers every detail of his encounter with the pioneering actor. "He says, 'I want to give you one thing. I want to give you responsibility. When I saw your performance [in Ray], it made me grow two inches.' So, I break down, everybody sits me down." He continued, "They made me understand the significance it it. Because they said, 'Sidney did it, and it was... groundbreaking, and it was a character that we could all embrace. Ray Charles is also a character that we can embrace."