Actor Jamie Foxx had his tooth chipped with a chisel in order to get into character for his role as a vagrant in new movie 'The Soloist'.

The Oscar winner plays the role of Nathaniel Ayers, a schizophrenic musical genius, who eventually finds himself homeless and having to sleep on the dangerous streets of Los Angeles.

The Mail quoted him as saying: "My teeth are just so big and white — a homeless person would never have them. I wanted to break up my big shining piano keys to give them a little character.

"I spent hours getting the nuances of the person, making him real. I pushed things a bit, put a gap in my teeth."

The 'Ray' star not only chipped his tooth but also took cello lessons from members of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, lost 20lb and stretched himself to get into the mental state of the character.

He revealed to an American magazine: "We’re all a little crazy in Hollywood but going to the edge was really scary.

"The character hears voices in his head, and I had to submerse myself into that state. There were some scary moments. Sometimes I didn’t know what was real. I’d go to sleep at night hearing voices."

Joe Wright, who is best known for his work on 'Atonement', directs the film. It also stars Robert Downey Jr as a journalist and is due to be released next year.