Jamie Foxx Joins Walters in Pre-Oscar Special

Feb. 17, 2005 -- -- Double Oscar nominee Jamie Foxx opens up about his troubled childhood in Barbara Walters' annual pre-Oscar special.

Two other performers who emerged this year as superstars -- comic Will Ferrell and Teri Hatcher of "Desperate Housewives" -- will also be featured on the "The Barbara Walters Special," airing Sunday, Feb. 27, the evening of the Academy Awards.

Foxx, 37, joined an elite group of actors last month when he earned Oscar nominations as best actor for "Ray" and best supporting actor for "Collateral." Only nine other performers -- including such stars as Al Pacino, Jessica Lange and Julianne Moore -- have been doubly nominated in a single year.

Foxx tells Walters about his difficult childhood, says he was abandoned by his parents and raised by his grandparents.

Ferrell, in his first in-depth interview, says he would do almost anything for a laugh. The 37-year-old "Elf" star talks about how he catapulted in two years from being just another cast member on "Saturday Night Live" to commanding $20 million per picture.

Hatcher, 40, shares what it has been like for her to have gone from Hollywood has-been to the latest "it" girl.

"The Barbara Walters Special" will air on ABC at 7 p.m. ET on the East Coast and immediately follows the Academy Awards on the West Coast.