Jamie Foxx to play Tyson in biopic
What you need to know:
- An insider told The Sun newspaper that Foxx went to a couple of sessions with his trainer in the gym for this movie.
- He looked quite good throwing a few jabs and crosses against the pads.
Award-winning actor Eric Marlon Bishop, internationally known as Jamie Foxx is set to play former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson in a biopic of the legendary boxer. Foxx is no stranger to playing real-life figures – his portrayal of Ray Charles in 2004’s Ray bagged him a Best Actor Oscar award.
The former world heavyweight champion appeared to confirm once again that Foxx would play him in the upcoming movie, which has been in the pipeline for a while.
According to a Slashfilm post in 2008, Tyson appears to have been developing this idea for some time. “I have a movie on the verge of happening, probably in two years from now,” Tyson said. “Me and Jamie Foxx are going to do a collaboration. He’s going to play me in my life story. We’ve talked about it many times.”
Tyson spoke on it again in 2009 saying. “It’s gonna’ be about me. It’s gonna’ be Jamie Foxx portraying me in a life story… I don’t know who might direct. Jamie discussed the things he wanted to do. He didn’t know which way he wanted to go, but it was something he wanted to do. He told me not to tell anybody too much. He’s just interested in doing it.”
An insider told The Sun newspaper that Foxx went to a couple of sessions with his trainer in the gym for this movie. He looked quite good throwing a few jabs and crosses against the pads. But when he tried a bit of sparring, he didn’t fare so well. He took a couple of hooks and walked out. He knows if he wants to play Iron Mike then he needs to improve that side of his game.”
Foxx himself revived rumours of the movie earlier this year after a few years of silence, telling ScreenRant that it is “a go”. He also confirmed that Martin Scorsese was still involved, adding: “Yeah, he’s attached, and it’s... Mike Tyson’s life is one of the most amazing American stories.”
The project was originally announced back in 2014 and is said to chronicle Tyson’s life at different stages of his career. The boxer said at the time that Foxx had asked him for boxing lessons and that Scorsese was attached. Tysons career was blighted by numerous controversies.
