Jamie Foxx has been doing Mike Tyson impressions for decades now, but he will finally get to perform his impeccable impersonation of the legendary boxer in a movie. The 49-year-old Hollywood actor will portray the now 51-year-old boxer in an upcoming biopic that could possibly be directed by the great Martin Scorsese.
According to the site The Jasmine Brand, Tyson is thrilled to have Foxx portray him in the biopic.
It’s on, as of right now. Jamie Foxx has signed on for it. Filming hasn’t started yet but it’s going to happen. A lot of people aren’t going to like the things I’ve done in my life. Mike knows it is Jamie’s dream to play him and they have talked about gym work and how he could put him through his paces. The only thing is if they go sparring and Mike connects, Jamie may never make any movie again.
Foxx previously won an Academy Award for his portrayal of music star Ray Charles in the movie “Ray” and played Drew Bundini Brown in the Muhammad Ali biopic “Ali.” No word on if Foxx will hit the ring with Tyson and risk his life sparring with the controversial boxer.
A source told Boxing Scene:
“Jamie 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.'”
The biopic will have plenty of material to cover besides his legendary yet controversial boxing career. There is the failed marriage to actress Robin Givens and his 1992 rape conviction, which landed the iconic boxer in prison. Tyson said that the movie will be “uncomfortable” for some people to watch.
Martin Scorsese is reportedly directing the boxing biopic and is “keen” to get started. This would be his first boxing-related film since he directed the classic “Raging Bull.” This project has been talked about since at least 2015, and while it seems to be confirmed, there is no timetable on a release date or even production of the film.
Jamie revealed the opening scene of the Mike Tyson biopic on radio station Hot 97 in New York back in 2015.
Here’s Jamie telling Ellen DeGeneres the story about making Mike Tyson jokes while Iron Mike was in the building.
[Uproxx]