Were you like me and thought to yourself while watching the Netflix documentary Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness, “Man, this Joe Exotic dude kind of reminds me of Joe Dirt”?
If so, you and I weren’t alone because even Joe Exotic hisdamnself says he wants either David Spade or Brad Pitt (!) to play him in any theatrical adaptation of the story, according to Rebecca Chaiklin, co-director of Tiger King.
Only Joe Exotic doesn’t refer to Spade as David Spade, he refers to him as “Joe Dirt,” Chaiklin told The Hollywood Reporter, because of course he does.
Kate McKinnon is already set to play Joe’s archnemesis Carole Baskin.
As for whether Spade has watched the documentary and would have any interest in portraying Joe Exotic in a movie or TV show, we know he’s seen the show because he’s already interviewed Jeff Lowe and John Finlay on his Comedy Central show, Lights Out With David Spade.
In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Spade addressed the possibility of playing Joe Exotic.
“You know, I didn’t think that right away,” Spade told ET. “I just thought, ‘Oh, it’s so crazy,’ and then I started thinking, because in the movie everyone knows … that Joe Dirt, I get a job on an alligator farm in Florida and then I get caught in the alligator, he flips me around. That was even scary to do the scene with the fake alligator. I would never do it with a real one. And the whole movie, I started thinking, this is like that whole world that we were into in that movie and it’s very similar and the reason these people are doing interviews is because of Joe Dirt.”
Spade says, “I don’t know if I could,” when asked if he would take on the role, but did make some casting suggestions including having Woody Harrelson play Joe Exotic, Matthew McConaughey as the zoo’s manager John Reinke, Channing Tatum as John Finlay, and Friends stars Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox and Lisa Kudrow playing Doc Antle’s numerous wives.
He also points out the irony of Joe Exotic being in his current situation (locked up in prison), “The saddest part about Joe Exotic is he’s the only one I can’t talk to in jail and he loves fame the most and he’s the most famous he’s ever been!”