Jamie Foxx to Star in Mike Tyson Biopic

Posted by on July 31st, 2014   Filed under: Biopic, Drama
Source: Variety

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Mike Tyson seems to be everywhere lately. Thanks in part to his appearances in The Hangover movies, he has bounced back from his checkered past and returned to the public eye, hosting a reality show for Animal Planet and releasing a memoir entitled Undisputed Truth, which he then spun into a one-man show that started in Vegas and eventually toured the U.S. Yesterday we also posted the trailer for the upcoming Adult Swim animated series Mike Tyson Mysteries, featuring Mike Tyson as the voice of himself. Now today we bring news that a Mike Tyson biopic is in development and it seems to have a pretty big star attached to it. Could this be the ultimate redemption for Iron Mike?

According to Variety, Jamie Foxx is currently attached to play Mike Tyson in an upcoming biopic being set up by Foxx’s manager Rick Yorn. Terence Winter (The Sopranos, The Wolf of Wall Street) is in the process of penning the script and there is also talk the Martin Scorsese may be involved, perhaps as an executive producer. The plan is for Foxx to use performance capture technology to portray Tyson at various stages of his life similar to The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

This isn’t the first time a Mike Tyson biopic has been attempted. Back in 1995, Michael Jai White starred in an HBO made-for-TV account of his life, and more recently, Spike Lee tried to set up an HBO series based loosely on Tyson’s youth called Da Brick (they ultimately passed on it). Either way, it’s clear that there is a great story here, but whether or not it will result in a great movie depends on who they get to direct. Are you interested in a Mike Tyson biopic starring Jamie Foxx?



  • Arnold Schizopolis

    Foxx and Tyson have been trying to get this made I think for almost 10 yrs now. I hope the filmmakers cast John Boyega as the young Tyson. He played the young juvenile Tyson in Da Brick.

  • Sean

    Foxx will supposedly be playing the young Tyson through the magic of performance capture and CG.

  • Arnold Schizopolis

    That sounds soo awful, doesn’t it? I can’t imagine that working in a straight drama. They barely get away with it in Benjamin Button and the first Captain America.

  • PlanBFromOuterSpace

    I remember Boyega’s name being mentioned way back when, but that was also before Star Wars came along, which of course is going to be a huge commitment for him.