Jamie Foxx has pursued the Mike Tyson biopic for quite some time. Now his calls have finally been answered. The Hollywood star is arguably the most versatile and talented entertainer we have seen in our lifetimes. In 2005, Foxx won the Academy Award for Best Actor following his portrayal as Ray Charles in Ray. Now he is stepping in the ring to play Boxing legend, Iron Mike Tyson.
Foxx confirmed the up-coming role during an appearance on Mark Birnbaum’s, Catching up With Mark Birnbaum Instagram Live Series.
“Doing biographies is a tough thing,” said the actor. “Sometimes it takes 20 years to get them done, but we officially got the ball rolling.”
Playing one of the best heavyweight boxers of all time is a tall task. At his peak, Tyson weighed over 200 pounds of lean muscle. Jamie Foxx goes into detail on how he is preparing to transform throughout the movie from young to old.
“Every other day, I do 60 pull-ups, we do 60 dips, we do 100 push-ups…[but] I ain’t got no calf muscles, so we’re gonna have to get some prosthetics for that,” he adds.
“Just the technology of how I’m gonna look,” he continued. “I guarantee you people will run up on me in the street, and ask for autographs, and think that I’m Mike. I think when we lay the layers on Mike Tyson in this story, I think everybody from young and old will be able to understand this man’s journey.”
Watch the Hollywood veteran detail the opening scene of Finding Mike back in 2015.
