After much anticipation, Oscar winning actor, Jamie Foxx, finally confirmed that he will be portraying the iconic boxer, Mike Tyson, in a new biopic and that the project is officially in the works.
The idea for the film, as well as Foxx’s casting had been announced back in 2014, however due to unknown circumstances the film production had to be postponed. It seems though that the project is back on track and set to be released fairly soon.
Foxx confirmed that the movie was in the works while on Mark Birnbaum’s Instagram Live series, Catching Up on Wednesday, in which he said, “It’s a definitive yes.”
Regarding the gap in production, he explained, “Look, doing biographies is a tough thing. Sometimes it takes 20 years to get them done. But we officially got the real ball rolling.”
While the heavyweight boxer, Mike Tyson, has been successful in his field, he hasn’t been without his own controversies, and it seems that the film won’t be sugarcoating his life’s story.
After becoming a world champion at the top of his career, Tyson was jailed after being convicted of rape in 1992, filed for bankruptcy in 2003 and pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine and driving under the influence in 2007.
Foxx explained, “I saw him at the height of his career, and then when things got bad and bumpy I also saw him as well. So what I’m excited about the movie is to show those moments,” he added.
“I think everyone, young and old, will be able to understand this man’s journey.”
Foxx continued “We want to show everybody evolves,” Foxx said. “I think when we lay the layer of Mike Tyson in this story, I think everybody from young and old will be able to understand this man’s journey.”
Foxx himself has undergone a transformation in preparation for his role both physically revealing a grueling exercise regime consisting of 60 pull-ups, 60 dips, and 100 push-ups every other day. His weight at filming, he said, would start at 216 pounds and increase to to 230 pounds. Foxx also shared an image of himself in the process of bulking up for the role on Instagram.
Foxx will also be enhanced through digital methods, he said, explaining, “the technology of how I’m going to look, I guarantee you people will run up on me in the street and ask for autographs, and think that I’m Mike.”
Photo Source: Showbiz Cheat Sheet
