Jamie Foxx Set to Star as Mike Tyson in Upcoming Biopic

Jamie Foxx Photo: Everett Collection/Shutterstock

Jamie Foxx will likely weigh in as Mike Tyson in an upcoming biopic about the legendary, notorious boxer, Variety reports. The as-yet-untitled film is being written by Terence Winter, who penned The Wolf of Wall Street and regularly contributed screenplays to The Sopranos and Boardwalk Empire.
While Foxx’s role has yet to be officially confirmed, sources told the industry rag the actor is currently attached to play Tyson, and his manager, Rick Yorn, is producing the project. With other elements still coming together as well ”” the film hasn’t found a studio just yet ”” though that likely won’t be a problem once the final package is presented.
Back in January, Tyson and his wife Lakiha Spicer said they were producing a movie about the boxer’s early life, though it appears that film is a separate project. At the time, the couple said they would love to get Kevin Spacey to play Tyson’s trainer, mentor and surrogate father, Cus D’Amato, and added that they were hoping to find an unknown actor to play Tyson.

Foxx, of course, is an established star with plenty of experience in the realm of biopics. He appeared alongside Will Smith in Ali as Muhammad Ali’s assistant trainer and cornerman, Drew Bundini Brown, and in 2004 won the Oscar for Best Actor for his portrayal of the iconic pianist Ray Charles in Ray. Foxx appeared as Electro in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 earlier this year, and will close out 2014 with roles in the comedy Horrible Bosses 2 and the upcoming reboot of Annie. 

Tyson’s story, of course, is ripe for the screen: At one time the most indomitable fighter in the world, Tyson’s career began to spiral out of control after he lost the heavyweight title to Buster Douglas in 1990. He went on to spend six years in prison after being found guilty of rape, and following his return to boxing infamously bit part of Evander Holyfield’s ear off during a bout.

Tyson retired from boxing in 2005 and has been making a comeback in recent years outside the ring. In 2012, he took his hit one-man Broadway show, The Undisputed Truth on the road, and published a tell-all memoir under the same name the following year. He’s also set to appear in the sure-to-be ridiculous upcoming animated Adult Swim show Mike Tyson Mysteries, a Scooby-Doo spoof that finds the boxer solving crimes with his adopted Korean daughter, the Marquess of Queensberry’s ghost and a carrier pigeon.