Some Fans Want Mike Tyson to Play Himself Instead of Jamie Foxx
Mike Tyson’s life has all the makings of a great movie. He had a very rocky personal life before he got into boxing, and when he did, he quickly became an icon. However, after a very public fall from grace, he’s made a comeback, and now, Jamie Foxx will make a biopic about him. That said, some of Tyson’s fans want him to play himself instead.
Fans weigh in on their physical differences
As Yahoo reported, Foxx announced that he’s making and starring in a Tyson biopic, and he’s begun training himself to look as bulky as Tyson did.
Foxx said that he’s doing 60 pull-ups, 60 dips, and 100 pushups every other day in order to get into shape for the role. This is much less than what Tyson was doing in his prime, but obviously, Foxx won’t be boxing for real.
On the other hand, Tyson’s comeback may also include a real fight in the ring. As a result, the former champ has been brushing up on his boxing skills, and he’s still looking fast and powerful for his age. And, in terms of age, Tyson’s actually not that much older than Foxx is.
In fact, Tyson, at 53, is only a year older than Foxx, though obviously, Foxx looks younger, probably due to Hollywood magic.
As a result of these similarities and differences, some fans, especially in the comments section of that Yahoo article, said that they’d want to see Tyson play himself instead of Foxx. Here’s why that isn’t as crazy as it sounds.
Why fans want Mike Tyson to play himself and why it could work
The age similarity between the two men is one of the big reasons why fans think that Tyson could play himself. As one fan said, “He’s only a year younger than the real Tyson. Why can’t Tyson play himself?”
Other fans had similar ideas. Another reason why fans think that Tyson could play himself is that he’s actually played himself before, too.
Tyson’s starred in several movies, and in many of those roles, he played fictional versions of himself. That was exactly what he did in The Hangover, which was probably his breakout role in Hollywood. Obviously, it’s easier for someone who’s not a trained actor to play themselves than to play someone else, so Tyson could probably play himself really well.
Not to mention, there have been successful movies where athletes played themselves. The biggest example is the Space Jam movie, which starred a lot of NBA legends like Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, and Larry Bird. If those athletes could play themselves well, then there’s no reason why Tyson can’t do a decent job at playing himself in his own biopic.
Jamie Foxx will probably do a good job anyway
The main reason why Foxx will be playing Tyson is probably that he’s just a great actor who’s miles ahead of Tyson in the acting game. Foxx has won an Oscar as well as a Grammy, just to show how talented he is when it comes to the arts. Obviously, Tyson is a better boxer, but boxing can be faked for a movie, while it’s harder to fake good acting.
Plus, as Foxx said on his Instagram post about his preparation for the movie, he’s been trying to make this movie happen for a while. This shows that he’s quite passionate about it, and that means that he’ll probably put a lot more extra effort into it.
But of course, with the pandemic going on, the movie, which is called Finding Mike, probably won’t be released for a while. In any case, many Tyson fans are still excited to finally see it happen.
