One of the more unusual and interesting requirements that comes with being a major Hollywood actor is the need to transform one's body. Sometimes that can mean gaining weight just to look bigger or losing weight, sometimes to a nearly dangerous degree. Frequently, it means building muscle so that an actor can look like a superhero or some other larger than life character. However, Jamie Foxx has begun just such a transformation, and he's turning himself into somebody very real, former boxing champion Mike Tyson.
Jamie Foxx took to Instagram to show the first stages of his workout for a long in development biopic of Mike Tyson that will be called Finding Mike. Jamie Foxx has been attached to the project since at least 2014, but after the casting announcement little movement seemed to be made, at least publicly. At one point Martin Scorsese was rumored to direct the project, but that's not the case now. However, if Foxx is now getting in shape, we can be sure the movie is actually happening.
The series of photos aren't exactly professional shots. Jamie Foxx is getting pictures of himself in a mirror, and at a distance. Still, we can see enough of him here that we can get an idea of where things are going. He says in the post that pull-ups and push ups have been his main focus so far, and that's noticeable as his arms are clearly getting big.
Jamie Foxx says there's a long way to go and that's certainly true. If the goal is to look like a professional boxer who was in his prime during the 1980s, then Foxx is basically going to look like a brick wall when this is all said and done. There's a reason he was called "Iron" Mike.
It's certainly no surprise that there's interest in a biopic of Mike Tyson. The man has had one of the more interesting, and infamous, lives in recent memory. He grew up poor to become a boxing champion and unified the WBC, WBA, and IBF boxing titles before he was 20 years old. After that, however, his life takes a turn and he spent three years in prison in the 1990s on a rape conviction. That sort of roller coaster life is exactly the sort of thing that lends itself to the biopic treatment.
It will be interesting to see just what parts of Mike Tyson's life become the focus of the film. With the 52-year-old Foxx, who is a year younger than Tyson is now, set to play the role, we can guess that the movie will deal mostly with the boxer's later life and the years when he hasn't necessarily been as much in the public eye.
With Jamie Foxx getting in Mike Tyson shape right now, we can assume that means the Finding Mike production has a shooting schedule in mind. There wouldn't be a need to get him working out if the movie didn't know when filming was going to begin. Perhaps Jamie Foxx will keep us updated throughout his progress as he's getting ready for Finding Mike.
