Famous actors have stepped into the roles of boxers and boxing legends over the years. Will Smith played the “Greatest” of all time, Muhammad Ali. Robert De Niro looked unbeatable as Jake LaMotta in Raging Bull. Hilary Swank punched her way to her second Oscar when she danced in the ring for Million Dollar Baby. And then there’s Jamie Foxx, Smith’s Ali co-star who’s currently in training to play Iron Mike Tyson. When we asked Foxx how his preparation for the Tyson biopic is going, he let us in on his progress, stating:
It’s a blessing. Obviously, the training is different. We’re doing weighted pull ups to sort of make the back look the right way, and make the arm look a certain way. But it is, to me, I guarantee you, it’s the most dedicated I’ve been to making sure that this story gets told, and gets told in the right way. And I joke with Mike. I said, ‘When I get dressed up as you, I’m going to walk into your house, and your kids are going to say daddy’s home.’
That is a bold claim. And yet, Jamie Foxx is such a masterful impersonator, we’re fully confident that he will be able to capture the essence of Iron Mike Tyson, who was a dominating force in the boxing ring. Just listen to our clip, where Foxx slips into his Tyson voice and demeanor, to get a tease of what the actor will look like in the role.
As you can hear, Jamie Foxx says that it is full steam ahead on his Mike Tyson biopic. At the moment, the movie doesn’t have a title. Or even a director. Foxx also has a number of films in pre-production on his IMDB page, including Signal Hill and Groove Tails. Also, the Tyson movie might not have an ending yet. As Foxx explained:
I just got off the phone with him yesterday. He’s still writing another chapter in his life. He’s getting ready to box. He’s 226 pounds. He looks fantastic. He’s calm, he’s happy. You haven’t seen this Mike in years.
But it sure sounds like Jamie Foxx is ready to step into those famous shoes and bring the legend, Mike Tyson, to life on the big screen. Could it produce Oscar gold, the way that Ray did in 2004? If the cards fall the right way, it’s a safe bet.
For now, Jamie Foxx was busy plugging Project Power, a wild new action thriller that will be dropping on Netflix on August 14. The movie centers on a revolutionary new drug that gives people super powers for 5 minutes. Foxx plays a man trying to retrieve his kidnapped daughter, and to get her back, he has to work his way up the drug’s supply chain. Look for it on the streaming service, because it’s a damn good time.
