Foxx to portray Tyson as boxer tells his story in series from Scorsese
Jamie Foxx is putting his fighting gloves on. The Oscar winner has signed on to star as Mike Tyson in Martin Scorsese’s limited series “Tyson,” the team announced.
The authorized biographical series was initially presented as a movie, still with Foxx attached, before switching to the small screen. CNN reported that the project so far is not booked with a network or streaming service.
Tyson will serve as an executive producer on the series, which will “span the life of one of the most legendary boxing figures of all time.”
“I have been looking to tell my story for quite some time,” Tyson said in a statement. “I look forward to collaborating with Martin, (director Antoine Fuqua), Jamie and the entire creative team to bring audiences a series that not only captures my professional and personal journey but also inspires and entertains.” “Tyson” will counterprogram Hulu’s eight-episode miniseries, “Iron Mike,” from the creative team behind 2017’s “I, Tonya.”
Tyson urged fans to boycott Hulu’s series, calling it “a prime example of how Hulu’s corporate greed led to this tone-deaf cultural misappropriation of the Tyson life story.”
“Hulu to announce stealing a black athlete’s story during Black History month couldn’t be more inappropriate or tone deaf,” he wrote on Instagram in February.
Tyson, 54, became the youngest heavyweight champion in boxing history in 1986 at just 20 years old and is considered one of the best fighters ever.
But out of the ring, he made other headlines when ex-wife Robin Givens accused him of mental and physical abuse during their marriage. In 1992, he was convicted of raping 18-yearold Desiree Washington and sentenced to six years in prison; he was released in March 1995.