Mike Tyson, famous for gnawing off Evander Holyfield's ear, now wants a piece of Bollywood
Mike Tyson wants to try something new - acting in Bollywood movies. Tyson said the energy on the sets of a music video he recently shot for a new comedy got him thinking about trying to do more Bollywood work, The Times of India reported on Monday.
The former heavyweight boxing champion said in an interview that Firoz Nadiadwala, producer of Fool n Final, had approached him with a script.
“Firoz has discussed a movie with me,'' the newspaper quoted Tyson as saying. “We seriously intend to work toward it,'' he said, without disclosing any details.
Tyson, 40, danced to Bollywood music at a two-day shoot in Las Vegas last month for a music video to promote Fool n Final, about a diamond heist.
“The atmosphere was very congenial, happy and energetic,'' the newspaper quoted Tyson as saying.
Tyson plays himself in the music video, set for release later this month.
He said Nadiadwala explained the concept of the music video to him earlier this year. “I was, anyway, in that phase when I didn't mind trying out something different,'' he said. “The script seemed very interesting, with lots of excitement thrown in.''
Making a connection Tyson said there are similarities between acting and boxing.
“In both the fields, in order to survive and triumph, you need focus and to be highly disciplined and determined,'' he said.
A judge in Phoenix gave Tyson permission to travel to Las Vegas to shoot the music video. Tyson is facing charges of drug possession and driving under the influence of drugs.
Tyson had been expected to travel to India to film the dance sequence, but the scene was shot in Las Vegas due to security reasons.
Did you know?
- Mike Tyson was the youngest heavyweight champion at 20 years and 4 months.
- He was good friends with rapper Tupac Shakur, and often came out for a fight with Tupac rap as his ringwalk music. Tupac Shakur attended one of Tyson's fights on the night he was killed.
- Mike Tyson loves collecting pigeons.
- Tyson has been legally married twice and has had children with several different women.
- His first marriage was to actress Robin Givens - a tumultuous one with allegations of violence, spousal abuse and mental instability. Matters came to a head when Tyson and Givens gave a joint interview with Barbara Walters on the ABC TV newsmagazine show 20/20 in September 1988, in which Givens described life with Tyson as, "torture, pure hell, worse than anything I could possibly imagine."
- His second marriage was to Monica Turner.
Mike at the movies
- This is not the first time that Mike Tyson has toyed with the idea of acting. He has admitted that he was interested in breaking into the porn industry after allegedly being approached by representatives of porn superstar Jenna Jameson to appear in a movie with her. He seriously considered the offer because he was desperate for cash after blowing millions, however he snubbed the offer back in September 2005.
- Mike Tyson has a small role in Scary Movie 4 as a female boxer. After winning, he proceeds to - you guessed it - bite off the ears of staff and ring-side spectators.