Jamie Foxx keen to portray Mike Tyson in film biopic

Actor Jamie Foxx is eager to portray boxer Mike Tyson on the big screen.

The Django Unchained star has been perfecting his impersonation of the former heavyweight champion for several years, but he is hoping to one day play him in a film biopic because he is fascinated by his life story.

He says, "I got a chance to hang out with Mike, when Mike was at his height (peak of fame) and I watched Mike Tyson go from his height to where he is now. I talked to Mike about doing his story and I said, 'Mike, how do you feel?' and he said, 'I'm happy, God bless, I'm alive brother.' I said, 'Why you happy (sic)?' and he said, 'I don't have any money, so I'm very happy. No one is trying to take anything from me.' It broke my heart when I heard him say that and I said, 'What do you mean?' He says, 'When I had money everybody was all over me and all I wanted to do was box and fall in love.'

"So that story would be fantastic to do and I actually gained 225 pounds to do a role at one point and I had my make-up artist dress me up as Mike Tyson and I was in Toronto and people were literally coming up asking me for autographs (thinking I was Tyson), so hopefully..."

Foxx's wish may come true sooner than he thinks - Tyson is reportedly working with his wife, Lakiha Spicer, to bring his life story to the big screen and wants Kevin Spacey to portray his mentor and trainer, Cus D'Amato, and Helen Mirren to star as his adoptive mother, Camille Ewald.