Unveiling Mike Tyson’s Surprising Ambition: “Retiring” and Becoming the First Boxer to Star in a Shakespeare Play
Boxing champion Mike Tyson is a huge fan of William Shakespeare’s plays.
While Mike Tyson is widely known for his boxing career, the athlete-slash-actor has his own goals when it comes to his acting profession. He acknowledged that he is not as well-known as an actor and that he’s more of a boxer to many fans, but that won’t stop him from pursuing his dreams.
In fact, Tyson wants to familiarize himself with the works of William Shakespeare. He has been fascinated with the plays of the bard, and he wishes to star in one of the famous stage adaptations.
Mike Tyson Would Love To Star In A Shakespeare Play
While speaking at the Soul Train Awards via Mirror UK, boxing legend Mike Tyson shared his dream of performing in a Shakespeare play.
“I absolutely want to do Shakespeare. I was just talking to somebody, and he quoted, ‘First thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers’, and we laughed. And then he said that came from Shakespeare’s Henry VI, all the lawyers. Shakespeare said that. He had such powerful insights.”
Tyson revealed that he is not sure about the role he would want to portray, but he wants something as exciting as Othello. It is a tragedy play where the main character is driven by jealousy.
“I don’t know which exact role I would want, but I know it would be challenging to do Othello. I couldn’t do a performance on the stage as it would be mortifying, and the camera filming a show would be easier for me.”
Tyson believes that the role is “very complex and would need a lot of studying,” especially since he needs to work on his linguistics. The actor also thinks that playing a Shakespeare character would be really cool. “That black guy… could you imagine me in Othello,” he quipped.
Some of Tyson’s works include The Hangover and Law & Order, and he also voiced himself in the adult animated series Mike Tyson Mysteries.
Mike Tyson Shares His Career Plans For The Future
Mike Tyson aspires to expand his acting portfolio and try out various roles. Even though he does not consider himself a comedian, he has appeared in comedies like Scary Movie 5. He told HuffPost:
“I never look at myself as a comedy type of guy. I just do what the director tells me to do. But I would definitely like to play different types of roles. I like stage acting. That’s really who I am.”
He reiterated his love for stage plays and wishes to write his own, too, someday. His wife, Lakiha Spicer, writes for television and movies. “I haven’t reached the amount of success in acting as I did in boxing,” Tyson admitted.
This is the main reason why he is still dedicated to his boxing career. He claimed that he is waiting to reach a certain status as an actor so he can give back to the community and help international charities all across the globe.
