Mike Tyson became infamous for being a lethal machine in his boxing career that spanned from 1985 to 2005. After retiring from the art of boxing, Tyson went on to drink his wealth away and also started meddling in drugs and clubs.
With small roles to his name, Mike Tyson was pitched by director Todd Phillips about his cameo in the 2009 comedy film, The Hangover. Ironically, Tyson was too drunk to remember having said yes to the film but that cameo revived his popularity among the people once again!
When A Drunken Cameo Revived Mike Tyson’s Career
Finding solace in booze and drugs, Mike Tyson was often seen hanging in and around clubs in Las Vegas. Luckily for the retired boxer, that’s where the shooting of The Hangover was about to take place.
Director Todd Phillips revealed that Zach Galifianakis and Jason Bartha went to a club in Caesers’ Palace and Mike Tyson was sitting right there. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the cast talked about how they got Tyson on board the project and how he was the first one to publicly reveal that he was struggling with drugs.
“At that time, Mike was sort of struggling. He’s the first to admit he was still struggling with drugs while we were filming that movie, although I didn’t know that at the time,” said Todd Phillips.
Mike Tyson continued,
“Somebody had told me something about a movie, but I wasn’t coherent as to what he was talking about. They made it sound like it was low-budget, not a serious movie.”
Although Tyson was pitched the cameo role beforehand, the former boxer did not even remember saying yes to the role.
Mike Tyson Does Not Remember Saying “Yes” For The Cameo!
As revealed earlier, Tyson had been meddling with drugs and alcohol and was in an incoherent state to answer or listen to what people were saying to him. The former boxer revealed to The Hollywood Reporter that he doesn’t even remember when he said yes to the cast of The Hangover and simply started drinking with them.
“They said, “We’re going to be shooting a movie with you in two weeks.” I didn’t even know. I said, “Really?!,” and I started drinking with them. I was a little wasted at the time. I still didn’t understand the movie until like a week and a half later, when I was on set with these guys.”
Luckily for Tyson, the movie was quite successful and he essentially revived his career through his iconic and comedic cameo in the 2009 film. The Hangover received a rating of 7.7/10 on IMDB and 79% on Rotten Tomatoes and is available to rent on Apple TV+ in the U.S.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
