Mike Tyson has fought both in and outside the boxing ring to moderate a reputation renowned for world dominion, yet smeared by personal plight, and it has taken decades to come out clean on top.
For two years now, the Scary Movie 5 star has maintained a sober, scandal-free existence that appears to be stable, unlike in times past.
It’s a minor accomplishment to some, but for a man who has repeatedly abused women, succumbed to bankruptcy, and bitten a chunk out of his fighting opponent’s ear, it’s a milestone.
Can Chris Brown ever be redeemed?
Presumably then, the 46-year-old can sympathize with the challenge that Chris Brown currently faces in cleaning up his own damaged public persona, and offers advice on the matter.
“Chris Brown’s a wonderful kid,” Tyson tells theGrio. “He’s what, like [23] years old? And he’s just getting into arguments with people? That is a recovery [mechanism]…He needs anger management or whatever, it may not even be that extreme. But when you’re talking about a young guy and the world’s magnifying on him, that’s difficult for anybody to handle.”
Tyson adds, “He just has to grow up a little, and realize that we’re not in control of nothing but ourselves. We don’t have control over nobody, the world, nothing. The only thing we can do is empower ourselves.”
Knocked out by the women in his life
Like Brown, Tyson’s downfalls have played out vividly in the press, and he has struggled with a volatile and abusive relationship towards women.
The heavyweight champion, known as “Iron Mike,” has been married three times with eight children along the way. His highly-publicized first marriage and divorce to actress Robin Givens was plagued by allegations of domestic violence and spousal abuse. Years later, he was convicted of raping a woman in an Indianapolis hotel room, and went to prison for three years. And last April, he admitted to impregnating a jail official.
Subsequently, Tyson was diagnosed with bipolar disorder; lost his youngest daughter, Exodus, at the age of 4 after she was caught in a treadmill cord and suffocated; and found himself broke, living paycheck to paycheck, when his excessive lifestyle got the best of him. This was all recently, of course. Tyson is said to have been arrested 38 times by the age of 13.
Who the ‘new’ Mike Tyson?
Lately though, the headlines have changed. The boxer converted to Islam, adapted sobriety and veganism, and “defanged” Iron Mike along with the evils of his past. Now, the media asks, who is this ‘new Mike Tyson’ anyway?
“I don’t know about reformed, but I live a different lifestyle,” he explains. “I lost my little daughter at 4-years-old. It’s been a whole different scenario, a different barometer. I wanted to change my life completely to heal from that pain…I was so extreme in the other direction, so I had to go extreme in this direction.”
In return, karma appears to be looking out for the sports legend. In fact, Tyson is so twinkle-toed he’s spent the past year starring in his own Broadway play, and admits it feels uniquely uncomfortable that young people now consider him a good guy.
“I see a lot of overwhelming love that I’m not ready to handle yet,” he remarks. “It’s tough to deal with that. Really, I’m being serious. Coming from where I came from before – when I came from that dark world – this is really overwhelming when you think of it from that perspective. I’m learning slowly to deal with it, and it’s scary because I’m used to isolating myself for all those years. [Now] people are approaching me, an introvert. There would have been altercations before like what happened at the airport three years ago [Tyson beat up a paparazzi]. I learn to handle things differently. I go from a pacifist perspective.”
The star of stage and screen
Along with this newfound amicability, Tyson’s career in entertainment has similarly taken off. After years of making various cameo appearances in films and television, most notably The Hangover and The Hangover Part II, in 2012 the star embarked on a one-man show called The Untitled Truth. It’s a rare tell-all about his nightmares and daydreams – a biographical path through his life – written by his wife, Kiki, and directed by Spike Lee. The play received rave reviews in New York and Las Vegas, and is currently on a three-month tour to 36 cities across the U.S.
Not surprisingly, Tyson still believes it is boxing that informs his every move.
“I always had an interest in entertaining people, but my first outlet was from being a boxer,” he points out. “It’s pretty much the same stuff. It has a lot to do with your confidence, and being comfortable…repetition with the lines. Just going along with lines and your character – your personality mood swings. You have to be real sharp and real slow. Everything has to be tenth of a second thinking, but done in two to three minutes.”
The Tyson acting technique
In Scary Movie 5, Tyson takes on a character he knows best: himself. It’s a “minute” role as he describes it, but another chance to add to his credits and study the camera. He says he was brought onto the project by co-star Charlie Sheen, and enjoys mocking himself as much as he does watching others parody him. Mostly though, he likes “having fun, being goofy,” and seems appreciative of the opportunity acting has offered him in rebuilding his reputation.
“It’s been extremely helpful because you can tell from my whole clientele of people that come to my shows, and the people that are my fans, they’re people who aren’t even old enough to have seen me fight,” Tyson notes. “When you think about it, that’s really creepy. It’s really new to me. I heard a young boy say, he must have been 12 or something, he said, ‘There go [sic] Mike Tyson, the actor, Dad. Mike Tyson, the actor, just walked by.’ I was like ‘Wait a second, young man, I’m the heavyweight champion of the world.’ But he would never know anything about that.”
A boxer, actor, comedian, and fighter. With such a dramatic life, who then would Tyson like to see portray him on screen?
“Jamie Foxx.”
Follow Courtney Garcia on Twitter at @CourtGarcia