After dramatizing the lifetime of determine skater Tonya Harding to vital acclaim, I, Tonya author Steven Rogers and director Craig Gillespie have set their sights on one other controversial sports activities star: former boxer Mike Tyson. The duo are two of the inventive skills behind Mike, a Hulu restricted collection that follows the heavyweight champ’s trajectory, “from being a beloved international athlete to a pariah and again once more.”
“Focusing the lens on Mike Tyson, the collection examines class in America, race in America, fame and the ability of media, misogyny, the wealth divide, the promise of the American Dream, and in the end, our personal position in shaping Mike’s story,” Hulu provides in a synopsis.
The collection has already run afoul of its topic, with Tyson writing on Instagram earlier this month that Hulu “stole [his] life story and didn’t pay [him].”
Trevante Rhodes (Moonlight) stars as Tyson within the eight-episode collection, whereas the supporting forged consists of Russell Hornsby (Grimm) as boxing promoter Don King, Harvey Kietel (The Irishman) as supervisor Cus D’Amato, and Laura Harrier (Hollywood) as actress Robin Givens, who was married to Tyson and has accused him of home abuse. Stunt performer Johnny Alexander, in the meantime, performs Evander Holyfield, the opponent whose ear Tyson infamously bit in 1997.
Scroll all the way down to see photos of these forged members in character, alongside pictures of the true individuals they’re portraying.
Mike, Sequence Premiere, Wednesday, August 25, Hulu
