Bruce Willis signs on board for an upcoming drama feature film about Mike Tyson’s early boxing career, Variety learned Monday ahead of the 71st Cannes Film Festival.
The 63-year-old actor will play the role of Tyson’s famous boxing trainer Cus D’Amato in “Cornerman,” who discovered Tyson when he was just 13-years old.
Bruce Willis has been very vocal in his support of the Second Amendment, and has spoken out against banning guns. (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images)
“Homeland” actor Rupert Friend has been picked to make his directorial debut with the boxing drama.
“Ultimately, this is a story about a deep love between two ferocious talents, each brave enough to admit their fears to the other, and so spur one another to greatness,” Friend said in a statement. “It is a story about fighting for what you believe in, and a film that will make you question what strength really is.”
The movie takes place in the early 1980s in New York and centers around retired D’Amato, who was known for training boxing greats like Floyd Patterson and José Torres, when he gets introduced to a young Tyson and the rest is history.
The role of Tyson has yet to be cast.
Filming will start in the fall.