Buckle up, Hollywood. The battle to play the Tiger King is on. In one corner is Dax Shepard, in the other, Edward Norton, and only one can be Joe Exotic.
In case you have been living under a pillow while social distancing, Netflix’s true-crime docuseries Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness is the talk of the internet. Even Cardi B is hooked! The series follows the story of Joseph Maldonado-Passage, aka Joe Exotic, founder of the Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park in rural Wynnewood, OK and the self-proclaimed king breeder of tigers.
Kate McKinnon is already executive producing and starring in a limited series about Exotic. McKinnon is playing fellow big cat enthusiast and Exotic’s rival, Carole Baskin. Exotic was convicted on two counts of hiring someone to murder Baskin. See? Wild. Now, the fight is on between Hollywood’s finest to land the role of a lifetime.
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The “feud” between Shepard and Norton started on Wednesday when Shepard expressed interest in playing the role. “If I don't get cast as Joe Exotic in the eventual biopic, Hollywood is broken,” Shepard tweeted.
If I don't get cast as Joe Exotic in the eventual biopic, Hollywood is broken.
— dax shepard (@daxshepard) March 26, 2020
Twenty-four hours later, Edward Norton told Shepard to “step aside, pal.”
“You’re way too young and buff and you know it,” Norton replied. “You could probably pull off [ Travis] Maldonado [the third husband of Joe Exotic] still, actually. Wouldn’t that be fun?”
Um, step aside, pal. You’re way too young and buff and you know it. You could probably pull off Maldonado still, actually. Wouldn’t that be fun?
— Edward Norton (@EdwardNorton) March 26, 2020
To say that Tiger King is wild would be a vast understatement. So, it’s not surprising that viewers and actors alike are fancasting who could play who in a biopic that’s surely coming down the pike after the pandemic is behind us.
One thing is clear: no matter who’s playing Joe Exotic, we’ll be watching.