Champion boxer Mike Tyson is heading back to the acting ring, joining Sean Penn and Tye Sheridan in Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire-directed dark thriller Black Flies.
Black Flies is a cinematic version of Shannon Burke’s book, set in the high-wire world of New York City paramedics, and examines the toll the work has on their personal lives.
Sheridan plays the role of a rookie paramedic who teams up with Penn‘s character, a grizzled vet, to drive an ambulance out into the streets. Their own decisions will lead them on divergent paths, as the novice’s desire to assist others is challenged to its limit. The screenplay was written by Burke, Ben Mac Brown, and Ryan King.
Tyson is billed to take on the lead in the film, which is the men’s superior officer.
The controversial Tyson, considered one of boxing’s greatest athletes, has used his knockouts to launch a multi-media career that includes cameos on How I Met Your Mother, Family Guy, and Scary Movie V, as well as film roles in The Hangover and The Hangover Part II. And despite the fact that he has had dramatic cameos in a few boxing and action films over the years, his role in Flies will be his first step into the realm of theater.
