Mike Tyson has undoubtedly cemented himself as one of the greatest pop-culture icons of the last century.
After dominating in the ring throughout his professional boxing career - becoming a six-time heavyweight champion in the process - Tyson would later introducing himself top younger audiencer with his "must-see" fight against YouTuber Jake Paul last fall.
However, 15 years before their headline fight on Netflix, Tyson had already become a pop culture icon in an entirely different way – by unexpectedly stealing the show in The Hangover.
Back in 2009, the heavyweight boxing icon made a now-legendary cameo in Todd Phillips’ blockbuster comedy, famously landing a punch on Zach Galifianakis’ character Alan and casually hanging out with a tiger.
But as it turns out, Tyson had no idea he was even in the film, at least, not at first.
In a 2019 interview with Tony Robbins (via Slash Film), Tyson candidly admitted that he only discovered he was part of the movie after a chance nightclub encounter with the cast. “I met the [actors] in a club. They were in the VIP section, and I said, ‘This is where I normally sit, nobody’s normally here,’” Tyson recalled. “It was Zach [Galifianakis], the other guy, and he said, ‘We’re going to be in a movie with you.’ And I said, ‘Yeah? When?’ And he said, ‘Tomorrow.’”
At the time, Tyson was deep in a period marked by heavy drug and alcohol use, which explains the foggy memory. “I was drinking and smoking back then, doing drugs, so I didn’t know I was involved in the movie,” he admitted. “Eventually, I had to go, and we did the movie, and it was a success.”
That success would help introduce Tyson to a whole new generation of fans, many of whom had no idea he was once the most feared man in boxing.
In a 2016 interview with Sports Illustrated, Tyson recalled a surreal moment that hammered home this generational shift. While visiting a high school, he watched as the students were shown clips of his boxing matches to explain who he was.
“They just thought I was an actor from The Hangover,” he said. “The teacher had to explain, ‘No, this is who he was.’ Never in my life am I going to forget that. You talk about a humbling experience.”
Tyson would later return to the movie franchise in 2011's The Hangover Part II, singing 'One Night in Bangkok' at Stu's wedding.
Though his career has been marked by both incredible athletic achievement and serious controversy (including a rape conviction in 1992 that led to three years in prison) Tyson’s post-ring legacy continues to evolve.
Whether he’s returning to the boxing ring or showing up unexpectedly in a hit comedy, he remains one of the most unpredictable and compelling figures in modern pop culture - I mean, who could forget the time he picked up Hasbulla like a child?
"I thought [he] was a baby... I don't know man, that's just how I am with children," Tyson later admitted.