Nicolas Cage, naturally, will play Joe Exotic in ‘Tiger King’ series

5/6/2020
Lauren Sarner
He’s uncaged now.
 
It was only a matter of time before a big Hollywood star became the Tiger King, and now it’s happened: Joe Exotic will be played by Nicolas Cage.
 
The smash hit Netflix docuseries following zoo owner and aspiring politician Joe Exotic and his feud with animal rights activist Carole Baskin took the world by storm in March, with celebs such as Dax Shepard and Edward Norton clamoring to play the eccentric mulleted Joe Exotic.
 
For his part, Exotic, who is currently serving 22 years in prison for his murder-for-hire-plot against Baskin, wanted Brad Pitt or “Joe Dirt” (a k a David Spade) to play him. Online bettors, at a loss for any sports to gamble on during the coronavirus blackout, had their money on Kevin Bacon.
 
But now it’s official: The lucky actor will be Cage. The scripted show will be eight episodes long, from Dan Lagana, showrunner of Netflix’s two-season mockumentary series “American Vandal,” according to Variety.
 
The show, which will be produced by Imagine Television Studios and CBS Television Studios, doesn’t yet have a premiere date. No word either on which network or platform it will appear on.
 
Back in June 2019, Lagana bought the rights to Leif Reigstad’s Texas Monthly article “Joe Exotic: A Dark Journey Into the World of a Man Gone Wild.”
 
Cage, 56, might be the perfect choice for the role. Like Exotic, he’s also known for larger than life antics, such as pre-buying his own pyramid-shaped mausoleum or going full Method to get into character, even if it means snorting saccharine or hiring a “drinking coach.”
 
It will mark the first TV role from Cage, who is also signed up to be playing himself in a movie about himself called “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent.”
 
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