Several well-known actors have already expressed interest in playing the role of Joseph Maldonado-Passage, a.k.a. Joe Exotic, should his hit Netflix docuseries Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness get a scripted adaptation. However, the former zoo operator has only two actors in mind that could best portray him.
Actors Edward Norton and Dax Shepard have said they would like to play the role of Joe Exotic if given a chance. In their tweet exchange, the two stars are clearly up for the challenge to play the disgraced tiger breeder.
"If I don't get cast as Joe Exotic in the eventual biopic, Hollywood is broken," Shepard wrote on Twitter.
To this, Norton commented he could better play the role because The Ranch actor is "too young and buff" for the character. Norton added he can also do a Christian Bale-like body transformation so he could perfectly portray Joe Exotic. The Bourne Legacy actor was referring to Bale's extreme weight loss in the 2004 film Machinist.
There were also reports that online bettors are putting their money on Kevin Bacon in the titular role. However, according to Tiger King directors and executive producers Eric Goode and Rebecca Chaiklin, none of the three actors were on Maldonado-Passage's very shortlist of stars that he wants to portray him in a biopic.
Apparently, Joe Exotic's choices are either Brad Pitt or David Spade. Chaiklin added that the jailed zookeeper doesn't want just David Spade but the actor as Joe Dirt. Spade famously played the role of mullet-haired janitor, named Joe Dirt, in the 2001 movie of the same title.
So far, only one scripted project about the life of Maldonado-Passage is in the works. According to People Magazine, Kate McKinnon will star as animal rights activist Carole Baskin in the series. Baskin was Maldonado-Passage's rival whom he tried to have killed. No other roles have been cast so far.
The 57-year-old ex-zoo keeper is currently serving 22 years in prison after he got convicted in 2019 for animal abuse and a murder-for-hire plot to kill Baskin. He is currently in coronavirus isolation in FMC Fort Worth.
Meanwhile, Joe Exotic's fourth husband, Dillon Passage, revealed in an interview with Andy Cohen that Maldonado-Passage hasn't seen the docuseries about him. Dillon said Joe Exotic will be thrilled to know that he is getting hundreds of emails because of the show. Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness quickly became the most-watched shows on Netflix after it was released on March 20.
