Dax Shepard Wants to Play Joe Exotic in a Tiger King Biopic

It seems almost everyone is talking about Tiger King star Joe Exotic on social media these days, and now Dax Shepard is volunteering to play the former tiger breeder and convicted criminal in the inevitable biopic. Just days ago, Netflix released the new true crime documentary series Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness, which heavily features Exotic during his days working at the Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park. His eccentric personality and the bizarre events that end with a trip to prison for Exotic makes for some highly compelling viewing, and it appears Shepard wants to be first in line for when his story is inevitably recreated.

“If I don’t get cast as Joe Exotic in the eventual biopic, Hollywood is broken,” Shepard says in a recent tweet. Knowing Dax Shepard the comment may have been in jest, but many followers of the comedian seem to be in strong support of the idea – including many celebrities. “And if Jim Gaffigan plays Baghavan ‘Doc’ Antle you can sit next to each other at the Oscars!” Justin Long enthusiastically responded. Comedian Dane Cook also jokes he’s already taken the role, by adding this reply: “I already got asked but I’m sure there is a villain role supporting me we could slot you in.” Meanwhile, Edward Norton tells Shepard to step aside from this one. “You’re way too young and buff and you know it,” Norton tweets.

Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness consists of seven episodes and follows Joe Exotic as he operates the big cat zoo known as Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park. Many other interesting personalities connected to Exotic through the world of big cat parks are featured in the documentary series as well, including Big Cat Rescue founder Carole Baskin. Exotic’s strange story ends with a litany of criminal charges filed against him, including 17 federal charges of animal abuse and two counts of murder-for-hire; he is now serving a 22-year sentence in federal prison.

Oddly enough, a retelling of the Carole Baskin story is reportedly already in the works with Kate McKinnon set to star as the Big Cat Rescue founder. Like the Netflix series, the project will reportedly explore the feud between Baskin and Exotic, though no actor has yet been attached to the latter. Perhaps this could be a good way for Shepard to get his dream role of playing Exotic in a new biopic, even if Baskin would be the primary focus of this particular story. Of course, as we’ve seen from the responses to Shepard’s tweet, he will likely have lots of competition from his pals in Hollywood also vying for the role.

To see what all the chatter is about, you can stream Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness to learn more about Joe Exotic and what ultimately happens between him and Baskin. The news of McKinnon playing Baskin in an upcoming limited series also comes to us from TVLine. You can take a look at the original tweet and some of its responses below, courtesy of Dax Shepard on Twitter.

Topics: Tiger King