David Spade Thinks He Shouldn't Play Joe Exotic, Despite Fans And Tiger King Star Wanting It

Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness Joe Exotic Netflix
(Image credit: Netflix)

From the moment that Tiger King clawed its way onto Netflix, it has been a veritable pandemonium. One of the things that has captured many viewers’ imaginations is who would play Joe Exotic in an adaptation. You can count one actor out of your list of potential candidates. David Spade thinks he should not play the currently incarcerated Exotic.

The actor has become a fan-favorite to take on the role of Joe Exotic in an adaptation. David Spade is not sure he should take on the role of Exotic, and he has offered another candidate for consideration. On taking on the title role from Tiger King, Spade told ET:

I don’t know if I could[.] That’s why I don’t really push it or jump in on it, with all these funny debates. It just looks too fun. ... I know Woody Harrelson is funny as that guy Joe.

A lot of famous actors have thrown their hat into the ring to play Tiger King’s Joe Exotic, including Dax Shepherd and Edward Norton. As for who Exotic is backing to play him, Tiger King co-director Rebecca Chaiklin told THR that Exotic wants Brad Pitt or David Spade. So, Spade would probably have Exotic’s support if he ended up playing him.

Will it actually happen? David Spade does not sound entirely opposed to playing Joe Exotic. He does seem to be a fan of Woody Harrelson taking on the role. Whoever plays him should probably check in with Joe’s ex-husband, John Finlay, to find out what life was like at the zoo shown in Tiger King. Finlay has already provided some insight.

There are so many angles to the Tiger King phenomenon that it is easy to get sidetracked. From the real-life development surrounding the investigation of Carole Baskin’s ex-husband’s mysterious disappearance getting new leads to the “reel” life hope of who will play Joe Exotic, there is a lot to stay busy thinking about.

If you are currently tuned in to pop culture, you are probably one of many caught up in the craze surrounding Tiger King. Okay, let’s be honest. The full-blown obsession that is Tiger King. Jared Leto has thrown an online viewing party to watch it, and he is not the only one caught up in what the full title teases as the “murder, mayhem, and madness” of it all.

As the world waits to see who ends up playing Joe Exotic in an adaptation, they have no shortage of things to contemplate. That includes the stuff that did not make the docu-series. Joe Exotic is not the only role that a potential movie or TV show adapted from the Netflix series would have to tackle. There is also Doc Antle and many more.

Tiger King is now streaming on Netflix in all of its buzz-worthy completion as one of the streamer's 2020 premieres. If you already binged it and are looking for something new to watch, you can check out this spring’s premieres. Hint: Money Heist Season 4 just bowed!

Britt Lawrence

Like a contented Hallmark movie character, Britt happily lives in the same city she grew up in. Along with movies and television, she is passionate about competitive figure skating. She has been writing about entertainment for 5 years, and as you may suspect, still finds it as entertaining to do as when she began.