Review Fix Exclusive: Jonathan Swain Talks ‘Tyson vs. Ali’

Review Fix chats with actor Jonathan Swain about his performance in Reid Farrington’s “Tyson vs. Ali,” a gripping new production that brings the long thought about dream bout to the stage.

Review Fix: How did you feel the first time you read the script?

Jonathan Swain: I said to myself, “Oh shit, this is really going down. I’m really doing this.” I felt nervous, happy and amazed at the same time. All kinda thoughts went through my head. I was telling myself you gotta do this right, you’re representing two kings… There is no half stepping.

Review Fix: How did you prepare for the role?

Swain: We had long rehearsals at foxy films where we spent hours working on Tyson’s and Ali’s voice. But outside of rehearsal I spent even more hours on YouTube watching old interviews and documentaries trying to learn more about both men’s character.

Review Fix: What was it like to work with Reid Farrington?

Swain: I’m so grateful to be working with Reid. Have gave me my start in this acting world I feel like I owe him. Everyday that we met for rehearsal his energy was positive. We all know the work we put in wasn’t easy and hours where long and he manage create a fun work environment for the entire cast and crew everyday we came in. He’s just a great person with amazing vision bottom line.

Review Fix: For someone who hasn’t seen the production, how would you describe the multimedia aspect?

Swain: It’s like watching a movie and a play at the same time that’s how I’ve explained it to everyone since the beginning. It’s filled with action. It so many thing going on at one time you’re going to want to see more than once. If your boxing fan it’s gonna take you down memory lane and if you’re not sit back learn something about two of the greatest who ever did It.

Review Fix: What’s your favorite part of the production? Why?

Swain: My favorite part is round four because of the slow motion segment of the scene. I remember the first time we ran it in rehearsal I was buggin’ out. To be honest, I wish I could switch out wit Roger or Dennis for a couple of shows, Just to do that round.

Review Fix: How do you want your performance to be remembered?

Swain: I want the audience/readers to know that I’m honored and grateful to be chosen to help tell the story of the two greatest heavy weights that ever stepped into a boxing ring. I’m a former fighter. I’ve had the passion to be an actor since I was a little kid. So, for that hour I’m on that stage I’m living a dream that I never want to wake up from.

Photo by Paula Court

For more information on the show, visit www.3ldnyc.org.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14262 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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