Mike Tyson: I only made cameo in The Hangover for drug money, never expected comedy to be a success

Mike Tyson: I only made cameo in The Hangover for drug money, never expected comedy to be a success - Mike Tyson is clean and sober these days, but his drug habit left him with a Hangover.

The former heavyweight champion, who made a cameo in the 2009 comedy “The Hangover,” says he only signed up for the film to finance his addiction.

"I was doing that to supply my drug habit," he told an ESPN radio show in Las Vegas on Sunday.

Tyson says he had no idea the movie would be a huge box office success, though he always planned to make a profit from it.

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Former boxer Mike Tyson poses with 'The Hangover' star Bradley Cooper at the Golden Globes.

"I thought this was going to be really good, we're going to sell this stuff at 42nd St. on bootleg, and we're going to get a lot of money," he said. "This is my best thinking on drugs."

Instead, the film became an overnight sensation, and Tyson found himself in the spotlight again.

"Iron Mike" has been showing fans his softer side lately, opening up in interviews with Sports Illustrated and Details.

In March he even announced he would be hosting a show on Animal Planet about pigeon racing.

He says he's transformed his life by going vegan, as well as saying goodbye to alcohol and drugs.

"I gave up basically everything," he told ESPN. "I didn't have a problem with drugs or nothing, I had a problem with thinking...My thinking was broken. That was the solution to my broken thinking, using drugs and living crazy."

Substance-free, Tyson now looks lean and mean at a fighting weight of 222 pounds.

But don't expect the former boxer to return to the ring. "It's just not who I am anymore," he said. "I'm happy at home now."

And though he’s no longer buying drugs, Tyson admits money is still an issue.

"I'm totally destitute and broke," he revealed on The View in May.

“I had a lot of fun. It just happened. I'm very grateful. I don't deserve to have the wife that I have; I don't deserve the kids that I have, but I do, and I'm very grateful." ( nydailynews.com )