Film fans have revealed they are ‘thankful’ after finding out that Will Smith didn’t just turn down one of the all-time biggest movie roles, but he turned down three of them.
Major actors having turned down the chance to have appeared in massive potentially career-altering films is far more common than you’d think.
Russell Crowe spoke recently about turning down $100,000,000 to star in Lord of the Rings, Matt Damon famously rejected 10 percent of Avatar's profits to take on the role of Jake Sully, and Michelle Pfeiffer turned down the chance to star in Silence of the Lambs.
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Will Smith has previously been very open about how he turned down the chance to star in both The Matrix and Django Unchained, however he revealed in a recent interview a third major film that can be added to the pile of classics he said no to.
When discussing turning down the lead role in The Matrix, which ended up going to Keanu Reeves, Smith claimed he wasn’t convinced by a pitch for it – instead going on to star in Wild, Wild West.
Regarding Django, the Fresh Prince of Bel Air actor didn’t connect with the tone, feeling that it focused too much on violence.
Now, Smith has revealed that he was at one time set to star in Christopher Nolan’s Inception.
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It was previously reported by The Hollywood Reporter that he had been considered for the role after Brad Pitt, Nolan’s first choice, turned it down – with the part then going to Leonardo DiCaprio after Smith rejected it.
Smith spoke about this for the first time in a recent interview with Kiss Xtra, saying: “I don’t think I’ve ever said it publicly, but I am going to say it because we are opening up to one another.
“Chris Nolan brought me Inception first, and I didn’t get it. I’ve never said that out loud.
“Now that I think about it, it’s those movies that go into those alternate realities… They don’t pitch well. But I am hurt by those, too.”
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Fans, however, have not been overly concerned with finding out that Smith wasn’t set to play the roles, quite harshly saying they are thankful.
One fan tweeted about Smith turning down all three roles, leading another to say: “And I thank him for all those choices.”
A second added: “I don’t think he would’ve fit all those roles and the movies themselves were exceptional without him.”
Another said: “Don’t get me wrong, Will is an amazing actor but he would have ruined all of those in different ways.”
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This is something that, at least in the context of The Matrix, Smith might agree with.
He has previously said on his YouTube channel he would have 'ruined it', going on to claim that at the time they were eyeing Val Kilmer rather than Laurence Fishburne for Morpheus, allegedly not wanting two Black leads.
Regardless (until he slapped Chris Rock), it all seems to have worked out film-wise for Smith - with numerous iconic roles and an Oscar to boot.
Topics: Will Smith, The Matrix, Christopher Nolan, Film, TV and Film, Celebrity
Michael Slavin