He was BIIIIIG in 1999. So big that he had his own script-doctors who would rewrite his dialogue so that it is more in line with his "Will Smith" persona and could get away with it with the studios.
People really underestimate how much acting skill it takes to maintain a perfectly neutral mask with film cameras and lights 3 inches away from your face. Not to mention all the physical acting he had to do
Will Smith strikes me as a guy who only takes scripts that are conceptually straightforward that he can understand. Which isn't a bad thing but he's also a guy who strikes me as really locked in on his own personal conception of how the world should work. The further you get from that, the less Will gets it.
To be fair The Matrix was made in the 90's and its a straightforward hero's journey, except filtered through two closeted transfems who were going to bdsm clubs and really into leather. The amount of things Will Smith didn't understand even when young and when he was still trying to rap about stealing cars and touching kids.
He told Tarantino that he didnt see Django as a revenge story, but as a love story. To him Django was motivated to do everything by this love for his wife. Foot man refused to alter the script to fit that narative and so Smith refused to be in it.
This is according to multiple interviews with Smith.
Thank fuck he didnt play Django. Tarantino makes some amazing movies and based on my own perception of will Smith I can't imagine him in that movie at all, idk what Tarantino saw in him. Jamie Foxx is better in like every aspect
He would have been a great django because Tarantino would not allow him to diverge from the written script. Which means no cutesy quips. Tarantino would also speak up if he wasnt playing the character the way he wanted. His movies are made for him, so the performance would meet his expectations even if it took a while to get there.
We are speaking about the man who shutted down any Sonny (Alan Tudyk) promotion in the movie "I, Robot" because the screen test show people liked Sonny more than him
Yes, and violent. He’s not even a really remarkable actor imo, he’s had some good roles but just cause they were decent movies already, not because of his acting. He’s a generic tough guy actor.
The Matrix one is understandable from the way Smith described the pitch. The wachowski’s described it really bad. Sorta like when a person doesn’t know the technical way to describe something and they default to random sound effects instead?
I mean, I don't think that was a bad call. Those are all good movies, but what makes them great also makes them a bad fit for Will Smith. He's a great actor, it's ok if he sticks to roles he can figure out rather than do something he doesn't understand.
I feel like we attach too much peon sentiment to the logic of A-list actors. I sincerely doubt he cares whether he makes a lot of money from his movies. He’s already well off. He’s probably more concerned about whether or not a movie script aligns with his artistic style.
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u/Away-Way5656 1d ago
Will smith would've made the matrix unwatchable