Over the years, Will Smith has acted in several blockbuster projects in his career. But he has also rejected a few scripts that have gone on to become cult classics and commercially acclaimed which includes films like The Matrix and Django Unchained. The actor has now revealed another such moment in his career - Christopher Nolan's Inception.
In a recent interview with radio station Kiss Xtra, actor Will Smith revealed that he turned down the lead role in the blockbuster film Inception because he didn't understand the plot.
After Smith's rejection, Oscar-winning actor Leonardo DiCaprio headlined the film and ended up with one of his biggest hits.
"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," said Will Smith.
Inception eventually went to Leonardo DiCaprio and was released in 2010. The ensemble cast includes Ken Watanabe, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Elliot Page, Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, Tom Berenger, Dileep Rao, and Michael Caine. Considered one of the best films of the 2010s, Inception, among its numerous accolades, won four Oscars and grossed over $800 million worldwide.
Earlier, Smith also rejected The Matrix because he didn't connect to the Wachowski siblings movie pitch, which he said was more about their intended directing style than the actual story.
Smith posted a YouTube video in 2019 in which the actor retold the pitch that was narrated to him by the Matrix makers.
"We're thinking like... imagine you're in a fight. You, like, jump. Imagine if you could stop jumping in the middle of the jump. But then, people could see around you 360 degrees while you stop jumping. We're going to invent these cameras, and then people can see the whole jump when you stop in the middle of the jump," said Will Smith.
As for Django Unchained, which is another painful addition to the actor's rejected movie list, Smith said that he turned down the movie because he didn't want to "make a slavery film about vengeance."
"It was about the creative direction of the story. To me, it's as perfect a story as you could ever want: a guy that learns how to kill to retrieve his wife that has been taken as a slave. That idea is perfect. And it was just that Quentin and I couldn't see [eye to eye]. I wanted to make that movie so badly, but I felt the only way was, it had to be a love story, not a vengeance story," said Will Smith as quoted by The Hollywood Reporter.
Meanwhile, Will Smith recently released his first full-length solo music project in 20 years. It was titled Based on a True Story.
