Will Smith has starred in some gigantic franchises, and he could have had another on his list.
The franchise celebrates its 25th anniversary this year (and is back in theaters, too!
“This is one of those stories I’m not proud of, but it’s the truth.
I did turn down Neo in The Matrix,” Smith explained.
He was a bonafide Hollywood megastar, and he was fielding all kinds of pitches for his next movie.
One of these was Men In Black, a film he didn’t originally want to make.
“It was a crazy time in my life.
It was like however I threw the ball, it was going in.
I don’t want to be the alien movie guy.'
So I turned down Men in Black,” he said.
“They came in and had only done like one movie [Bound].
They came in and made a pitch for The Matrix.
As it turns out, they’re geniuses.
So what was the pitch?
It’s a very impressive sequence in the finished film, but Smith–understandably–wasn’t sold.
Smith passed on The Matrix and made Wild Wild West (1999) instead.
“I probably would have messed The Matrix up.
I would have ruined it.
So I did y’all a favor.”
“Keanu was perfect.
Laurence Fishburne was perfect.
If I had done it, because I’m black, Morpheus wouldn’t have been black.
Because they were looking at Val Kilmer.
I was going to be Neo and Val Kilmer was going to be Morpheus,” Smith said.
“So I probably would have messed The Matrix up.
I would have ruined it.
So I did y’all a favor.”
Does Smith have regrets about passing on Neo and The Matrix?
By his own admission, he’s not proud of the decision to say no.
But he’s far from the first actor to pass on what would become a lucrative and career-defining role.
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