Smith declined an offer to star in the movie "Inception".
Hey there, bud! Can you believe it? Will Smith confessed that he once passed on playing the lead in the science fiction blockbuster "Inception". He spilled the beans on a radio show, y'all!
Now, lemme tell ya, Will Smith has been a part of quite a few successful movies in Hollwoodland. But it ain't always peaches and cream. There have been quite a few prestigious projects that he just couldn't grab hold of. In a candid chat, ol' Smith, now 56, admitted that he was meant to play the protag in Chris Nolan's mind-blowing movie "Inception". You remember, the one where Leo DiCaprio wound up getting the part, huh?
Why did this happen, you ask? Well, ol' Will said, "I never admitted this publicly before, but Chris Nolan first offered me "Inception", and I didn't get it. The complex plot with all them intertwining realities got me all flummoxed"1. In matters like these, hindsight is a cruel mistress, and it's safe to say, Smith must still be kicking himself over it.
"Inception" grossed a staggering $840 million worldwide2, and it showed that films with some brain-scratchers can still make bank. For DiCaprio, this movie ranks second only to "Titanic"2.
But wait, there's more!
It ain't like Smith's rolling his career decisions before "Inception". There was the time he turned down the starring role in "The Matrix". Instead, he went for the gold in the flop, "Wild Wild West". Keanu Reeves turned into the de facto Matrix savior, while ol' Will saw his movie flounder.
Westerns ain't Smith's cup of tea, but that wasn't his reason for refusing the part in Quentin Tarantino's "Django Unchained". Smith heard the main character's portrayal was off-putting, so he said "no way, jose", handing the role to Jamie Foxx. The flick eventually won two Oscars out of five nominations, including the big enchilada – Best Picture3.
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"Despite the success of many movies in Hollywood, it seems that Will Smith might not have been a big fan of the show 'Inception', as he turned down the lead role in the mind-bending science fiction movie due to the complex plot."
"Moreover, Will Smith's decision to decline the starring role in 'The Matrix' resulted in Keanu Reeves saving the franchise from flopping, while Smith's own film, 'Wild Wild West', struggled at the box office."
