Will Smith Opens Up To Jimmy Fallon About The Pressures Of Portraying Richard Williams Along with Other, Still Living, Icons.
Will Smith was on Jimmy Fallon to discuss his role as Richard Williams in the new film King Richard, a biopic about the father of tennis wunderkinds Venus and Serena Williams. During the interview, Smith admits that taking on the persona of a pivotal figure such as Richard was tough, like so many of his past roles, because he is still with us at the age of 79, leaving the heavy burden of telling his story with respect to the man it is based on.
Smith laughs nervously when asked about his experience playing the driving force of two of the most amazing stars of modern day sports.
It is terrifying when you play a real person that is still alive and you know they're going to see it. -- And it was beautiful, you know. Venus and Serena were excited about the possibility. And they said that, you know, they would potentially be executive producers and they would walk us through the whole process, but they were going to withhold whether or not they were going to put their names on the film until they saw it.
He continues, in his usual charming demeanor, to discuss the nerve racking moment the sisters saw the film for the first time.
So I get the call that Venus and Serena are walking into the theater to see the film. And it's like -- it's the worst two hours ever. -- 'Cause you spend so much time creating these things and there is literally only one audience when you are do it.
Smith goes on to mention when he portrayed Muhammad Ali, Chris Gardner in The Pursuit Of Happyness, and Dr. Bennet Omalu in Concussion, all people he played while they were still alive.
And it's just -- it's the only audience. And you hope to God that, you know, you've spent a year to tell this story. And you hope that they like it. And Venus and Serena cried all the way through and they loved it.
Fallon brought up how the sisters thought it was "creepy" to see how accurately Will Smith was in his portrayal of their father. Smith adds,
-- you know, we all feel like we have this picture of Richard Williams, and it's the classic overbearing father hammering his children. But in sitting with Venus and Serena and their sisters and mother, it was completely the opposite. He was a loving, caring, and doting father.
And from what we have seen in clips and trailers for the upcoming film, Will Smith lives up to the very essence of what makes Richard Williams such an amazing man.
King Richard will be showing in theaters and streaming HBO Max on November, 19, 2021.
