Will Smithis giving his fans the real reason why he turned down a leading role inThe MatrixforWild Wild West.
The 50-year-old actor uploaded a YouTube video on Wednesday called “Why I Turned Down The Matrix | STORYTIME” in which he told fans, “All right this is one of them stories I’m not proud of but it’s the truth. I did turn down Neo inThe Matrix.”
“They came in and it was like they’d only down one movie, I think it was calledBound.And they came in and they made a pitch forThe Matrix,” Smith said. “As it turns out they’re geniuses. But there’s a fine line between genius and what I experienced in the meeting.”
Smith proceeded to reenact the pitch meeting, acting as the Wachowskis as he said, “So, dude, we’re thinking like, imagine you’re in a fight and then you, like, jump. Imagine if you could stop jumping in the middle of the jump. But then, people could see around you…”
Keanu Reeves inThe Matrix.Everett
Unimpressed, Smith told fans, “So I madeWild Wild West.”
“I’m not proud of it,” Smith said. “But… Keanu [Reeves] was perfect. Laurence Fishbourne was perfect.”
Araya Diaz/WireImage
He added the film likely wouldn’t have been such a commercial success if he had taken the job.
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“If I had done it — because I’m black — then 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,” he said. “I probably would’ve messedThe Matrixup, I would’ve ruined it. So I did y’all a favor.”
source: people.com
