Will Smith revealed in a recent interview the exact reason why he turned down the script for the iconic science fiction movie Inception.
Smith was originally eyed for the role
The 56-year-old I Am Legend actor revealed in a recent interview with radio station Kiss Xtra that he was originally eyed for the lead role of the 2010 sci-fi heist movie, which eventually went to Leonardo DiCaprio.
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But Smith had to turn it down because he didn’t understand the plot.
He never shared the reason before
Smith told the interviewer, “I don’t think I’ve ever even said it publicly before, and I’m gonna 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,” he added.
Smith seems to regret passing it up just a little bit
The actor seems to feel as though he shouldn’t have passed up both Inception and the role for 1999’s The Matrix.
“Now that I think about it, it’s those movies that go into those alternate realities — they don’t pitch well,” Smith added, before admitting, “But I am hurt by [passing on] those two.”
Inception is pretty confusing at first
It’s safe to say that Inception had one of those mind-boggling plots.
The sci-fi movie starred Leonardo DiCaprio as Dom Cobb who has the rare ability to enter people’s dreams, which he turns into a tool for espionage.
The movie was originally pitched to someone else
Although Will Smith was offered the role before DiCaprio, he wasn’t the first to be considered for the role.
A November 2010 article from The Hollywood Reporter actually states that the lead role of Dom Cobb was originally offered to Brad Pitt, who didn’t commit to it in time.
Christopher Nolan then took the script to Smith, who turned it down out of confusion about the plot, and ultimately to DiCaprio who took the role.
Smith still has box office hits
Although Smith missed out on being the lead actor in Inception, everyone can agree that he has no shortage of box office hits.
The 56-year-old starred in hit movies like Independence Day (1996), Men in Black (1997), and Suicide Squad (2016).
