Will Smith has revealed that he turned down the lead role in Django Unchained because he wanted it to be a love story and not a vengeance story.
Will Smith
Smith was the number one choice of director Quentin Tarantino to take on the title role, but walked away from project when he didn't 'see eye to eye' with the filmmaker. The role finally went to Jamie Foxx.
Smith admits that it was a movie that he really did want to make but the 'creative direction' of the story was a problem for him.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, the actor said: "It was about the creative direction of the story. To me, it's as perfect a story as you could ever want: a guy that learns how to kill to retrieve his wife that has been taken as a slave. That idea is perfect. And it was just that Quentin and I couldn't see [eye to eye].
"I wanted to make that movie so badly, but I felt the only way was, it had to be a love story, not a vengeance story."
Django Unchained went on to be both a critical and commercial success and Tarantino picked up a Best Screenplay Oscar. The movie was also nominated for Best Picture.
Smith will be back on the big screen in the New Year as he takes on the real-life role of Dr. Bennet Omalu in Concussion. Omalu made the first discovery of CTE, a football-related brain injury, in a pro player.
Smith has also completed work on Suicide Squad, which is already one of the most talked about comic book movies of 2016. This will be the first time that Suicide Squad has been brought to the big screen and Smith will take on the role of Deadshot as he teams up with filmmaker David Ayer for the first time.
The Oscar nominated actor will be joined on the cast list by Jared Leto, Margot Robbie, Cara Delevingne, Jai Courtney, Viola Davis, and Joel Kinnaman. We are also going to see a cameo appearance from Ben Affleck as Batman.
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