Will Smith stars as Richard Williams, the father of Venus and Serena Williams, in his latest film “King Richard.” Even with being the star of the film, Will made sure to give the cast and crew something extra as they all worked together to get the project completed, even while facing a pandemic.
During the film’s premiere, he spoke with Kevin Frazier from “Entertainment Tonight,” and talked about the gesture. He said, “All I can do is my part, so it’s always an honor and a pleasure for me to do my part, and everybody put in brilliant work. It was the COVID shutdowns, people really stuck with us. It was a much more difficult process than anybody thought they were signing up for. I just felt that it was fair.”
Will also shared what it was like to play Richard Williams, and added, “He predicted it. Two years before they were born. He is savant-level parenting. He had to learn tennis himself, he and Oracene learned how to play tennis, then they learned how to teach it to their kids. It’s one of the most amazing stories.”
Venus Williams also shared what it was like when she learned that Will had signed on to play her father in the film. “When I heard he wanted to be a part of the project, like, long before it was even being shot, I just died,” she said. “I was like, ‘Oh my god.’ So, he should be everyone’s daddy if you ask me.”
As we previously reported, Serena Williams shared a sweet video of her father and her daughter Alexis Olympia as she rode her bike and said, “A rare sighting, the one, and only G.O.A.T. still motivating…King Richard, but I call him daddy.”
“King Richard” releases in theaters and on HBO Max on November 19th.
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TSR STAFF: Jade Ashley @Jade_Ashley94