Advertisement

News

Will Smith explains why he refused to star as Neo in ‘The Matrix’

Will Smith explains why he refused to star as Neo in ‘The Matrix’
Ben Bowman

Ben Bowman

  • Updated:

One of the most interesting things a movie fan can do is play “What if?” Some of the most iconic roles in movie history almost went to other actors. Kurt Russell and Sylvester Stallone auditioned for Han Solo. Nicolas Cage was almost Superman. Cameron Crowe intended Tom Hanks to play Jerry Maguire. And in one jaw-dropping scenario, Will Smith was offered Neo in “The Matrix.”

Matrix Will Smith

For the first time, Smith is now sharing the story of why he turned down one of the most important movies of the last 20 years. Watch this video to hear Smith explain his decision.

But we got this instead:

Another shocker in Smith’s video: If he had accepted the role, Val Kilmer would have played Morpheus. So maybe everything worked out for the best.

Ben Bowman

Ben Bowman

Ben Bowman is an Emmy Award-winning journalist who led Softonic.com's editorial team in 2018 and 2019. Before joining Softonic, he was the Head of Content for Curiosity.com and a news producer for NBC, Fox, and CBS. He is an award-winning filmmaker and director of sketch and improv comedy, and a contributing writer for the Pitch comedy app.

Latest from Ben Bowman

You may also like

  1. Nippon TV has acquired Studio Ghibli as a subsidiary: what does this mean?

    Nippon TV has acquired Studio Ghibli as a subsidiary: what does this mean?

    Read more
  2. Disney+ has started to eliminate users’ favorite feature

    Disney+ has started to eliminate users’ favorite feature

    Read more
  3. Influencers who neither sleep nor eat: AI takes on the latest fashionable job

    Influencers who neither sleep nor eat: AI takes on the latest fashionable job

    Read more
  4. Facebook changes its logo after nearly a decade: the change is impressive…

    Facebook changes its logo after nearly a decade: the change is impressive…

    Read more
  5. watchOS 10 is here officially: new apps, watch faces, metrics, and much more

    watchOS 10 is here officially: new apps, watch faces, metrics, and much more

    Read more
  6. iOS 17 officially arrives: AirDrop, Stickers, StandBy, Safari, and much more

    iOS 17 officially arrives: AirDrop, Stickers, StandBy, Safari, and much more

    Read more