Making the internet rounds today is news that box-office superstar Will Smith has finally opened up about why exactly he turned down the titular role for Quentin Tarantino‘s smash hit Django Unchained. His comments are strange and mostly ungrounded and when taken out of context, he comes off a bit like a selfish child only interested in hogging the spotlight:
“Django wasn’t the lead, so it was like, ‘I need to be the lead,'” the star said. “The other character was the lead! I was like, ‘No, Quentin, please, I need to kill the bad guy!’”
I understand what Smith is saying but come on, Django is clearly the lead of the film and the fact that you can suitably mimic that quote in a baby’s voice doesn’t speak wonders to the charismatic star’s ego. Yes, Christoph Waltz‘s award-winning character Dr. King Schultz may have occupied a lot of screen time as well but rest assured Django is still top billing. I guess it just goes to show that Smith really has no interest in working in a ensemble film, just one where he gets your undivided attention and gets to do all the hero-y stuff always. Ultimately, it just seems like such a strange comment that would really do nothing but invite the internet mob to grab their torches and rabble at Smith.
What is most perplexing is Smith’s choice of the film After Earth as a substitute for Django. Sure, maybe he’s not interested in the heavy lifting dramatics of a Tarantino film but any A-lister should know that working with Tarantino looks better on your resume than a post-Avatar: The Last Airbender M. Night Shyamalan. I guess Django didn’t have a place for Jayden Smith so Will wasn’t interested.
After seeing the finished version of Django Unchained, Smith commented:
“I thought it was brilliant. Just not for me.”
