Williams Sisters Didn’t Agree To Produce King Richard Until They Saw It

Will Smith says that tennis superstars and sisters, Venus Williams and Serena Williams, waited on hopping aboard as producers for King Richard until they watched the film. King Richard stars Smith in the titular role as Richard Williams. He is joined by Saniyya Sidney and Demi Singleton, who play his daughters Venus and Serena, respectively. The supporting cast also includes Jon Bernthal, Tony Goldwyn, Dylan McDermott, and Aunjanue Ellis, who plays the former wife of Richard and mother of the Williams sisters, Oracene Price.

The sports drama film directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green is based on a true story. It follows Richard Williams and his extraordinarily talented daughters from Compton, California, as they navigate a pathway to success and become the trendsetting tennis icons they are today. Venus and Serena Williams have dominated the world of tennis for the best part of the last two decades with 30 Grand Slam singles titles between them. The Williams sisters serve as producers for the forthcoming biopic based on their life’s journey, but the road to getting them on board was far from easy.

Smith recently appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to discuss the upcoming King Richard. He expressed that he finds it “terrifying” depicting a real person when they’re still alive and know that they’re going to watch it. He also mentioned that the Williams sisters were initially  “excited” to see the film, but wanted to wait “until they saw it” to decide on whether or not they would come on board to produce. Read Smith’s full comments below:

“It is terrifying when you play a real person that is still alive, and you know that they’re going to see it. It was beautiful. Venus and Serena were really excited about the possibility, and they said that they would potentially be executive producers and they were going to walk us through the whole process, but they were going to withhold whether or not they put their names on the film until they saw it.”

After watching King Richard, Serena Williams revealed that it was a “surreal” experience for her, and she praised everyone involved with the film. However, Smith confessed that the wait for the sisters to see the film was quite daunting. He described it as “the worst two hours ever,” because the people who the film is based on are “the only audience.” The American actor has a rich vein of experience in his filmography when it comes to portraying influential real-life figures. The former Fresh Prince of Bel Air has played the likes of legendary boxer Muhammad Ali in 2001’s Ali, Chris Gardner in 2006’s The Pursuit of Happyness, and Dr Bennet Omalu in 2015’s Concussion. With Richard Williams, he will be looking to disappear into yet another role with the potential to yield similar results.

King Richard premiered at the 48th Telluride Film Festival on September 2 and garnered positive reviews, with Smith’s performance in particular receiving universal acclaim. The film currently holds an impressive Rotten Tomatoes score of 90%. This benchmark, along with the Williams sisters’ stamp of approval, bodes well for the film as it looks to be a major contender heading into the awards season. The trailers for King Richard promise an inspirational and feel-good experience for audiences, whether just regular moviegoers or major tennis fans.

Source: The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon