Will Smith turned down ‘Inception’ because he “didn’t get it”

Will Smith has revealed that he turned down Inception because he “didn’t get it”.

The actor shared in a new interview that he was approached by director Christopher Nolan to appear in the 2010 hit, though Leonardo DiCaprio eventually bagged the main role of Dom Cobb.

Speaking on KISS XTRA, Smith was asked about his well-known rejection of The Matrix and whether he has turned down any other roles during his career, the actor teasing another as he admitted it “hurts too bad”.

“I don’t think I’ve ever said it publicly but I am going to say it because we are opening up to one another,” he continued. “Chris Nolan brought me Inception first and I didn’t get it.”

Will Smith reveals director Christopher Nolan brought him the movie “Inception” first, but he turned it down and says movies about alternate realities don’t pitch well.

( Kiss Xtra) pic.twitter.com/jwcvZfiuMG

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“I’ve never said that out loud… Now that I think about it, it’s those movies that go into those alternate realities. They don’t pitch well. But I am hurt by those, too.”

Smith previously expressed regret at turning down 1999’s The Matrix, with the role of Neo eventually going to Keanu Reeves.

“There’s a certain naivety to youth that is powerful, right,” he told Stephen Colbert in 2019. “When you don’t know something. Like, not knowing can be a real power ’cause… you’re aggressive. So, I feel like I would ask my young self for advice.”

“I just thought of something I would tell myself. I would go, ‘Hey man, don’t do Wild Wild West.’ I would say, ‘Dude, do Neo! Do Neo!’ ‘Cause I got offered The Matrix.”

Smith also turned down 2012’s Django Unchained, later explaining that the decision was over director Quentin Tarantino’s “creative direction of the story”.

Earlier this year, the actor referenced The Matrix in a music video with Big Sean for their song ‘Beautiful Scars’, having raised speculation beforehand that he could be rebooting the franchise with teasers for the video.

Smith released his first studio album in 20 years, ‘Based On A True Story’, back in March, which features collaborations with Teyana Taylor and DJ Jazzy Jeff.

He is also due to embark on a headline tour in the UK and Europe this summer. Any remaining tickets can be found here (UK) and here (Europe).

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