Boxing legend Muhammad Ali is one of the most iconic sporting personalities ever. Recently, Hollywood superstar Will Smith talked about playing the boxing legend in his movie ‘Ali.’ The Oscar-winning actor recently appeared on the ‘All The Smoke’ podcast with NBA veterans Stephen Jackson and Matt Barnes. Smith went in-depth about his prolific career as a polymath. He also opened up about his experiences in projects like the ‘Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,’ ‘Bad Boys,’ and most importantly ‘Ali.’

During the sit-down, former NBA champion Stephen Jackson asked Smith about playing the great Muhammad Ali and what the role entailed. Will Smith proceeded to make his point in his Ali voice.

Will Smith on playing Muhammad Ali

An emotional Will Smith stated that when one is playing someone as great as Muhammad Ali, a part of them would change forever. He said, “That was one of the greatest things that I ever did in my life. You got to understand when you’re playing somebody that’s great like that when you play these roles, see what happens, there’s a part of you that is always changed.”

Smith continued, “When you spend some time with a character like that, it’s a part of you that’s always changed. You’ll never be the same. So there’s a little piece of Ali that’s in me for the rest of my life.”

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As Smith said this impersonating the famous cadence of Ali, the crew went speechless and applauded his ability to recreate something like that. Jackson and Barnes then talked about superstar Jamie Foxx’s impersonations. Smith admitted that Jamie Foxx does some of the best impersonations.

After an underwhelming turnout in ‘Wild Wild West,’ ‘Ali’ was a very serious biopic that required physical transformation and in-depth of knowledge of the Boxing legend’s style, on and off the ring. And Will Smith absolutely aced the role.

Smith for the role of Ali

Taking up the role of one of the best boxers ever is no easy feat. So Will Smith had to train hard to come close to emulating the great. Celebrity trainer Darrell Foster trained him for the role. Foster revealed that Smith stayed humble through the process and continued even though the training was very hard. He also talked about the training regime that helped transform Smith.

The movie was released in 2001. As per reports, the superstar was paid around $20 to 30 million for the movie. Interestingly, Muhammad Ali’s highest paycheck for a fight was $7.9 million in 1980, which would be the equivalent of roughly $22 million today.

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Smith won multiple awards for his role and was nominated for the Academy awards. The movie won multiple awards as well.