Home

Tennis

“Words Couldn’t Come Out”: How Venus Williams ‘Starstrucked’ King Richard’s Actor

Published 11/09/2021, 7:00 AM EST

Follow Us

via Getty

HBO is coming up with a film based on the life of Serena and Venus Williams’ father, Richard Williams, soon. Hollywood star, Will Smith is playing Richard’s character in the movie and it will hit the theatres on November 19, 2021.

The tennis world witnessed two absolute champion players in the form of Serena and Venus Williams. However, the two would not have achieved so much success, if their father had not backed and supported them in their childhood. The film portrays this significant contribution of Richard Williams.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

King Richard’s actor reveals he was stunned to see Venus Williams in real

In a recent interview, Tony Goldwyn, who is playing the role of famous coach, Paul Cohen, in King Richard, talked about his initial reaction after watching Venus in person for the very first time. He stated that he was completely shocked and became absolutely speechless.

Trending

Get instantly notified of the hottest Tennis stories via Google! Click on Follow Us and Tap the Blue Star.

Follow Us

“I was so starstruck when I met Venus, I literally, words couldn’t come out of my mouth,” said Goldwyn in the interview.

Watch This Story: How Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Serena Williams, and Others Travel

“Was trying to hold it together”- Tony Goldwyn

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

In the same interview, Goldwyn disclosed how he got the opportunity to meet Venus. It was Saniyya Sidney, the actor playing Venus Williams in the movie, who introduced the 7-time Grand Slam champion to him. Goldwyn became stunned after watching Venus and even referred to her as a goddess.

via Getty

“So, yeah, Saniyya, who plays Venus, we were on a set one day and Venus happened to be visiting and Saniyya, who you know, 14 or whatever, she is you know, holding me said- ‘I want you to come and meet Mr. Tony’ and she drags Venus over to me and I was sitting in a chair and she’s like- ‘Mr. Tony this is, you know, I want you to’ and I look and there’s this goddess before me and I was trying to hold it together,” added Goldwyn.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Fans are quite exhilarated about King Richard and are eagerly waiting for its release. Will it be able to break every single record on the box office?

“How Are You Daddy?” Serena Williams to Will Smith on ‘King Richard’ Sets

SHARE THIS ARTICLE :

Written by:

Anshul Singh

1,533Articles

One take at a time

Anshul Singh is a Tennis author at EssentiallySports, currently pursuing Journalism Honors from Delhi University. Having significant experience with content, Anshul has authored over 1000 tennis articles. He has previously worked as a writer and an editor for DU Express, penning riveting articles on sports, politics, and culture.
Show More>