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“Worst Two Hours”: Will Smith Shares Venus and Serena Williams’ Reaction to ‘King Richard’ Movie

Published 11/10/2021, 10:40 PM EST

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Will Smith is generating a lot of positive buzz around his portrayal of Richard Williams, the father-coach of Venus and Serena Williams, in the biopic King Richard. However, he was terrified when the Williams sisters had walked in to watch the movie. Afterward, Smith shared how Venus and Serena felt after watching their father’s biopic on the big screen.

Primarily, the American actor explained how terrifying it is to play real-life personalities who are still alive. In addition to that, Smith revealed how he spent the “worst two hours” wondering about the Williams sisters’ reaction.

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“It is terrifying when you play a real person that is still alive, and you know that they’re going to see it. And it was beautiful,” Smith said on the Tonight Show.

Will Smith on Venus and Serena Williams’ reaction to King Richard movie

Interestingly, the 53-year-old American actor shared the condition Venus and Serena Williams kept in front of him. Indeed, it was immense pressure even for the former Academy Award nominee, Will Smith.

“Venus and Serena were really excited about the possibility,” Smith explained. “And they said that you know, they would potentially be executive producers, and they would 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.”

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Therefore, when Smith got a call that the Williams sisters were about to watch the movie, the clocks stopped for him. “It’s like the worst two hours. Cause you spend so much time creating these things, and there is literally only one audience when you do it,” the American actor continued. 

Conclusively, Smith claimed that both Venus and Serena cried through the movie, and they loved it. As a result, it left a big, satisfying smile on Will’s face.

Venus and Serena on Will Smith’s performance in King Richard

From the start, both the tennis queens have praised the skill and talent of Will Smith. However, when they saw him as their father, Venus and Serena both got emotional.

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Most significantly, the sisters stated that Smith looked and sounded like their dad, and it felt “creepy.” But indeed, it is another huge compliment for the veteran actor to add to his list. 

All in all, Venus and Serena gave their approval to their father’s biopic, King Richard. On 19th November 2021, in the United States, the world will witness the inspiring story.

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Are you excited to watch King Richard starring Will Smith?

Watch this story: How Serena Williams and Venus Williams Grew Up in Compton

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Written by:

Purav Joshi

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Purav Joshi is a Senior Tennis author at EssentiallySports. Having a degree in Films, Television and Media Production, he guided his passion for writing and journalism into the sport of aces and rallies. With over 2 years of experience as a copywriter, Purav has authored over 1000 tennis articles.
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