When it was announced that Will Smith would be playing Deadshot in the Suicide Squad movie I thought it was an odd choice.
For one, he is usually the main attraction when it comes to being in films not part of an ensemble cast. And two, Will Smith as Deadshot? I mean, he doesn’t exactly scream supervillain.
Turns out Smith’s reasons for wanting to play that role included something that I, and I am betting many of you reading this, never even considered.
The first reason, which is very understandable, is that he wanted to work with director and writer David Ayer.
The second reason? Entertainment Weekly has that scoop…
“I had never played a character that legitimately didn’t give a f—,” says Smith of the nihilist assassin he portrays in the movie. “It’s very freeing not having to carry the moral spine of the movie.”
You know what? He’s right. Has Will Smith EVER played a villain? A real villain? I can’t think of any times that he’s done that off the top of my head.
Here’s how he prepped for the role…
“I couldn’t find a model to understand what would make someone comfortable killing another person for money,” says Smith. “David walked me through that. He found a book for me (The Anatomy of Motive by John Douglas), and I worked through getting into the mind of serial killers. Once I accepted the [notion the author puts forth] that it feels good, that really exploded the idea in my mind of Deadshot.”
So there you have it. Will Smith wanted to play a bad guy.
Then again, even when he’s playing a supervillain, he’s still kind of a hero…
Just can’t quite shake it, can you, Will?
Related: Joker’s Real Identity in ‘Suicide Squad’