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Academy Award winner Will Smith, having infamously turned down roles in the iconic films The Matrix and Django Unchained, recently revealed he also turned down an offer to star in Christoper Nolan’s 2010 film Inception.
During a recent interview, Will Smith confirmed that Inception was brought to him before Leonardo DiCaprio eventually signed on to the lead role.
Smith, however, said he passed in it because movies about alternate realities “don’t pitch well” so he “didn’t get it.”
With the reveal that he passed on Inception, Will Smith has now publicly confirmed that he’s passed on roles in The Matrix, Django Unchained, and Inception — all of which could have been partially career-defining parts.
“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,” Smith said in an interview with the radio station Kiss Xtra.
“Chris Nolan brought me Inception first and I didn’t get it. 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.”
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.
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Following Inception‘s release, it was reported that Brad Pitt was Nolan’s first choice for the lead role but he also passed. The script then went to Smith before landing with DiCpario, who agreed to star in what would become one of the biggest hits of his career.