Entering into the big doors of Hollywood around the mid-1980s, Will Smith has since proved himself to be a pivotal actor in the industry. With a plethora of accolades under his profile, including 4 Grammy wins and an Oscar win, he is certainly an actor to boast about. If we look down at his filmography discourse, seldom is a movie that has not received considerable critical appreciation. But there’s one that he is not very keen about.
From Fresh Prince of Bel-Air to Emancipation, each and every film Smith has ever made has some originality and substance to it which sets his work apart. Yet the 54-year-old, despite being the most bankable American actor, has had a film he admittedly loathes from the bottom of his heart. Back in 2021, Fresh Prince apparently went undercover with GQ to answer some of the most frequently asked questions by fans to the star.
Among many, one typical question that popped up was about his best and worst movie. While he contemplated between Pursuit of Happyness and the first Men in Black as his favorite ones, the Emancipation actor hesitated to answer the latter part of the question. He then slowly suggested that ‘the thorn’ in his entire career is the 1999 flick, Wild Wild West. He then laughed about how he hated to see himself in those chaps.
Interestingly, the movie is something Smith chose over The Matrix, the same movie that was also offered to Jada Pinkett Smith later.
Everything you need to know about Wild Wild West starring Will Smith
Wild Wild West made its debut in June 1999 with a star-studded cast of Kevin Kline, Kenneth Branagh, Salma Hayek, and Ted Levine, alongside Will Smith. The then 31-year-old took up the role of a secret service agent hired to guard and protect the US president. The American steampunk western movie reportedly ended up being a flop movie, receiving neither critical appreciation nor box office success.
The actor, per his 2016 The Hollywood Reporter interview, had a choice between this flick and the hit sci-fi and action film The Matrix, in which he would play Neo but ended up making a regretful decision. “I found myself promoting something because I wanted to win versus promoting something because I believed in it,” he expressed his feelings.
ALSO READ: One Year After Oscar Win, Will Smith Bags NAACP Award for His Work in Historical Film ‘Emancipation’
Have you watched the movie though? What are your thoughts about it? Do let us know in the comments below.
Meanwhile, you can always stream Wild Wild West on Amazon Prime video.
