Hollywood classic, Will Smith has achieved success in just about every facet of the entertainment industry. Before doing his smackdown during the Oscars, the star made some smash hits back in the day. Out of all his pieces, The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000) has aged like fine wine along with his breakthrough franchise, Men In Black. Like the original novel under the same name, the movie remains etched in our memories till day. However, Smith was not confident about playing Bagger Vance in the film.

Although the actor has been going through some serious distress in his private life, Smith remains a legend to this day. He is beyond a multi-talented superstar. Besides being a significant stakeholder in Hollywood, the legend is a jam-pack of a rapper, songwriter, producer, philanthropist, businessman, and bestselling author. But every star goes through a period of insecurity and challenges when taking up a character that is so unique and Smith is no exception.

Will Smith talked about the hassles of playing Bagger Vance

For actors, everything comes at the cost of strenuous efforts and hard work. Even brilliant stars have to go through months of training to give what their character demands. Similar was the case with Smith as he said in an interview, “It was a scary place to be in,” for his role to portray the enigmatic golf caddy.

He further explains that oftentimes it becomes difficult to meet what the character wants from you, especially when you have a persona you have created through earlier movies. “This persona you’ve created is trying to crawl out, dying for you to do something or say something funny,” he elaborated. For him, cutting through the image of Will Smith, the attention-grabbing funny guy, was a challenge since his character, Bagger Vance, was nothing like that.

Smith was not the only one who faced this hardship. His co-star Matt Damon also had a tough time transforming himself into someone worth winning a pro tournament. What Will tried to explain through the interview was that some tricky roles make the greatest of stars doubt their abilities. Such roles, when accomplished with great perfectionism, become the signpost profile of the actors.

And while the movie received mixed critical responses, Smith’s performance was appreciated for his skill and subtlety.

Smith’s upcoming movie, Emancipation is on its way to making a grand entry in 2023. It tells the story of a runaway slave who navigates the swamps of Louisiana. He sets on an arduous journey to escape the plantation owners who almost murdered him.

Do you think Will portrayed Bagger Vance with full justice? Leave a comment below.