Will Smith opened up about why he famously passed on the chance to play Neo in the science fiction classic “The Matrix.”
Reflecting on the groundbreaking offer, Smith revealed that his decision ultimately boiled down to one thing: the pitch was just too abstract to connect with at the time.
As the story goes, the actor, known for his role in 1997’s “Men in Black,” was approached by the Wachowskis—sibling filmmakers who would later revolutionize cinema with “The Matrix.”
But their vision wasn’t immediately obvious to Smith.
“When I read it, it was interesting,” Will Smith told Zane Lowe during an interview. “As you can imagine, ‘The Matrix’ was hard to understand on the page.”
Unlike roles instantly capturing his attention, this one left him with more questions than answers. Then came the in-person meeting, where the Wachowskis tried to articulate their futuristic dream.
“I met with the Wachowskis, and they were talking about inventing cameras,” Smith recalled, leaning into the moment their enthusiasm shot past him.
Describing their pitch, he said, “This was my pitch for ‘The Matrix.’ This was the pitch I heard: ‘So, bro, we’re going to invent these cameras, right, bro? And you’ll be able to jump in the air, right? But then you’ll be there. You’ll hold there. But then the camera moves around you, bro.'”
The surreal description didn’t sell Smith on the groundbreaking cinematic technique known today as bullet time.
Unable to visualize how it would come to life, Smith opted to star in 1999’s “Wild Wild West,” which was critically panned but commercially successful.
Keanu Reeves ultimately took on the role of Neo, catapulting both himself and “The Matrix” to pop culture immortality.
Will Smith, looking back, has publicly admitted that Reeves was the better fit for the part.