Key Takeaways
- Willow Smith said her father has declined some emotionally heavy acting roles.
- She said Will Smith wanted to avoid bringing a character’s heavy energy home to his family.
- Separately, Will Smith said creative differences over the story led him to pass on Django Unchained.
Will Smith has spent decades disappearing into characters on the big screen, but according to his daughter, Willow Smith, there are some roles he would rather leave untouched.
During an appearance on Kid Cudi’s “Big Bro” podcast, Willow opened up about how seriously her father considers the emotional weight of a character before signing on to a project. The topic came up as she and Cudi discussed creative work that can take an emotional toll.
“My dad has specifically said no to certain roles because he felt like the energy was too heavy to be bringing into the house,” Willow shared. “Like, ‘Nah, I’m not even gonna touch that because… I don’t wanna be coming home to my family in this... just in this.’”
The “Whip My Hair” hitmaker continued, “That’s like a deep one. Like, you really have to embody it if you’re doing it right.”
It’s an interesting glimpse into the decision-making process of an actor whose résumé stretches across comedy, action, science fiction and emotionally demanding dramas. After becoming a household name on “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” Will built a blockbuster film career with projects including Bad Boys, Independence Day, Men in Black, I Am Legend and The Pursuit of Happyness. His career has also earned him an Academy Award, multiple Grammy Awards and NAACP Image Awards honors.
Will Smith previously explained why he passed on ‘Django Unchained’
The Philly native has publicly discussed turning down major projects before. During The Hollywood Reporter’s 2015 Actor Roundtable, he explained why he ultimately passed on Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained, a role that later went to Jamie Foxx. “It was about the creative direction of the story,” Will told the outlet. “To me, it’s as perfect a story as you could ever want: a guy that learns how to kill to retrieve his wife that has been taken as a slave. That idea is perfect. And it was just that Quentin and I couldn’t see [eye to eye].”
Will said he wanted the movie’s driving force to be love rather than revenge. “I wanted to make that movie so badly, but I felt the only way was, it had to be a love story, not a vengeance story,” he explained.
The Hollywood veteran also expressed discomfort with violence serving as the answer, saying, “We can’t look at what happens in Paris [the terrorist attacks] and want to f**k somebody up for that. Violence begets violence. I just couldn’t connect to violence being the answer. Love had to be the answer.”
Willow’s recent comments offer some additional insight into how her father has admirably built a career with his family in mind.