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Will Smith has spoken out about why he turned down the chance to appear in Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained – saying that he didn’t think the part was big enough.
Tarantino had asked Smith to play the title role in his bloody western film, but the Men In Black hero declined and the role eventually went to Ray star Jamie Foxx.
The I Am Legend actor explained that he felt the role of bounty hunter Dr King Schultz – played by Christoph Waltz – was the lead and that he needed to ‘kill the bag guy’ – Calvin Candie to be a hero.
Speaking at the press junket for new flick After Earth Will said: “Django wasn’t the lead, so it was like, I need to be the lead.
“The other character was the lead! I was like, ‘No, Quentin, please, I need to kill the bad guy!'”
Smith added that he nevertheless much enjoyed the final version of the film, for which Waltz ironically won the Oscar for best supporting actor. “I thought it was brilliant,” he said. “Just not for me.”
Django Unchained has proved Tarantino’s biggest ever box office hit, grossing a mammoth $413m (£271m) worldwide.
Also turned out to be a critical smash, nominated for five Oscars and the film-maker also took home the prize for best original screenplay last month.