Will Smith Reveals He Also Turned Down A Role In ‘Inception’

Murray Close / Will Smith

Will Smith’s legendary boneheaded decisions regarding choosing film roles early in his career will forever haunt him.

The rapper and actor has had numerous notable roles in his ongoing Hollywood career. Still, he will forever be remembered by movie fans for turning down the lead role of Neo in The Matrix franchise to star in one of the biggest flops of his career, Wild Wild West.

It turns out that he has been holding onto another epic failure, having turned down a role in the Christopher Nolan blockbuster Inception.

The Independence Day star shared during an interview with radio station KISS XTRA that Nolan pitched the 2010 mind-bending science fiction film to him, but he said nah because “didn’t get it.”

“I’ve never said that out loud,” Smith said in the interview. “And now that I think about it, it’s those movies that go into those alternate realities, they don’t pitch well.”

Bruh.

He didn’t reveal which role Nolan was pitching to him, but the lead role ultimately went to Leonardo DiCaprio, and we honestly couldn’t see anyone else in it now.

Smith Is Still Hurt About Turning Down The Matrix

Smith also revisited his decision to turn down the starring role in The Matrix, calling it one of his “beautiful scars.”

Instead of being the one, a role that eventually went to Keanu Reeves, catapulting his movie career, Smith decided to star as Jim West in Wild Wild West.

Smith was banking on his newly minted status as a summer blockbuster king following the success of his previous films, Independence Day and Men in Black, but that turned out not to be the case.

The Matrix went on to be a critical success in 1999, spawning two successful sequels and a reboot, while Wild Wild West went on to win several Razzies and was panned by critics.

We are sure Smith has learned some valuable lessons from his box office misses.