Will Smith has often found himself doing the right movies that showcased the fatherly side of any story. This was also true for his 2021 movie King Richard. Detailing the story of Tennis Champions Serena and Venus Williams, Smith portrayed the role of their father in the movie.

Will Smith also received quite a big paycheck for his role as Richard Williams. The paycheck was so huge that it almost covered Venus Williams’ entire net worth back in 2021!

When Will Smith Asked For A Big Paycheck For King Richard

Will Smith has had an amazing career. Starring in several iconic movies, Smith once found himself portraying another father figure in 2021 with King Richard. The movie saw Smith portraying the role of Tennis champions Venus and Serena Williams’ father Richard Williams.
Will Smith won the Best Actor Oscar for King Richard the night of the Oscars slap

Depicting their lives from a father’s point of view, the film earned rave reviews and Will Smith even won an Oscar for Best Actor in 2021 for King Richard. As per the reports, the Men in Black actor had received a large amount of paycheck for his portrayal of Richard Williams. Although big paychecks are nothing new for the actor, the amount was almost worth Venus William’s entire net worth during her Tennis career!

Venus and Serena Williams served as the executive producers of the movie and as per the reports, Will Smith received a paycheck of $40 million for his role as Richard Williams. To put things into perspective, Venus Williams’ has earned a total of $42 million throughout her Tennis career! The 2021 film had a budget of $50 million but it seems that King Richard went on to earn big by getting Oscar nominations and an overwhelming positive response.

Will Smith Was Reluctant To Join Men in Black

Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith in Men in Black

Will Smith starred in the 1997 movie titled Men in Black which essentially made him more famous as an actor. Starring alongside Tommy Lee Jones, Smith recalled that Steven Spielberg had to convince him with a helicopter to get him onboard the project.
“I kind of understood ‘Men in Black’ a little bit but I didn’t want to make ‘Men in Black.’ That was the next year after ‘Independence Day.’ So I didn’t want to make two alien movies back to back. “Steven Spielberg sent a helicopter for me. I was in New York. It landed at his house. And, like, he had me at hello.”
The actor continued,
“He said the coldest s–t. He said, ‘Tell me why you don’t want to make my movie…’ And he was the producer. And he put the ellipsis at the end, it was the dot, dot, dot. If he had continued, he would have said, ‘Joker, you know I made ‘Jaws,’ right? You know I made ‘E.T.’‘”
Luckily for the actor, Smith was easily convinced and he starred alongside Tommy Lee Jones in one of the most classic and funniest franchises of all time. As for the Oscar-winning movie, King Richard is available to stream on Max in the U.S.