Will Smith Joins a Uncommon Record of Actors Who Stated No to Christopher Nolan, Says Dangerous Pitch Saved Him Away

Time-bending thrillers. Metropolis-folding visuals. Plotlines that want diagrams. Christopher Nolan is Hollywood’s king of brainy blockbusters, the genius behind Inception, Interstellar, The Darkish Knight, and Oppenheimer. His units include status, stress, and normally a ticking clock. A-list actors race to affix his initiatives, praying for a cryptic script and an opportunity to monologue in zero gravity. However in a twist worthy of Nolan himself, Will Smith took one look and walked away.

As Nolan mapped desires inside desires, Smith was saying no to scripts that may turn out to be style gold, twice, no much less, with full field workplace penalties.

Will Smith’s sci-fi go that sparked a thousand regrets

Will Smith not too long ago confessed he turned down Christopher Nolan’s Inception, saying he “didn’t get it” on the time. In an interview with Big Rakoon, Smith shared that the pitch for the sci-fi thriller did not land, very like The Matrix, which he additionally rejected. The outcome? Two cultural juggernauts he skipped in favor of Wild Wild West and Seven Kilos. If remorse had a movie reel, these selections would run on loop.

After Will Smith bowed out, Inception went on to turn out to be a cinematic landmark, grossing almost $900 million and incomes 4 Academy Awards. Leonardo DiCaprio stepped into the position and walked away with status factors galore. In the meantime, Smith’s filmography throughout that interval was much less awards season and extra reruns. Including to the listing of what-could-have-beens, he additionally declined the lead in Django Unchained, a job Quentin Tarantino had written with him in thoughts.

Whereas Will Smith was busy skipping blockbusters, different Hollywood heavyweights have been additionally saying no to Christopher Nolan, proving even the sharpest scripts can find yourself within the casting multiverse of insanity.

When Christopher Nolan scripts turn out to be hollywood’s biggest what-ifs

Christopher Nolan could also be a grasp of time, however even he can not rewind casting selections. Brad Pitt almost took on Memento earlier than backing out. Matt Damon needed to flip down Harvey Dent in The Darkish Knight, citing scheduling points, although he later made up for it with key roles in Interstellar and Oppenheimer. Generally the roles actors miss turn out to be profession haunts. Generally, as in Damon’s case, the director comes again round like a cinematic boomerang.

Even international greats have handed on Christopher Nolan’s world. Irrfan Khan turned down Interstellar as a result of current commitments in India, a choice that left followers wistful. Anthony Hopkins declined Alfred in Batman Begins, clearing the stage for Michael Caine’s legendary run. Josh Hartnett stated no to donning Batman’s cape, fearing long-term typecasting. And David Bowie, who initially handed on The Status, was swayed solely after Nolan doubled down on the pitch. Ultimately, some rejections simply want a second draft.

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