Will Smith wanted to make “Django Unchained”; the “greatest love story that African-Americans had ever seen.”;
During The Hollywood Reporter“s actors roundtable, the actor was asked why he passed on the lead role in Quentin Tarantino’s “Django Unchained”;. Smith revealed he was turned off by the violence and thought the story of a guy that learns how to kill to retrieve his wife that has been taken as a slave should be more about love than violence.
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“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 says. “I don’t believe in violence as the reaction to violence. So when I’m looking at that, it’s like: No, no, no. It has to be for love… I just couldn’t connect to violence being the answer. Love had to be the answer.”
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Jamie Foxx ultimately took the lead role and the film went on to win two Oscars in 2013, with Tarantino winning Best Original Screenplay and Christoph Waltz taking home Best Supporting Actor.
On a mobile device? Watch Will Smith on turning down “Django Unchained”; here.
