Many movie fans know the little trivia nugget about Will Smith turning down the opportunity to play the role of Neo in the highly successful and influential sci-fi franchise – The Matrix. Now, the actor admits that this decision was a mistake.
Smith was a guest on Stephen Colbert’s The Late Show promoting his latest film Gemini Man, where he plays opposite a younger version of himself. Asked what he would like to say to his younger self if it was indeed possible, Smith said that he would actually ask the younger version for some advice. “There’s a certain naivety to youth that is powerful, right. When you don’t know something. Like, not knowing can be a real power ’cause… you’re aggressive,” Claimed the actor.
Smith also said he would like to ask the young Smith about the source of his courage. “I’ve actually lost touch with that source,” he said.
But later in the interview, smith did come up with an Idea. “I just thought of something I would tell myself,” said Smith. “I would go, ‘Hey man, don’t do Wild Wild West.’ I would say, ‘Dude, do Neo! Do Neo!’ ‘Cause I got offered The Matrix.”
