'King Richard': Social Media Shows Love to Will Smith for Portrayal of Venus and Serena Williams' Father

By Brian Jones

The film King Richard arrived in theatres and HBO Max on Friday, and it tells the story of Richard Williams, who is the father of tennis superstars Venus and Serena Williams. Willi Smith plays the role of Richard Williams, and social media loves the movie because of how Smith played the role. Earlier this month Smith was interviewed by his King Richard co-stars Demi Singleton and Saniyya Sidney and was asked why he wanted to tackle the role of Richard Williams. 

"I love stories where you think you know," Smith said, per Entertainment Weekly. "You pull the veil back when people didn't know there was a veil. Richard Williams was wildly misunderstood. I enjoyed being able to humanize a figure that had been somewhat demonized in the sport. He's actually a genius. He planned two Michael Jordans. Think about how wild that is." 

Smith also explained why he didn't get a chance to spend as much time with Richard Williams as he would have liked. "Because of COVID, I wasn't able to spend a lot of time with Richard. So, it's tons of tape, interviews, he wrote a book," he said. "I'm always trying to find what is most like me. The thing that I connected to with Richard was the sense that nobody believed in him. When you have a big, giant dream and everybody keeps telling you how wrong you are, how silly you are, and how impossible that is. That's where I started to build out what makes him tick." Here's a look at what social media had to say about King Richard." 

Near Perfect

One person wrote: "King Richard is a really good film, not great, but really good. Will Smith is excellent and wouldn't surprise me to see him getting a few acting nominations for this one. The world needs more like the Williams family."

Rotten Tomatoes Score

Another person wrote: "If King Richard doesn't win an Oscar I will hate this world even more than I already do right now... What a movie DAMN."

Glowing

One Twitter used announced: "King Richard is a reminder to those that needed reminding that Will Smith is one of if not THE actor of his generation. Sports movies are at their best when they're not really about sports at all, it's about what goes into it, the people, the sacrifice, the heart!"

Oscar Contender

One fan said: "King Richard – got to be up there with one of the best films I've seen. Venus and Serena really did and had it all… Their journey, coaching and above all, their dad Richard was so encapsulating to view."

Crowd Pleaser

One fan wrote: "Just seen King Richard. What an amazing film. Richard Williams predicted the rise of the sisters before they were even born. Awe inspiring movie..Excellent!!!"

True Movie Star

Another Twitter user said: "King Richard has a few scenes where Will Smith goes full on inspirational mode like in The Pursuit of Happyness. May as well give him the Oscar and make up for past mistakes (insane he lost it in 2007 Ryan Gosling was the only other worthy contender)."

Can't Dislike It

And this person wrote: "King Richard – surprised by how much I enjoyed this. I was worried that, given the Williams' sisters involvement – it would pull its punches with Richard, and tbf it did, but not as much as I expected it to. I have issues with the "American Dream" as it's neatly sold here...1."

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