Will Smith Transforms With Greying Beard for Movie About Serena and Venus Williams' Dad
Will Smith will be portraying the father of Serena and Venus Williams, Richard Williams, in an [...]
Will Smith will be portraying the father of Serena and Venus Williams, Richard Williams, in an upcoming film about the tennis stars' childhood. The actor was spotted filming scenes for King Richard recently, and he surprised fans with his transformation.
Will Smith & Jon Bernthal from the sets of #KingRichard, the upcoming biopic about the Williams sisters.#WillSmith plays the titular role of Richard Williams, father of Venus & Serena Williams.
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Photos surfaced that showed Smith dressed in era-appropriate attire while filming scenes at a Los Angeles tennis court. He donned a pink polo shirt, tiny red shorts, high socks, and his beard featured a considerable amount of grey hair. Other photos showed him driving an old Volkswagen van.
According to Hollywood Life, Smith was seen standing next to a cart of tennis balls while coaching up the actresses portraying Venus and Serena. He was also shown chatting with The Punisher star Jon Bernthal, who plays the Williams' coach Rick Macci.
Bernthal traditionally has shorter hair for his various acting roles, but he was shown sporting a longer mane in the set photos. He also had an era-appropriate mustache and was wearing a polo shirt and tall, white socks.
King Richard will be directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green. The film will be about the true-life story of Williams, which will also star Saniyya Syndey and Demi Singleton as Venus and Serena, respectively. Bernthal and Liev Schrieber both play tennis coaches, with the Ray Donovan star portraying Paul Cohen, a tennis instructor who worked for John McEnroe and Pete Sampras.
Dylan McDermott recently agreed to join the project. He will play the role of a sports agent, which has not been named. The majority of characters in King Richard are real people, but McDermott will be playing a fictional person.
"The script by Zach Baylin depicts the determination and fortitude of Williams, who trained his two daughters to play tennis, beginning on cracked courts in Compton, California, to later coaching them to Grand Slam wins and shaping them into two of the greatest players in the sport," Borys Kit of the Hollywood Reporter wrote.
King Richard is currently in production. The film is scheduled to be released on Nov. 25. Tim and Trevor White are producing the movie under their Star Thrower Entertainment banner. Smith and his Westbrook Studios banner are also producing the project.
(Photo Credit: Jerod Harris/Getty Images)