Will Smith confirms he paid ‘King Richard’ cast & crew bonuses for working amid pandemic

Smith made the revelation in an interview at the film’s premiere. According to the actor who doubles as producer and lead star, the team deserved the bonuses for putting in so much work especially amid the pandemic.

“All I can do is my part, so it’s always an honor and a pleasure for me to do my part, and everybody put in brilliant work. It was the COVID shutdowns, people really stuck with us. It was a much more difficult process than anybody thought they were signing up for. I just felt that it was fair,” Smith said.

The ‘Prince of Bel-Air’ star also shared his experience playing Richard Williams in the Reinaldo Marcus Green directed biopic.

“He predicted it. Two years before they were born. He is savant-level parenting. He had to learn tennis himself, he and Oracene learned how to play tennis, then they learned how to teach it to their kids. It’s one of the most amazing stories.”

Co-executive produced by Peter Todd, Serena and Venus Williams, the biopic centres on the inspiration story of tennis coach, Richard Williams, father to tennis stars Serena and Venus Williams.

Speaking on working with Smith on the biopic, Venus Williams shared: “When I heard he wanted to be a part of the project, like, long before it was even being shot, I just died.

“I was like, ‘Oh my god.’ So, he should be everyone’s daddy if you ask me.”

King Richard is currently showing in Nigerian cinemas and on HBO Max.