Will Smith Admits Feeling Nervous When Venus & Serena Williams Watched 'King Richard'

Will Smith felt pressured when the Williams sisters went to watch his new film "King Richard."

On Tuesday, the "Aladdin" star, 53, appeared on "The Tonight Show," where he revealed feeling nervous about Venus, 41, and Serena, 40, showing up to the theater to watch the movie. Smith portrayed their father and tennis coach, Richard Williams.

"Venus and Serena were really excited about the possibility," he told host Jimmy Fallon. "And they said that they would potentially be executive producers and they would walk us through the whole process, but they were going to withhold whether or not they put their names on the film until they saw it."

The actor then shared the time he got a call about the siblings wanting to see the film, and suddenly, he didn't feel so confident about it.

"So then I get the call that Venus and Serena are walking into the theater to see the film," Smith continued. "It's the worst two hours ever. The worst two hours. Because you spent so much time creating these things, and there is literally only one audience when you do it. You hope that they like it."

Fortunately for Smith, the sisters loved the film and his portrayal of their father, with the actor saying, "Venus and Serena cried all the way through. They loved it."

During the chat, Smith also shared his experience of playing the tennis coach.

"What was really interesting to me is that, you know, we all feel like we have a picture of Richard Williams, and it's the classic overbearing father hammering his children," he said. "But in sitting with Venus and Serena and their sisters and their mother, it was completely the opposite."

Smith said that Mr. Williams was "a loving, caring, doting father" to her daughters.

"Venus referred to it as the 'Jedi mind trick' that he had somehow made it so they would have to ask him, 'Please, daddy. Can we play tennis?' Their punishment would be that they couldn't play tennis when they got in trouble," he explained.

Earlier this month, the "Fresh Prince of Bel‑Air" star, together with the Williams sisters, talked about "King Richard."

The story follows the Williams family's start in tennis and their success. Venus and Serena were portrayed by actresses Saniyya Sidney and Demi Singleton, respectively.

"When we heard that Will wanted to do it, it was like, 'Oh my God, this movie is going to be the real deal.' Whatever film he's in, it's the real deal," Venus told Entertainment Weekly. "We got the sense of this is gonna be big, this is gonna be a serious film."

When asked about whether their father, 79, has seen the movie, the siblings admitted they weren't sure if he have watched the film. Reports revealed that Richard couldn't go to the set due to COVID-19 protocols. He also wasn't able to participate in the interview due to health issues.

"King Richard" hits theaters and HBO Max on November 19.