Will Smith was eager to play the legendary father of Venus and Serena Williams in KingRichard, but he had one stipulation: The family had to be fully on board
Nor did it hurt that the project already had attracted the interest of a major studio, Warner Bros., and actor Will Smith, who had become fascinated with Richard Williams years earlier when watching him defend Venus during a TV interview. “Richard was one of the most misunderstood figures in tennis, and I absolutely loved the idea of playing someone that people think they knew, when they actually had the completely wrong idea of who he actually was — especially to his family,” Smith says.
There was one caveat: Smith would star in the $50 million-plus movie only if the real-life family gave its blessing. Everything hinged on the lunch with Price, hosted by Baylin and White — who played tennis on the junior tennis circuit and now runs a production company with his brother Trevor White — at Michael’s restaurant in midtown Manhattan. “We knew that if Isha hated it, it was all going to fall apart,” says Baylin. “My recollection was that it was a very long night waiting to hear back.
That ride pulled up to the finish line Nov. 15, when Isha and her sisters turned up for the world premiere of
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