Actor Will Smith. Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

Will Smith on the first time Serena and Venus Williams watched 'King Richard': 'The worst two hours'

By Megan Armstrong | Last updated 11/10/21

Tennis greats Serena and Venus Williams served as executive producers on King Richard, but according to Will Smith on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, it wasn't a foregone conclusion that the sisters would commit to the biographical drama.

"It is terrifying when you play a real person that is alive, and you know that they're gonna see it," said Smith, who portrays Serena and Venus' father, Richard Williams, in the film. "It was beautiful. Venus and Serena were really excited about the possibility, and they said that they would potentially be executive producers and they were gonna walk us through the whole process, but they were gonna withhold whether or not they put their names on the film until they saw it."

The two-time Oscar nominee continued: "So then I get the call that Venus and Serena are walking into the theater to see the film. And it's the worst two hours ever. It's the worst two hours."

Smith noted that "Venus and Serena cried all the way through, and they loved it."

The film's official synopsis reads, in part: "Based on the true story that will inspire the world, Warner Bros. Pictures’ King Richard follows the journey of Richard Williams, an undeterred father instrumental in raising two of the most extraordinarily gifted athletes of all time, who will end up changing the sport of tennis forever."

Serena Williams visited Jimmy Kimmel Live to discuss how it feels to see her adolescence play out on the big screen, with Smith playing her father:

Directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green and written by Zach Baylin, King Richard will be simultaneously released in theaters and on HBO Max on Nov. 19. Watch the trailer below.