12 Actors Who Stupidly Turned Down Comic Book Movies
5. Will Smith Turned Down Superman
As part of the odd history of Superman Lives, producer Jon Peters had had apparently wanted to cast the Suicide Squad Clark Kent a couple of years later while still trying to get Superman any Superman off the ground, going as far as approaching Will Smith about the role. Apparently director Bryan Singer also sought Smith out more recently before making Superman Returns. In the end, Will Smith was never going to court such a controversial, albeit very interesting, move.
The last Superman I got offered, the script came, and I was like, There is no way Im playing Superman! Because I had already done Jim West (Wild, Wild West) and you cant be messing up white peoples heroes in Hollywood. You mess up white peoples heroes in Hollywood, youll never work in this town again!
Ironically, Smith also turned down the role of Neo in The Matrix so he could appear in the commercial flop Wild, Wild West. Smith eventually went on to play Superman an alcoholic with superhero capabilities in the underwhelming Hancock.
