Jun 17, 2025 08:45 AM IST
He’s played aliens, robots, and superheroes, but Will Smith just revealed he said no to one of the biggest sci-fi movies of all time
Imagine Inception (2010)… but with Will Smith diving into dream levels instead of Leonardo DiCaprio. That alternate timeline almost became reality. In a surprising revelation, Will Smith recently admitted that he was this close to starring in Christopher Nolan’s mind-bending sci-fi epic. In a new interview with radio station Kiss Xtra, the actor opened up about the major role he let slip away — and the regret that came with it.
“I don’t think I’ve ever said it publicly but I am going to say it because we are opening up to one another,” Smith said. “Chris Nolan brought me Inception first and I didn’t get it. I’ve never said that out loud. Now that I think about it, it’s those movies that go into those alternate realities… they don’t pitch well. But I am hurt by those, too.”
The 2010 film eventually became one of Leonardo DiCaprio’s biggest box office hits, earning a massive $839 million worldwide and cementing its place in sci-fi history. But as Smith revealed, it could’ve been him in that iconic spinning-top ending.
Interestingly, Inception’s casting journey didn’t start with Will either. According to a report by The Hollywood Reporter, Brad Pitt was Nolan’s original first choice. When that didn’t pan out, the offer went to Smith, who passed after not fully grasping the plot. Only then did DiCaprio sign on and help turn the film into a global phenomenon.
Still, while missing out on Inception might sting, Smith admits there’s one role that haunts him even more: Neo in The Matrix (1999). That part, of course, went to Keanu Reeves and birthed one of the most iconic action franchises of all time. “It hurts too bad to talk about,” Smith said about that one.
So while we got DiCaprio in Inception and Reeves in The Matrix, it’s always fun — and a little heartbreaking — to imagine what could have been had Will Smith been the one bending reality on screen.
