Once upon a time, Will Smith was the king of summer blockbusters. From Hancock to Independence Day and more, he had carved out a space for himself in the 90s and 2000s. 1997’s Men in Black starring Tommy Lee Jones and him, fell in the same category.
While Smith’s role as Agent Jay was iconic, director Barry Sonnenfeld didn’t originally think about casting him. Also, the script wasn’t written for a Black man. The studio wanted him to cast Chris O’Donnell in the role, but a special someone in his life suggested the Bad Boys actor to him.
Will Smith Wasn’t Even On The Casting List For Men In Black
In an interview with Vulture, Men in Black director Barry Sonnenfeld revealed that the idea was to pair Chris O’Donnell with Tommy Lee. Columbia Pictures and Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment had agreed upon this casting. Back then, O’Donnell made sense because he had mass appeal and also could play a rookie who could be contrasted with Tommy Lee Jones’ no-nonsense character.
The idea of Will Smith for the role was suggested by Barry Sonnenfeld’s wife, Susan. He narrated the entire casting story as:
“I remember for ‘MIB,’ lying in our bed, we finished them at the same time, and I said to her, ‘Tommy Lee Jones,’ and she said to me, ‘Will Smith.’ And that part wasn’t written for a young black rookie, and it’s only because of Sweetie that we thought of Will.”
But how did the director convince Amblin Entertainment and Columbia Pictures? He didn’t. Sonnenfeld went the other way, after Chris O’Donnell, instead of trying to shake the bigwigs down.
How Did Men In Black’s Director Sneak In Will Smith On The Film?
Barry Sonnenfeld said during an interview that he convinced Chris O’Donnell not to act in Men in Black by repeatedly saying that he wasn’t a good director and the script wasn’t good as well. Here’s what Sonnenfeld did:
“I had to go to dinner at The Four Seasons hotel in Los Angeles with Chris O’Donnell, who was deciding between ‘Men in Black’ and another movie. And I told him, ‘Here’s the truth. I’m not a very good director. I really don’t have a clue. I don’t think the script is very good. If I were you, I would take the other movie.'”
The director revealed that the plan was to get Will Smith on board after Chris O’Donnell was dismissed. Thankfully, those lies worked, and the Batman and Robin actor pulled out of the project. After this, a meeting between Steven Spielberg and Will Smith was arranged and the rest is history, as the Men in Black franchise grossed $1.9 billion with Smith and Lee Jones in the lead.
But that’s not the only shocking casting. The makers had initially planned on casting Clint Eastwood instead of Tommy Lee Jones. So O’Donnell and Eastwood would have been the original pairing, and somehow it’s difficult to imagine if they would have captured the energy of Smith and Lee Jones.
Men in Black is available on Disney+.
Source: Vulture
