Will Smith | Neo – The Matrix

As we know by now, Will Smith rejected Quentin Tarantino’s offer for the role of Django in The Django Unchained movie due to creative differences. To the actor’s credit, he is self-aware of his characteristic of overly wanting to make a character his own. This was also the case when he turned down the offer for Neo in The Matrix film series. According to him, at the pitch meeting during the casting process, he immediately knew that he would mess the character up and would not do justice to the script.

He willingly turned down the offer, knowing that Keanu Reeves, who eventually landed the role, would be loyal to the script and let the director and movie tell the story as is. The Matrix film franchise is one of the most revolutionary movies when it was released in 1999. It boasts of innovative cinematic action sequences that blended gun-slinging action with martial arts.