Will Smith is always known for his generosity. The ‘Men in Black’ star has been admired for his kindness by his ‘King Richard' co-stars as the actor paid their personal bonuses with his own money.
Will Smith, who is reportedly being paid a whopping $40 million for his role in the biopic based on the life of Richard Williams, the father and coach of legendary tennis players Venus and Serena Williams, gave the bonuses to his co-starts Saniyya Sidney and Demi Singleton, who play Venus and Serena respectively, and and Tony Goldwyn, Jon Bernthal and Aunjanue Ellis among others, reported The Hollywood Reporter.
The bonus was in addition to what Will Smith's costars received from the studio as compensation for the pivot to simultaneous HBO Max release strategy, aceshowbiz.com reported.
Showering his praise on Smith, Tony Goldwyn who portrays one of Venus’ coaches in the biopic confirmed the story to Access Hollywood.
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"I've been doing this for over 30 years; I have never worked with anyone as generous as Will, what you said is true," the former 'Scandal' star confessed.
He then divulged: "When Warner Brothers decided not to release it, to put it out on streaming, there was a lot of controversy, as people know, and we just got a call from Will saying, 'I'm going to make this right.' I've never experienced it. I was floored. I just couldn't believe it."
His generosity aside, Goldwyn also praised Smith's acting skills.
"The environment when you're in his orbit is fun and everyone works really hard but he's just, he's a blast to work with," he gushed over the lead actor.
"In this character, Will is just extraordinary, the work that he puts down is amazing."
"From our very first rehearsal, we're all sort of feeling our way and all of a sudden, he goes from being fun-loving Will to just a switch is flipped and he's Richard Williams, that's really exciting when you are witnessing that calibre of work," Goldwyn added.
"I was excited to work with him and I'm really excited for Will, for people to see his extraordinary performance."
'King Richard' will open in theatres and be simultaneously released on HBO Max on November 19.
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