Will Smith turned down The Matrix?!?!?! Whoa...

No one will ever accuse Keanu Reeves of being a genius, but he was smart enough to see the potential in The Matrix long after Will Smith had turned down the lead role of Neo. “You know, The Matrix is a difficult concept to pitch,” Smith says. “In the pitch, I just didn’t see it. I watched Keanu’s performance – and very rarely do I say this – but I would have messed it up. I would have absolutely messed up The Matrix. At that point I wasn’t smart enough as an actor to let the movie be. Whereas Keanu was smart enough to just let it be. Let the movie and the director tell the story, and don’t try and perform every moment.” Smith has since redeemed himself by wisely agreeing to star in the critically-acclaimed dramas The Pursuit of Happiness and Seven Pounds.