Will with son Jaden in the poster for their new movie After Earth, slated for release on June 7

Will Smith was initially rumored to star in the western masterpiece Django Unchained when the film was still in casting.

The reason the 44-year-old actor passed up the role of the freed slave on a quest for revenge had always been unclear - until now.

The Men in Black star recently revealed that he had turned down the role because the title character Django was not the lead in the film.

 

Leading man: Will Smith at the New York premiere of Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted, in June

In an interview with Entertainment WeeklyWill spoke candidly about his reasons for turning down the iconic role that eventually went to Jamie Foxx.

The father-of-three explained: 'Django wasn’t the lead, so it was like, I need to be the lead. The other character was the lead!'

The 'other character' the Hancock star was referring to was the bounty hunter - and Django's mentor - Dr. King Schultz played by Christoph Waltz.

 

Second pick: Jamie Foxx as the freed slave-turned-bounty-hunter in Django Unchained, in 2012

Will claimed that before he resigned from the project he tried to convince director Quentin Tarantino to give Django a more central role in the plot.

The rapper-turned-actor playfully revealed: 'I was like, "No, Quentin, please, I need to kill the bad guy!"'

While the story pivots on Django - who is the emotional core of the film - Waltz's character does get the satisfaction of killing Leonardo Dicaprio's evil slave owner.

 

All-star cast: Jamie with co-stars Christoph Waltz and Leonardo Dicaprio in the Django Unchained movie poster

Despite Will's perspective on the character dynamics of the film Jamie Foxx was promoted as the movie's lead.
And in an ironic turn Waltz's performance was viewed as a supporting one during the awards season.
Though the Austrian-German actor did get all of the best lines and scene-stealing moments - garnering him his second Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.

 

Winning streak: Christoph Waltz pictured in Los Angeles after his second Oscar for a supporting role in a Quentin Tarantino film, in February

Tarantino initially bargained hard for Will even signing over the foreign rights of the film to Sony, the actor's frequent home.
But the former Fresh Prince of Bel Air stood by his choice.
The Ali star admitted: 'I thought it was brilliant. Just not for me.'
Will stars with his son Jaden, 14, in this summer’s science fiction epic After Earth.
The plot of the film features a crash landing on Earth, a thousand years after it has been abandoned by the last humans.
The stranded pilots are Kitai Raige (Jaden Smith) and his father Cypher (Will Smith).

 

 

Keeping it in the family: Will with son Jaden in the poster for their new movie After Earth, slated for release on June 7