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Will Smith will sit down with Oprah Winfrey for a candid interview this week for a new installment of The Oprah Conversation, which premieres on AppleTV+ on Friday.
In a teaser clip, the 53-year-old star – who is set to play Serena and Venus Williams’ father Richard in an upcoming biopic – tells the host that he feels like he’s failed ‘every woman’ he interacts with.
During the pair’s far ranging conversation, the Fresh Prince actor discusses his new memoir, Will, which Oprah said is ‘the best memoir I ever read’.
Opening up: Will Smith will sit down with Oprah Winfrey for a candid interview on The Oprah Conversation and in a teaser tells the host that he feels like he’s failed ‘every woman’ he interacts with
‘I want to tell the truth. I want to let people have it,’ Smith tells Oprah in a clip. ‘I’ve carried, most of life, the sense of failing every woman I interact with. I haven’t talked about that publicly.’
The reasons behind why the A-lister feels that way will likely be revealed in the full interview, which airs Friday.
He has, however, had a well documented split from his first wife, Sheree Zampino, who he left for Jada Pinkett.
Will is set to really open up like never before about his life in his forthcoming eponymous autobiography.
‘I want to tell the truth. I want to let people have it,’ Smith tells Oprah in a clip. ‘I’ve carried, most of life, the sense of failing every woman I interact with. I haven’t talked about that publicly.’
High praise: During the pair’s far ranging conversation, the Fresh Prince actor discusses his new memoir, Will, which Oprah said is ‘the best memoir I ever read’
‘It’s the best memoir I ever read,’ Oprah told the actor.
Adding: ‘You make it so funny that it’s clearly your voice. Who in the hell knew you were a writer? You’re a writer, too?’
In an the book, Smith reveals he once considered killing his father as a way to ‘avenge’ his mother.
The Philadelphia-born actor reflected on his complicated relationship with his father in an excerpt of his forthcoming memoir Will released by People, describing the late Willard C. Smith Sr. as a ‘violent’ alcoholic who was dedicated to his family.
In the except, Will remembers a time when he contemplated pushing his drunken father down the stairs as retribution for the ‘decades of pain, anger, and resentment’ Will Sr. caused.
‘You make it so funny that it’s clearly your voice. Who in the hell knew you were a writer? You’re a writer, too?’
Tune in: Will’s interview on The Oprah Conversation premieres on AppleTV+ on Friday
‘My father was violent, but he was also at every game, play, and recital,’ Smith wrote.
‘He was an alcoholic, but he was sober at every premiere of every one of my movies. He listened to every record. He visited every studio. The same intense perfectionism that terrorized his family put food on the table every night of my life.’
Recalling an early memory of violence, Will went on: ‘When I was nine years old, I watched my father punch my mother in the side of the head so hard that she collapsed. I saw her spit blood.
‘That moment in that bedroom, probably more than any other moment in my life, has defined who I am.’
Smith said that the trauma of that incident resonated through the rest of his life.
His story: The Philadelphia-born actor reflected on his complicated relationship with his father in an excerpt of his forthcoming memoir Will released by People , describing the late Willard C. Smith Sr. as a ‘violent’ alcoholic who was dedicated to his family
‘Within everything that I have done since then — the awards and accolades, the spotlights and attention, the characters and the laughs — there has been a subtle string of apologies to my mother for my inaction that day,’ he wrote. ‘For failing her in the moment. For failing to stand up to my father. For being a coward.’
He described his bombastic public persona as a façade, writing: ‘What you have come to understand as “Will Smith,” the alien-annihilating MC, the bigger-than-life movie star, is largely a construction – a carefully crafted and honed character – designed to protect myself. To hide myself from the world. To hide the coward.’
Smith will take on the role of a complicated father in King Richard, a biopic about the hard-nosed of tennis greats Venus and Serena Williams whose tough tenacity led his daughters to the top of the game.
The actor, who is already getting Oscar buzz, palpably embodies Richard Williams’ relentless determination in making his girls the ‘next two’ Michael Jordans.
Making stars: Smith will take on the role of a complicated father in King Richard, a biopic about the hard-nosed of tennis greats Venus and Serena Williams whose tough tenacity led his daughters to the top of the game
King Richard is based on the true story of Richard Williams, who, with little tennis experience, decided to raise his daughters Serena and Venus to become tennis champions.
‘Driven by a clear vision of their future and using unconventional methods, Richard has a plan that will take Venus and Serena Williams from the streets of Compton, California to the global stage as legendary icons,’ reads a press release from Warner Bros.
Adding: ‘The profoundly moving film shows the power of family, perseverance and unwavering belief as a means to achieve the impossible and impact the world.’
Directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green, King Richard stars Will Smith, Jon Bernthal, Tony Goldwyn, Dylan McDermott, Susie Abromeit, Aunjanue Ellis, Noah Bean, Hannah Barefoot, Judith Chapman, Andy Bean, Katrina Begin, Saniyya Sidney and Demi Singleton.
Venus and Serena Williams, along with their sister Isha Prince, all serve as executive producers on the film.
King Richard hits theaters November 19, 2021 as well as streaming on HBO Max.
Hitting the big screen: King Richard hits theaters November 19, 2021 as well as streaming on HBO Max
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