Will Smith will play Venus and Serena Williams' dad, Richard Williams, in a new film. Variety confirmed that the 50-year-old Smith will portray Richard, Venus and Serena's father and former tennis coach, in the movie King Richard.
King Richard will recount how Richard overcame hardship, skepticism, controversy and his own troubled past to teach Venus and Serena to play tennis, despite not having a background in the sport.
Serena and Venus' careers took off after Serena won the U.S. Open in 1999 and Venus won Wimbledon the next year. Serena has won 23 individual Grand Slam tournaments, while Venus has seven individual Grand Slam titles.
King Richard is based on a script from Zach Baylin. Smith will produce with Tim White and Trevor White, with Allan Mandelbaum and Caleeb Pinkett as executive producers.
Editorial credit: DFree / Shutterstock.com