"Venus and Serena cried all the way through and they loved it"- Will Smith on Williams sisters' reaction to King Richard

Hollywood actor Will Smith recently appeared on Jimmy Fallon's talk show to promote his upcoming film King Richard. The film traces the journey of Venus and Serena Williams and their father's role in nurturing the tennis greats.

During the show, Smith recalled that the two hours Venus and Serena Williams were watching the film were the worst couple of hours for him. He said he had hoped for them to like it and revealed that the sisters were crying through the course of the film.

"When I get the call that Venus and Serena are walking into the theater to see the film, it's the worst two hours ever," revealed Will Smith. "Because you spend too much time creating these things. You just hope to God that, you know, you've spent a year to tell this story, and you hope that they like it. Venus and Serena cried all the way through and they loved it."

The actor, who was nominated for Best Actor at the Academy Awards for his film The Pursuit of Happyness (2007) revealed that it was "terrifying" for him to portray a real person who is still alive on screen. He said the sisters were excited at the prospect of a film being based on their story and that they would possibly assume the role of executive producers. Smith added that the tennis champions only decided to add their names to the film only after watching it.

"It is terrifying when you play a real person that is still alive and you know they're going to see it," the actor continued. "It was beautiful, Venus and Serena were really excited about the possibility. They said they would potentially be executive producers and they would walk us through the whole process, but they were going to withhold whether or not they put their names on the film until they saw it."

"He aligned with what they wanted for themselves more than demanding what he wanted for them"-- Will Smith on Richard Williams

Richard and Serena Williams

Will Smith went on to talk about how people have often assumed Richard Williams to be a stern and "overbearing" father, but after working in the film and hearing about him from the Williams family, Smith says he realized that the 79-year-old is actually a loving and doting parent.

"What was really interesting to me is that we have this picture of Richard Williams and it's the classic overbearing father, hammering his children," Will Smith went on. "But in sitting with Venus and Serena, and their sisters and their mother, it was completely the opposite. He was a loving, caring, doting father."

Smith went on to share a "mind trick" Mr. Williams used on his young daughters to get them to play tennis. Their father would forbid the Williams sisters from playing tennis whenever they got into trouble. This made them beg for his permission to play.

The actor highlighted how Richard Williams "aligned" himself with his daughters' interests rather than ordering them to pursue a certain path.

"Venus referred to it as the Jedi mind trick, that he had somehow made it so that they would have to ask him, "Please daddy, can we play tennis?". Their punishment would be that they couldn't play tennis when they got in trouble. He aligned with what they wanted for themselves more than demanding what he wanted for them. It was a beautiful family story," he added.