Will Smith Believed Cameron Diaz Wasn’t Cast as His Love Interest in ‘Hitch’ Because of Racism
A lot of attention was given to the casting in Hitch, which saw Will Smith in the lead role. However, even more thought was given to his love interest in the film. Cameron Diaz was reportedly mentioned as a potential co-lead at one point, but Smith believed she didn’t get the part due to racism.
Producers didn’t think Hitch would be successful with two black leads
Eva Mendes was eventually given the part in the 2005 rom-com hit. But although the actor might have gotten the role due to her acting skills, her racial makeup also played a significant part. According to Today, a black actor wasn’t cast alongside Will Smith in Hitch because producers thought it wouldn’t draw audiences.
“There’s sort of an accepted myth that if you have two black actors, a male and a female, in the lead of a romantic comedy, that people around the world don’t want to see it,” Smith said. “We spend $50-something million making this movie and the studio would think that was tough on their investment.”
Smith has also faced roadblocks in the past when trying to cast his friends or colleagues in films. One of his collaborators, Nia Long, recalled how Smith would contact her for parts. But he could only do so much in Hollywood’s previous landscape.
“Will obviously has say, but not completely,” Long shared according to Newsweek. “If we can’t play the girlfriend, then Hollywood has to figure out what to do with us.”
Because of the studio’s reluctance to cast two black leads, a white lead was suggested to star opposite Smith. But soon even that presented its problems.
Will Smith believed Cameron Diaz wasn’t cast as ‘Hitch’ because of racism
As reported by Female First, Cameron Diaz’s name was brought up as a potential love interest for Smith. The idea never took form, and Smith largely credits that to studios being uncomfortable depicting an interracial relationship on-screen.
“How are you not going to consider Cameron Diaz?” Smith said. “That becomes massive news in the US. Outside America, it’s no big deal. But in the US, it’s still a racial issue. Ironically, Hollywood is happy to do it if the film is about racism. But they won’t simply do it and ignore it.”
Even Eva Mendes had a problem with that kind of philosophy. Although the Training Day actor asserted that these beliefs helped her career, she didn’t agree with them.
“I don’t even know what to say about it anymore,” she told Newsweek. “Certainly I’ve benefitted because I’ve got to work with Ice Cube, Denzel, and Will. But it’s lame. I wish the mentality wasn’t so closed.”
However, this wasn’t the only time where race played a role in casting decisions that Smith was involved in.
Will Smith almost wasn’t cast in ‘Independence Day’ because of his race
Roland Emmerich recently told the Hollywood Reporter that there was some initial pushback against casting Will Smith in Independence Day. Ethan Hawke was considered, but Emmerich figured he was too young at the time. When Emmerich brought up Smith, the studio listed several factors why he wouldn’t work.
“’No, we don’t like Smith,’” Emmerich heard from the studio. “’He’s unproven. He doesn’t work in international [markets].’”
Dean Devlin, who was a writer for Independence Day, also brought up that his race played a part in the studio’s thinking. But eventually, they relented to Emmerich’s demands.
“They said, ‘You cast a black guy in this part, you’re going to kill foreign [box office],” Devlin shared. “Our argument was, ‘Well, the movie is about space aliens. It’s going to do fine foreign.’ It was a big war and Roland really stood up for [Smith] – and we ultimately won that war.”
