Will Smith found it "daunting" taking on the role of the genie in ‘Aladdin’.
The 50-year-old actor admitted it was "stressful" to have been cast as the iconic character in Guy Ritchie’s live action take on the classic tale and worried he wouldn’t be able to match the performance given by the late Robin Williams in the 1992 animated adventure.
Speaking at the European premiere of the movie in London’s Leicester Square on Thursday (09.05.19), he said: "’The genie will say anything or do anything, there’s a certain madness to the genie – that was the fun that Robin Williams created so I was trying to find what that meant, with a little more of a Fresh Prince flavour to it.
"I wanted to create something that was both nostalgic but also had a little bit new school sometimes…
"It was quite stressful and daunting. Robin Williams did not leave much room to improve on the Genie.
"Fun is what Robin Williams did so well with the Genie and I’ve been trying so hard to capture that and give it my flavour."
Guy had a very specific idea for how he wanted Will to look in the movie.
The actor explained: "Guy had a very specific take on what how wanted the genie to look like.
"A 1970s bodybuilder where his upper body is huge and his lower body really small – they did no leg day. That was his comedic value."
Despite being daunted by the role, Will – who was joined at the premiere by his director and co-stars including Naomi Scott, Mena Massoud and Marwan Kenzari – admitted appearing in the movie was a dream come true.
He said: "There is drama, comedy, singing, rapping, special effects, everything I wanted to do over the past 30 years i got to do in this one film."
Will Smith found genie role ‘daunting’
