Will Smith plays the father of Serena and Venus Williams in the biopic “The Williams Method”, released in 2021 and which won him the Oscar for best actor the following year.
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To tell the story of the rise of the Williams sisters, tennis queens, director Reinaldo Marcus Green chose to take the prism of their father, coach Richard Williams. Adapting the true story of this family, The Williams method is a biopic released in 2021 telling how this man who had no experience in sport, developed a plan when his daughters were four years old to make them the future champions we know today. The patriarch did not fail to show authority towards his daughters to raise them to the top.
The Williams method portrays this American coach, now 82 years old and played by Will Smith in this film. Obviously, before telling the life of Richard Williams, the production obtained the agreement of the family, and in particular that of Venus and Serena’s sister, Isha Price, who is executive producer of the film. The latter provided details and details about her family to make the story even more credible. His involvement was also the essential condition requested by the family to allow the film to be made.
It must be said that the Williams family had been the subject of rumors and speculation for years. According to Serena Williams, also executive producer with her sister Venus, “we wanted to set the record straight.” Near Forbesshe also said she was delighted by the film: “many people think that my father was a different character. He wanted us to have fun above all. That’s what I liked the most” .
A realistic film, apart from a few details
However, this does not mean that there are not details that differ from reality. The scene where he prepares to take revenge on a gangster before witnessing his murder is invented, details Telerama. But as we can discover in the biopic, other elements are true, such as the fact that Richard Williams refused to allow his daughters to participate in junior tournaments, or that social services came to check that the Williams sisters were not mistreated.
For this role, Will Smith won the Oscar for Best Actor in 2022, a controversial award since the actor received it just a few minutes after slapping comedian Chris Rock on stage, when he had just made a joke doubtful about his wife.
Synopsis – Focus on the personality of tennis coach Richard Williams, father of world players Venus and Serena. He had no experience in the sport but when his daughters turned four, he developed a 78-page plan outlining the training of future champions. The Williams sisters became two of the greatest players in tennis history. Serena is undoubtedly the best tennis player of all time, with 23 victories in Grand Slam tournaments. Venus Williams has won seven Grand Slam titles.