Will Smith: If I was in 'The Matrix,' I'd screw it up

In 1999, the Wachowski sisters filmed "The Matrix", which almost became one of the most popular films of the year, with a box office of more than 460 million US dollars, influencing a generation of filmmakers and fans of action and science fiction films.

That same year, Will-Smith re-teamed with Men in Black director Barry Sonnenfeld for the sci-fi western Wild Wild West, which received highly negative reviews and flopped at the box office. In fact, Smith turned down the role of Neo in The Matrix in favor of the much-maligned western adaptation.

And his decision also puzzled many audience friends.

On Will Smith's YouTube channel, the star revealed how the Wachowski sisters wanted him to recommend him for the role of Neo in The Matrix. Producers told Smith that if he envisioned himself playing Neo in a fight scene, he would do a big jump and then stop in mid-air while surrounding cameras captured his leap.

While Smith acknowledges that Wachowski was a genius, he didn't know it at the time, since the directors were budding filmmakers who only made one film before hitting it big with The Matrix.

The actor was underwhelmed by their proposal, most likely because it focused on action, camera work and special effects. Wachowski didn't tell Smith anything about the storyline, which could have changed the actor's mind to consider joining their project.

And the Wachowskis may have thought explaining the movie's plot was too complicated for Smith to understand at the time. After all, "The Matrix" is a very brain-burning story.

And Smith also mentioned that if he did star in "The Matrix", he might screw up the movie, because the actors and characters in the film are perfect. Smith went on to say that he was doing everyone a favor by not playing Neo, considering The Matrix has become a sci-fi action classic.

Given the film's box office success, critical success and fan following, it's hard to imagine anyone else in this film.