Will Smith, a Hollywood icon, understands how to treat his co-stars with care. As an A-lister, ‘The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’ alum has been hailed for his generosity after spending his own money to pay personal incentives to his ‘King Richard’ co-stars.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Smith, who was allegedly paid $40 million for his role in the biopic, offered cash bonuses to Saniyya Sidney and Demi Singleton, who play tennis champions Venus Williams and Serena Williams, as well as Tony Goldwyn, Jon Bernthal, and Aunjanue Ellis, among others.

According to the article, Smith personally issued “checks to the cast” to replace his fellow actors for lost revenues from the film’s theatrical run after WarnerMedia switched to a simultaneous home and theatrical release of its 2021 slate.

THR said that: “A source described the payments as a nice bonus, given by Smith on top of what they already received from the studio as compensation for the pivot to simultaneous HBO Max release strategy.”

“King Richard.” Warner Bros.

Goldwyn, who plays Venus’ tennis instructor Paul Cohen in the film, corroborated the Access Hollywood report and lauded Smith.

“I’ve been doing it for over 30 years; I’ve never worked with anyone as generous as Will, what you said is true,” said the former ‘Scandal’ actor.

Then he said: “When Warner Brothers Deciding not to release it, to put it on streaming, caused a lot of controversy, as people know, and we just got a call from Will saying, ‘I’m going to get it right.’ I’ve never experienced it. I was on the floor. I just couldn’t believe it.”

Goldwyn also commended Smith’s acting skills in addition to his kindness.

“When you are in his class the atmosphere is fun and everyone works really hard but he is fair, he is a blast to work with,” he insisted on the lead actor.

“In this character, Will is just extraordinary, the work he does is amazing.”

“From our first rehearsals, we’re all feeling our own way and all of a sudden, he goes from being fun-loving to just flipping a switch and that’s Richard Williams, it’s really exciting when you get that caliber. Useful,” Goldwyn said.

“I was excited to work with him and I’m really excited for Will to let people see his extraordinary performance.”