NEWS Will Smith: 'I want to beat Idris Elba to Barack Obama role' Newsdesk Share with :





Will Smith wants to sound more intelligent than British actor Idris Elba so he can become the front runner to play Barack Obama on the big screen.



The 47-year-old has played a number of real-life people during his career, including Muhammad Ali, and he now has set his sights on portraying the current U.S President.



Idris, 43, was rumoured to be Barack's first choice to play him if a biopic of his life was ever made, but Will is hoping he can convince the President otherwise.



"I don't know - he's got to write the end of the story," Will replied when asked during a podcast with The Frame when he would play the leader. "As soon as he finishes the third act! We talked about that, me and the President, probably about six months ago."



When asked about Idris, Will added with a laugh: "He may have switched out. Idris has got that British thing. He sounds so intelligent. I'll have to work on my Obama accent and show him I can do it better than Idris."



In the meantime, Will is focused on using the power of the big screen to have the stories he wants to be seen and heard made for the masses to help educate and inform them.



"I believe in the power of the human spirit," he said. "I believe Hollywood, more than any other group of people, probably, other than the United Nations, is deeply forward-focused."



In his latest movie Concussion, Will plays Dr. Bennet Omalu, a forensic pathologist who published the first documented study of football players with degenerative brain disease, chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), and fights the NFL to get his findings published.



"I was terrified with this one," he admitted. "When I first read the screenplay, it was really beautiful. Very well-written. But I just did not want to be the guy that said football was dangerous."

Concussion is released next year (16).

