Will Smith has posted a deep fake video of him in The Matrix’s starring role.

The actor famously turned down the part of Neo (eventually played by Keanu Reeves) in the groundbreaking 1999 sci-fi film because he didn’t share the filmmakers’ vision. Instead he opted for Wild Wild West, which became one of the biggest flops of his career.

Now, a few weeks after video editor ‘Sham00k’ shared his reimagining of Smith as Neo, Smith has shared a shorter version via his Instagram.


Smith presumably isn’t too bothered about missing out on the epoch-defining sci fi thriller. In a playful caption below the deep fake video he writes: “Now imagine Keanu in Wild Wild West”.

Deep fake videos have become increasingly popular in recent months.

Footage of Tobey Maguire replacing Tom Holland in ‘Spider-Man: Far From Home’ was posted in August and has gained more than 1.5 million views to date on YouTube. Elsewhere, an interview clip of Bill Hader morphing into Tom Cruise has surpassed 5 million views since August.

In other news, Smith recently celebrated his 51st birthday and was given a special birthday present.


His son, Jaden, was performing in Philadelphia on the night of the actor’s birthday earlier this month and paid tribute to his father by whipping the crowd into song for the theme tune from the ’90s sitcom that made Smith famous: The Fresh Prince of Bel Air.