19 Side-By-Sides Of The "King Richard" Cast And Scenes Vs. IRL
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
If you're like me, you watched King Richard over the weekend basically the moment it came to HBO Max (or perhaps you even saw it in a movie theater!).
The film, which was executive produced by Venus and Serena Williams and their sister, Isha Price. It tells the story of how Venus and Serena Williams became, you know, VENUS AND SERENA WILLIAMS, and the coaching they received from their father, Richard Williams.
Since the film is based on real events, let's take a look at how the cast and some of the biggest moments look side-by-side with pictures in real life:
1.First up, Will Smith as Richard Williams:
2.Aunjanue Ellis as Oracene "Brandy" Williams:
3.Saniyya Sidney as Venus Williams:
4.Demi Singleton as Serena Williams:
5.Jon Bernthal as Rick Macci:
I was unable to find an IRL pic of Tony Goldwyn's character, Paul Cohen.
6.Here's Serena and Venus together:
7.And here's a side-by-side of the Williams and Price sisters vs. a more recent picture from 2015 of Venus and Serena with Lyndrea, their mother Oracene, and Isha:
Their older sister, Yetunde, tragically died in 2003.
8.Let's look at some moments from the film. Here's Richard pushing Venus and Serena around in a shopping cart full of tennis balls during an early practice versus the IRL picture where it's just Venus:
We do also see Richard on screen dressed in the outfit shown above, pushing a cart full of tennis balls as well (this time without his daughters inside):
9.Venus Williams in her debut professional tennis match at the Bank of the West classic on Oct. 31, 1994, where she defeated Shaun Stafford:
10.Venus and Arantxa Sánchez Vicario pictured at their match during the Bank of the West classic:
11.Venus greeting her fans at the Bank of the West tournament — such a special moment in the film, and one that surely happened many times over in real life:
12.The scene when Richard intervenes because a reporter is questioning 14-year-old Venus about her confidence happened almost word-for-word the same way in real life:
And here's the moment where Richard steps in:
13.Here's just a fun side-by-side of Richard's van, to show the attention to detail in the film:
14.In the movie, we briefly see Venus and Serena at Nancy Reagan's tennis event in 1990 — here's the real-life moment:
15.Of course, this isn't the exact same moment, but here's photo proof that Richard really did regularly drive around in a golf cart in Florida:
16.And here's a look at some of the tennis players who had cameos in the film. Jessica Wacnik as Jennifer Capriati:
17.Christopher Wallinger as John McEnroe:
18.And Chase Del Ray as Pete Sampras:
19.Finally, just to wrap things up, here's a side-by-side of the father-daughter trio from around the same time period of the movie:
14 Reasons Why "King Richard" Deserves All The Praise It's Inevitably Going To GetCrystal Ro · Nov. 17, 2021
Will Smith Will Play Venus And Serena Williams' Dad In "King Richard," And The Trailer Already Has Me Tearing UpCrystal Ro · July 28, 2021
