The fallout of Will Smith attacking Chris Rock at the Oscars has gotten many to weigh in about what happened, including many of the actors' fellow Hollywood stars. One person who wasn't surprised at all to see Smith lose his temper is actor Paul Rodriguez, who previously worked with Smith on the 2001 biopic Ali. In the Muhammad Ali biopic from director Michael Mann, Smith played the famous boxing champion while Rodriguez portrayed his cornerman Ferdie Pacheco.
According to Rodriguez, Smith had relentlessly bullied him on the set while making the film. In a new interview with The Sun from the aftermath of the Oscars, Rodriguez says he was treated very harshly by Smith for no evident reason, though he was conversely kind to other actors on the set. All in all, Rodriguez thinks of the experience as a "nightmare," feeling that the emotional injuries were much more painful than a physical slap would have been. As Rodriguez says:
"Chris Rock only took one slap at the Oscars ... but I took a verbal slap from Will Smith every day. And sometimes I think the emotional injuries are just as deep, if not deeper, than physical ones. That movie was meant to be a huge stepping stone in my career, but for me it ended up being a nightmare because of all the sickening abuse I got from Smith. He was evil to me but nice to everyone else. It was sort of like Jekyll and Hyde."
For Rodriguez, it was a tough situation, as he went into the project very excited after landing the role in the film. He was also looking forward to seeing Smith again, as he'd previously worked with the actor in the 1993 comedy Made in America and had a much better experience. Rodriguez says that while Smith was initially kind once seeing him again, at some point it was like someone had flipped a switch, resulting in Smith either outright ignoring Rodriguez saying cruel remarks to him in passing, allegedly inspiring the other actors to do the same to remain on Smith's good side.
Things came to a head when Rodriguez said he came very close to simply walking, unwilling to endure any more of Smith's alleged verbal abuse. Rodriguez claims he only stayed when co-star Jon Voight talked him down by explaining that Smith is a "method actor" who was under a lot of pressure. But when nothing changed, Rodriguez personally approached Smith in an effort to bury the hatchet, but that didn't turn out very well, either. Rodriguez says Smith brushed this off and told him to just "shut up and stand there."
Things never improved between Rodriguez and Smith, but there was one more surprise that would feel like a gut punch to the former. When the film was released on Christmas Day in 2001, he was "heartbroken and embarrassed" to see that all of his lines had been cut, reducing his once-sizable role to little more than an extra. Rodriguez described feeling devastated having family and friends calling him to say they barely spotted him, even though he was a featured name in the credits. Rodriguez believes his role was reduced as a way of Smith getting back at him one last time, a result of the two not getting along on the set.
"I did everything within my power to try to shine in that movie, including taking voice lessons to sound like Pacheco, and for all that I got ostracized and humiliated. This seriously injured my career, because Hollywood would've looked at how I was cut out and thought, 'Wow this Rodriguez was so bad they cut him from the movie', but that wasn't the case. It was a disaster and I have to overcome that. Smith was amazing in that role, he was nominated for an Oscar - which I think he should've won - and the movie was incredible. But all I was left with was just a sickening feeling like I was some kind of sacrificial lamb. What was meant to be a dream role was made into a nightmare."
Paul Rodriguez Making These Claims Is Not New
While the Oscars situation has gotten Paul Rodriguez to think again about his time spent working with Will Smith on Ali, it's not the first time Rodriguez has spoken out about what happened on the set. In 2016, he similarly detailed his allegations of mistreatment by Smith in a story published by Vulture. At the time, Rodriguez claimed Smith had been particularly unkind to him for no apparent reason. Rodriguez also alleged that Smith was using steroids to beef up his body to play the legendary boxer, and suggested that could have played a part in the actor's attitude.
"He was an a**hole … he started saying offensive stuff to me. Maybe it was the steroids he was using to beef up,” said Rodriguez at the time.
Janet Hubert, who also co-starred with Smith on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air as the original Aunt Viv, is someone else who famously clashed with the actor. Though they have since made up on the HBO reunion special, Hubert held resentment against Smith for many years based on the way she says he treated her on set. In any case, producers have been pausing planned film projects with Smith attached while waiting to see what happens next with his acting career.