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'King Richard': Fans laud Will Smith's superb performance, call it his 'Oscar moment'

The actor received accolades in plenty from fans who caught the movie in cinemas and HBO Max

Will Smith was nominated for the Oscar twice for Best Actor, once for 'Ali' in 2002, and for 'The Pursuit of Happyness' in 2007 and he lost both times to Denzel Washington and Forest Whitaker respectively. With 'King Richard', the actor puts his hat in the ring for one more shot at winning the Academy Award and fans are confident that this is the flick that will see him take the coveted prize.

Smith plays Richard Williams, the father of present tennis legends, Serena and Venus Williams in 'King Richard'. His single-minded determination to make his daughters world tennis champions sees him go through the grind, perhaps twice as much as the daughters did. The actor received accolades in plenty from fans who caught the movie in cinemas and HBO Max. "The Buzz of #KingRichard is that this is Will Smith best performance and his Oscar Moment!," one of the fans tweeted.

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This was seconded by another who wrote, "@willsmith is the greatest actor of our time, his depiction of RICHARD William's was superb. - #ijs #GOAT #KingRichard #BlackHollywood #1stOption." The praises continued to trickle in. "If you can watch #KingRichard and not cry at least once you different. @willsmith bravo," one of the fans remarked. "The hype surrounding King Richard and Will Smith's performance in the film - holy heck is it all deserved. The film is so good it almost had me interested in tennis," a comment read.

Some felt this had to be added to the list of his top five movies. "Go head & put King Richard in Will Smith’s top 5 movies." The call for Smith's Oscar only grew louder after more fans took to Twitter after watching the movie.

Jon Bernthal, one of the key cast members of 'King Richard' strongly felt this was the movie that would see the 'Bad Boys' star win his first-ever Oscar. In an interview with WTOP, Bernthal, no stranger to starring in major blockbusters himself said Smith had his vote when it comes to winning the Oscar. "He’s definitely got my vote,” Bernthal remarked. "What Will does in this movie is so beyond a beautiful performance. The way he dove into this, the way in which he changed his body, changed his demeanor, his ability to come off the cuff with such unbelievable improvisation, he literally elevates this film. I’ve never been on a set and seen this."

Do you think Will Smith will win an Oscar for 'King Richard'?

'King Richard' is currently streaming on HBO Max.