Here's why Will Smith almost lost his 'Independence Day' role

'Independence Day' is one of the highest-grossing movies of the 1990s, and made Will Smith an absolute A-list megastar. But would you believe that themakers were not sure about Will's casting in the movie?

Will Smith played a role of a fighter pilot Steven Hiller in the movie, which become a worldwide hit and raked in big numbers following its debut on July 4 weekend in 1996. In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, director Roland Emmerich and writer/producer Dean Devlin recalled the moment when the studio wasn't keen on having Smith lead the film, despite his music career and 'The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air' TV series.

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In an interview, Emmerich told what the studio said back then, ''No, we don't like Will Smith. He's unproven. He doesn't work in international [markets].''

And what is more disappointing was the reason for not casting him and that was due to the colour of his skin.

"They said, 'You cast a Black guy in this part, you're going to kill foreign [box office],'" Devlin added. "Our argument was, 'Well, the movie is about space aliens. It's going to do fine foreign.' It was a big war, and Roland really stood up for [Smith] — and we ultimately won that war."

The movie is now considered a significant turning point in the history of the Hollywood blockbuster.

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However, the pair did manage to get Smith in the role.Explaining it Emmerich said, "It was pretty shortly before the shoot and we still hadn't locked in Will and Jeff. I put my foot down: 'Universal people are calling every day, so give me these two actors or I move over there'."I don't think it would have been a possibility [to change studios], but it was a great threat."

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The movie focuses on disparate groups of people who converge in the Nevada desert in the aftermath of a worldwide attack by an extraterrestrial race of unknown origin. With the other people of the world, they launch an all-out counterattack on July 4—Independence Day in the United States.

The movie grossed over $817.4 million at the global box office and is now regarded as one of the best sci-fi action movies of all time.