Jada Pinkett Smith might not have the flashy career of her husband, but she might not need to. The actor has built a successful and interesting career off a roster of memorable roles. From The Nutty Professor to Girls Trip, Smith’s own filmography might be as impressive in its own right.
One of her most iconic and memorable roles, however, was as Gotham villain Fish Mooney. To nab the critically acclaimed part, it was widely reported that Smith brought a man in a leash to win over showrunners. But in a later interview, Smith took the time to clear the air on her alleged audition process. Just how much of those reports were true?
Jada Pinkett Smith was bored with Hollywood before ‘Gotham’
Gotham was a prequel series that made its debut on the Fox network in September 2014. It followed one of Batman’s future associates, Ben McKenzie’s Jim Gordon, as he and his fellow cops tried to keep order in a Gotham City without Batman.
Although the series featured some characters and villains from Batman’s rogues’ gallery, it also featured a few original characters as well. One of those characters was Fish Mooney, who was played by Jada Pinkett Smith.
Despite her successful career, Smith once admitted that she wasn’t excited about Hollywood before Gotham came along.
“I’d gotten kind of bored,” Smith said in an interview with Today. “I mean, you know, in Hollywood, it’s a lot of ladies. And it’s difficult for the dope, fulfilling roles to get spread out.”
The actor saw the Fish Mooney character as a source of newfound inspiration.
“Fish Mooney really inspired me to want to act again,” Smith revealed to The Hollywood Reporter. “For a minute there, I really didn’t know. I wasn’t inspired by the roles that were available for women in general, and then Fish Mooney came along.”
To grab the part, however, reports claimed that Smith went to extreme lengths to prove she was the only choice for the role. But what was true about those reports, and what was fiction?
Did Jada Pinkett Smith really bring a man on a leash to her ‘Gotham’ audition?
Smith allegedly went to a different place creatively with her audition as Fish Mooney. For the character, she showed up sporting a gown and a black wig, according to US Weekly. Accompanying her was a shirtless man on a leash.
“I said, ‘Forget it, instead of talking about who Fish Mooney is, let me just show you,” Smith allegedly said. “I went method.”
However, in a later interview with Comicbook.com, Smith revealed that wasn’t exactly the case. Smith, indeed, brought a man in a dog collar on set, but this was after the part was already hers.
“It wasn’t for an audition. I know that’s a better story. We were actually doing a work session about Fish Mooney and trying to find the character. That’s one of the reasons I decided to do something as extreme as that,” Smith said. “I was done up and I had this guy on a leash with no shirt on with ‘liar’ written across his head with red lipstick and they were like ‘We are clear.’ It was awesome.”
The character Jada Pinkett Smith wanted to play in ‘Suicide Squad 2’
Before James Gunn joined The Suicide Squad, Smith revealed she wanted to continue her presence in the DC universe. But instead of playing Fish Mooney, there was another character she wanted to play she thought was perfect for Suicide Squad.
“There’s a character that I love in the DC world, her name is Vixen,” she told MTV UK. “I love Vixen. If there was any character, I’d love to play her.”
Smith then whispered in the interview for the director to put Vixen in the second Suicide Squad movie.
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