Jon Bernthal is ready to coach some tennis…in the movies, that is. Bernthal is in talks to play Rick Macci, the tennis coach who trained Venus and Serena Williams, in King Richard. The movie isn’t so much about Venus and Serena Williams as it is their father, Richard Williams, who will be played by Will Smith. Reinaldo Marcus Green is directing the drama.

Deadline broke the news about Jon Bernthal joining the King Richard cast, with Bernthal in talks to play Rick Macci, “the famed tennis coach who made a deal with Richard Williams to train his daughters, this after watching them at the tender ages of nine and 10 and immediately seeing the potential for speed, power and competitiveness the precocious girls brought to the courts. It was Macci’s task to hone and polish that talent while allowing the girls to be kids. Macci had just trained another young phenom, Jennifer Capriati, and in his career also coached Maria Sharapova and Andy Roddick, meaning he coached five number one ranked players from his Florida academy.”

Saniyya Sidney and Demi Singleton are playing the young Venus and Serena Williams, Aunjanue Ellis plays their mother Brandi Williams, and Will Smith is father Richard Williams. Zach Baylin penned the script. It still seems a bit weird to me that a movie telling the story of Venus and Serena Williams will focus primarily on their father, but that doesn’t mean the film can’t turn out to be good. Adding Bernthal to the cast certainly doesn’t hurt – he’s one of those dependable actors who always leaves his mark, no matter how large or small the role is.

King Richard is currently scheduled for a November 25, 2020 release date, which will put it smack-dab in the middle of awards season consideration.

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