![]() I told people, 'Wait, I should be in the Hall of Fame just for dealing with Richard for four years!' But no, he was my best friend. You got the next female Michael Jordan on your hand." And he put his arm around me and he said, "No, brother man, I got the next two." I said, "Richard, let me tell you something. But the wild card-how they competed, and when the fans were in the stands-it's like it changed. ![]() They're going to have power, size, strength, and quickness. The burning desire to get to the ball-I never saw this in two little girls, ever. After 10 minutes, the whole landscape changed. ![]() I said, "Let's play some competitive points." It was me and Serena against Venus, because Serena wasn't at Venus's level yet. There's arms and hair and beads falling off on the court. We pull up to a park, and there's like 25 guys playing basketball. I'm going, This is a strange place for a country club. So we are driving to East Compton Hills Country Club. There's about four months' worth of McDonald's wrappers, towels, clothes, tennis balls. I get in there and I get harpooned in the buttock by a spring. They picked me up in that van you're going to see in the movie. We're going to go to East Compton Hills Country Club to practice," so I could look at the girls. He said the next day, "I'll pick you up at 7:00. If he was going to let someone in this circle, he wanted a role model, a father figure, a mentor. Richard sat down, and Venus was on one leg, and Serena was on the other leg, and they had their arms around each other. RM: When I flew out there that night, they came to my hotel. Can you tell me more about what you felt at that moment? CourtesyĮSQ: When you first met Venus and Serena, you said that Venus would be the next Michael Jordan, which is in the movie. ![]() Jon Bernthal and Rick Macci at the premiere of King Richard. I didn't know I was that hyped up all the time. Everybody in the movie-the little girls playing Venus and Serena, or seeing Bernthal playing me, even though it was hard for me to look and see how I am. Will Smith was Richard Williams times 10. So I'm watching this movie, and I'm actually laughing and no one else is just because of the things that he's saying. No one had a better front-row seat in this movie than Rick Macci, other than maybe the wife-because I know Richard's nuances, subtleties, his one-liners, how stubborn he was, and how to deal with him. When I got to talk to Will Smith, I told him how much spot-on. And when you're with someone every day, four, five hours a day, six days a week for four years, that's a long time. He was my best friend, and Venus and Serena were like family. You got to understand: Back in 1991 to '94, it was really me and Richard against the world. Just the memories, the laughs, the jokes, the stories, the tears. RM: It was almost surreal because I haven't seen Venus and Serena in a long time. But I survived because of the adrenaline, spending time with Venus and Serena and everybody.ĮSQ: How did it feel to see everyone at the premiere? I was still in Florida time when I was there. When I went out for the red carpet, there was a three-hour time change. If you love what you do and you have passion, you just get locked in. I've always got up at that hour, run a half mile before I get on the tennis court at six. Rick Macci: I've done it for the last 25 years. With King Richard debuting on HBO Max and in theaters last Friday, Macci ran us through what he thought of the film, how it felt to reunite with Venus and Serena at the premiere, and all the family stories that King Richard left out.ĮSQUIRE: I have to know why you wake up at 3:30 a.m. That little kid is amazing on and off the screen! BANG!" And 30 years after Macci met the Williams sisters? He has a razor-sharp memory spanning every prank from Serena, to the night Richard Williams called and said someone was outside his house, waiting to kill him. An average tweet nowadays from reads, "Little Venus. It's worked: If you're keeping track at home, Macci has coached the likes of Andy Roddick, Maria Sharapova, and Jennifer Capriati. Not only is 10 hours of lessons an average day for Macci, but he pulls those hours seven days a week. More often than not, the man refers to himself in the third person. Macci, by my immediate estimation, is going stronger than his bowl-cutted Hollywoodization. We Salute Will Smith For Living His Damn Life.
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