Will Smith steals role as charming thief

0 Comments | AFP, March, 2006

LOS ANGELES (AFP) — Hollywood actor Will Smith has stolen a role as a charming thief in a new movie about a man blackmailed into committing crime for his country.

Smith, 37, who won an Academy Award nomination for his leading role in 2001's boxing drama "Ali," will take the lead role in a feature film adaptation of a four-decade-old US television series, "It Takes a Thief," Daily Variety said.

The movie, based on the series that ran from 1968 to 1970 and starred actor Robert Wagner, will tell the story of a rogue who was blackmailed by his country into working for the Central Intelligence Agency.

Universal Studios has been mulling over the movie for nearly 10 years, after originally marking it as a starring vehicle for Michael Douglas.

Smith has also...