Will Smith undoubtedly a big Hollywood star: since his debut in front of the general public in the series Willie – The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air Until recently king Richard, the actor achieved success that brought him to the top of Hollywood. A fame that even a slap in the face given to Chris Rock on the night of the Oscars, which elected him the best actor, did not completely undermine the public’s great love for him. A love that also ties in with some of the career choices that led Will Smith to star in films that would eventually become iconic. Especially if you look back to the nineties, you can see how Will Smith starred in films that are still considered little gems of their genre, such as Bad Boys AND independence Day. Just this last movie as we read on Soon, this would be the reason Will Smith almost abandoned another very famous project.
Will Smith and how he was convinced to participate in “Men in Black”
As the actor himself says in an interview with the portal Kevin Hart on his podcast Peacock heart to heart (the title is a pun created by combining Kevin Hart’s last name with the expression heart to heart this means heart to heart) After independence Day Will Smith had no desire to try his hand again in a film dedicated specifically to hunting and war with aliens, probably because of the fear of forever being associated with this type of storytelling. Therefore, it was precisely because of this conviction that the actor did not really want to accept the role offered to him in the film called Men in Black. In fact, the actor explains in a chat with his colleague Kevin Hart:
“I didn’t want to do Men in Black because it was the year after Independence Day. So I didn’t want to do two alien films back-to-back.”
It was the director who made him change his mind and pushed him not only to consider the project, but also to agree to be a part of it. Steven Spielberg. Before the amazed and almost shocked look on Kevin Hart’s face when he asked him how Spielberg managed to convince him to take part in a project that did not interest him, Will Smith explained:
“Steven Spielberg sent a helicopter for me (…) I was in New York and the helicopter landed outside his house. And “he already convinced me to say hello” (a reference to the film Jerry Maguire, ed.). And I couldn’t say no. It was the first time I drank lemonade with sparkling water. (…) He asks me: “Tell me why you don’t want to make my film.” You know he was a producer. And he focused on three suspension points. He asked me: “Why don’t you want to make my film”, point, point, point. And if he kept talking, he would say: “Fool, you know that I played the shark, right? You know I did ET, right?”
Already only with his presence, therefore, Steven Spielberg managed to convince Will Smith to take part in the project, which became not only one of the actor’s most famous films, but also one of the most successful in terms of box office. First chapter men in Black, in fact, he has earned about $600 million internationally.