10 Things You Didn’t Know About Will Smith

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Difficult childhood

Now the actor is surrounded by a luxurious life and world fame, but his childhood cannot be called simple. Born the second child in a large family of an engineer and a school teacher, he learned early about the problems. As Will himself tells in the book, at the age of nine he saw a scene of physical violence between a hot-tempered father and mother: “It was this moment of my life that most influenced the kind of person I became.” Parents divorced when the boy was 13 years old. Although all these moments later led him to inner fears and long work with a psychotherapist, his father forever remained an idol for him: “He was my blessing and one of my greatest sources of pain.”

Prince’s Catholic education

There were problems in the family, but this did not prevent Will Smith from getting a good education in a Catholic school. Although he himself does not like to remember this time: the future actor sometimes had to deal with manifestations of racism. To avoid problems, he preferred to “hide” behind the mask of a joker, creating for himself the image of a humorous guy. He was even given the nickname “Prince” for his ability to get away with it from any situation (ironically, after a while, acting fame brought him a role in the TV series “The Prince of Bel-Air”). Will graduated from high school with honors, but turned down a scholarship to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology – a career in show business was already looming on the horizon.

First music, then movies

Surprisingly, the one we are used to seeing on the big screen actually gained popularity with the help of music. From childhood, his mother encouraged Will’s creative pursuits: he played the piano, and in middle school he took drum lessons. After high school, he formed DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince with his best friend Jeff Towson, which became a commercial success. The secret is in the texts that Smith wrote: they did not contain obscene language. This allowed not to set an age limit. The band’s albums went platinum, and in 1988 they became the first rappers in history to win a Grammy Award.

On the brink of bankruptcy

Experiencing the success of his group, Will Smith became a millionaire at a young age. According to his recollections, he passed the test with money with difficulty: expenses grew, he wanted to invest capital in the business, and it seemed that “there was an indecent amount of money.” As a result, at the age of 21, he realized that the millions he had earned were gone. And he also unsuccessfully invested in jewelry and cars. So the future actor not only did not earn money, but got into debt. Fortunately, at that moment he received an offer from Warner Brothers to play the lead role in the TV series The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Career took off again.

Could get into the Matrix

Few people know, but Will Smith was supposed to play the lead role in the cult movie “The Matrix”. At that time, he had already become a movie star thanks to the films “Men in Black” and “Independence Day”. On his YouTube channel, the actor told a funny story about meeting the Wachowskis when they tried to get him interested in the project. Will found the 360-degree slow motion idea odd, so he decided in favor of The Wild Wild West (the film was a flop at the box office). But the actor himself does not regret his decision, because the role went to Keanu Reeves: “I did you all a favor.”

Meeting with Muhammad Ali

Smith considers the role of the legendary boxer in the film Ali to be one of his most difficult jobs. He recalls that he reacted negatively to the offer: “No, there is no way I will become a dude who will spoil the image and legacy of this great man on the big screen.” Everything changed when Ali personally invited him to the meeting: the boxer admitted that it would be an honor for him if it was Will Smith who told his story to the world. The actor could not refuse. For the role, he had to box every day, gain weight up to 100 kg and get up for a run every morning. When Muhammad Ali passed away in 2016, Smith was honored to carry his casket along with Lennox Lewis and Mike Tyson.

Highest Paid Actor in Hollywood

In 2008, according to Forbes magazine, Will Smith became the highest paid Hollywood actor, leaving behind Johnny Depp, Eddie Murphy and Leonardo DiCaprio. His fees amounted to more than 80 million dollars. In addition, that season he became the first actor whose nine films in a row grossed more than 100 million each. And already in 2019, Guy Ritchie’s Aladdin, in which Will plays the role of the Genie, grossed over a billion at the global box office, becoming Smith’s highest-grossing film.

Children follow in the footsteps of their father

Will’s eldest son from his first wife prefers to stay away from the stage, but the children from his marriage to Jada Pinkett have become independent units in show business. Jaden Smith’s son is a rapper and actor. He first appeared in the drama “The Pursuit of Happyness” along with his father. For his role, Jayden received an MTV Movie Award. He is also known for the films After Earth and The Karate Kid. Daughter Willow Smith does not lag behind her brother: she played with her father in “I Am Legend” and voiced a role in the cartoon “Madagascar”, and after that she focused on her musical career and released the self-titled album Willow.

Charity

Will Smith is a famous philanthropist. Together with his wife Jada, he founded a fund to help children from low-income families, which, by the way, has financed educational projects for more than $ 1 million. In 2008, the couple opened a private charity school for young children. And in 2018, Will celebrated his fiftieth birthday in an original way – he jumped with insurance from a helicopter into the Grand Canyon, and all the proceeds from the action were sent to charitable educational programs of the Global Citizen and Education Cannot Wait foundations in poor countries.

Difficult relationship with Oscar

In 2016, Will Smith joined the boycott of the ceremony by supporting his wife. The fact is that Jada Pinkett-Smith urged the public to ignore the Oscars, because. no black actors were nominated that year. In 2022, another unpleasant situation occurred at the ceremony – a conflict between Will Smith and comedian Chris Rock. When the latter voiced the nominees for the award in the category “Best Documentary”, Will Smith climbed onto the stage and slapped the presenter in the face. The reason was an insulting joke about the actor’s wife related to her illness. Later, having received an Oscar for Best Actor in the film “King Richard”, Will apologized to everyone in the hall.

The memoirs “Will. What can a simple guy who has become the highest paid actor in Hollywood” teach us about the actor will help you even more. The book can be read on the LitRes service.

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