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Will Smith has had a great Hollywood career until the 2022 Academy Awards. After being a two-time Oscar nominee, he finally won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his 2021 biographical sports drama,King Richard.However, his first Oscar win was overshadowed by his actions at the 2022 Oscars, as the actor went on stage and slapped the host of the night, Chris Rock. TheKing Richardstar has since been apologizing for his actions and has slowly started working on gaining back his star status.
He is already working on his new projects and recently joined his fellow actor Kevin Hart on his talk showHart to Heart. And during his conversation with theJumanjiactor, he shared how Steven Spielberg persuaded him to join theMen in Blackfranchise after he refused to do it.
Read More:“It’s a joke, come on”: Will Smith Made Fun of Someone’s Bald Head Before Slapping Chris Rock for Doing the Same to His Wife
Will Smith Did Not Want to Star inMen in Black
Will Smithhas starred in several hit Hollywood movies, along with multiple hit franchises, and one such franchise also includes the sci-fi action comedyMen in Black. Starting with the 1997 movie, he reprised his role as Agent J two more times in a sequel and threequel.
Fans loved him andTommy Lee Jonesas the secret agent duo. However, during his recent appearance on the talk showHart to Heart,Smith shared that he did not want to star in the film initially. He shared that he did understand the concept of the movie, but he was not interested in doing it.
“I kinda understood Men in Black a little bit, but I didn’t want to make Men in Black,”he said. The actor further stated that the movie was set to come out a year after his 1996 movieIndependence Day,which is also based on the concept of extraterritorial.
“That was the next year after Independence Day. So, I didn’t want to make two alien movies back-to-back,”he said, explaining the reason for turning downMen in Blackinitially. However, he finally said yes to the movie after the Oscar-winning filmmakerSteven Spielbergapproached him.
Read More:“Only God could make that possible”: Will Smith’s Most Challenging $162M Role Post Oscars Slap Was a Herculean Punishment He Inflicted Upon Himself
Steven Spielberg Convinced Will Smith to Star inMen in Black
Talking about the popular sci-fi franchise, Will Smith shared that he was not convinced to star in the 1997 film until the renowned filmmaker Steven Spielberg approached him with the same offer. He shared that the filmmaker sent a helicopter to talk to him, which landed at his house.
“And he had me at ‘Hello.’ But, yeah, he flew me in. And he said the coldest sh*t,”Smith told Kevin Hart. Upon meeting him, Spielberg asked him why he did not want to make any movie. Spielberg, an executive producer forMen in Black, convinced him to accept the offer.
Recalling their conversation, Smith said,“And he put the ellipses at the end… It was the dot, dot, dot, tell me why you don’t want to make my movie,”before adding,“If he had continued, he would’ve said, ‘Joker, you know I made Jaws, right? You know I made E.T.”
And there is no doubt that theIndiana Jonesdirector’s suggestion turned out to be another step for theEmancipationactor toward becoming an A-list star. The 1997 filmMen in Blackbecame a box office hit with $589.4 million. The franchise continued with two more movies, grossing over $1.9 billion worldwide.
Read More:“I’m not better than Tom Cruise”: Will Smith Gave Up Trying to Beat Mission Impossible Star After a Harsh Realization During His $424 Million Movie
Source:Hart to Heart
Laxmi Rajput
Senior Writer
Articles Published :3451
Laxmi Rajput is a Senior Writer at FandomWire, with over 3,300 articles published covering film, TV, and pop culture. With a degree in Broadcast Journalism and over three years of experience in content writing, she pivoted to entertainment journalism because let’s be honest, superheroes, sitcoms, and Netflix binges are way more fun. Laxmi frequently covers Marvel, Harry Potter, Star Wars, and popular TV shows, offering both fan-first enthusiasm and thoughtful analysis. Her work often dives into Marvel theories, revisits the genius of The Big Bang Theory, or unpacks the Netflix phenomenon of Stranger Things.
