Will Smith has been involved with numerous impactful roles and movies in his career. The Academy Award winner is known for his dedication to his roles and for pushing limits to get authenticity in his character. He rose to fame with his first TV show The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, however, he rose to stardom with the Men In Black franchise. The actor prefers to do his stunts on his own, however, one movie scene gave him a near-death experience.
Will Smith
Smith revealed in his interaction with Kevin Hart about the time he got choked by a real chain while filming for the thriller movie Emancipation.
Will Smith recalls a frightening moment while filming Emancipation
Will Smith is one of the most brilliant actors in the industry, who has given some of the iconic characters in Hollywood history. He played the lead role in Antoine Fuqua’s historical action thriller film, based on the slaves whose lives were changed by President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation to end slavery. In the 2022 movie, Smith played the role of a runaway slave.
The Independence Day actor reflected on his character in conversation with Kevin Hart. He shared that he wanted to feel the degradation of the slaves, but he went too far. The actor shared that he still gets overwhelmed when he recalled one frightening scene which almost introduced him to God.
Will Smith in Emancipation (2022)
Smith said on Hart to Hart,
“Just bringing it up, I start to get teary. I wanted to feel the degradation of slavery and I went too far in. The level of human brutality, what we will do to each other.”
“I was like, ‘I want the real weight. I want the real chains.’ So they got old chains and they put it on my neck and they were fitting it for size and I’m standing there and the prop master went to put the key in and the key didn’t work. And I was like, ‘Oh no. Will, relax.’”
He added,
Smith shared that he got freed from the chains, but the incident stayed with him. He added that he has no regrets about doing the film. He shared,
“I wouldn’t give it back. It was one of the greatest experiences I’ve ever had as an actor. Peter introduced me to God. My faith got solid after working on that movie.”
Emancipation was released in 2022.
Emancipation helped Will Smith overcome the Oscars slap incident
Smith shared that when he was filming Emancipation, he regularly drew inspiration from the word sacred motivation, written on the front page of the script. He shared that he heavily leaned on the phrase when he faced backlash for his Oscar slap, leading to his banishment from the ceremony.
Will Smith in Emancipation (2022)
Smith said,
“It’s like when you can locate and center yourself in your divine purpose, you can withstand anything and everything.”
For the unversed, Will Smith slapped Chris Rock during the 2022 Oscars, when he made a joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, for her bald look.
