Will Smith’s Civil War-era drama Emancipation was supposed to be his redemption. The movie is inspired by the true story of an enslaved man whose photos of his scourged back became a stark symbol of the inhumanity of slavery. In one of the scenes from the movie, Smith was choked in chains, and though the actor got freed from the chains, the incident and the movie stayed with him while admitting that he has no regrets about doing the movie.
Will Smith channeled personal grief for his latest role.

Will Smith Recalls Being Stuck In Neck Chain For 15 Minutes

During a special edition of Red Table Talk with his children, Will Smith recalled his harrowing experience when he got stuck in real and old chains while filming the historical action thriller film, Emancipation. The actor admitted being too immersed in the role and how he got lost in the character. The film sees Smith in the role of a man called Peter who escapes slavery. However, his experience of portraying the character turned into a horrific one on one such occasion when crew members were temporarily unable to remove the cuff from Smith’s neck.
Will Smith Says Wearing ‘Emancipation’ Neck Chains Was ‘Dehumanizing’
Sharing the incident, Smith said,
“So they put it on, I’m standing there and he goes to take it off and it doesn’t work, So it’s locked on and my heart jumps and I’m like, ‘Oh no, oh no, oh no.’ 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.” 
He also went on to describe the incident as emasculating and dehumanizing.

Nobody From Will Smith’s Family Was Happy Amid His Rising Fame

Will Smith opened up about the unhappiness his family felt during the early years of their burgeoning success. The Men In Black star shot to fame with his debut role in the NBC sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, which he starred in from 1990 to 1996.

Smith admitted on the recently aired season three finale of Kevin Hart’s Peacock TV show Hart to Heart that, “2010 was like the greatest year as an artist, as a parent, Karate Kid came out in June, ‘Whip My Hair’ came out in October.” 
Will Smith’s family supports him at red carpet premiere of his new movie.
Decades later his two children, Jaden and Willow, followed in their parent’s footsteps which made the actor feel that he had achieved everything he ever dreamed of. Yet, despite the success he and his family had achieved, Smith recalled that “nobody in my family was happy”. 

It was that time period that made him realize that material circumstances cannot be equated to happiness and in most cases they tend to be the reason for one’s unhappiness.