How one of Will Smith’s worst movies allowed him to cope with tragedy: “It was a beautiful way to prepare”
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When you’re as famous as Will Smith, things don’t always go smoothly. The actor and rapper is still working to recover his image after the infamous slap incident involving Chris Rock at the 2022 Academy Awards and the subsequent fallout. His recent film projects have also struggled to find acclaim. Emancipation (2022) received a lukewarm reception, and Bad Boys: Ride or Die (2024) was, predictably, just another Bad Boys movie.
Despite recent controversies and mixed reviews, Smith remains one of Hollywood’s most significant box-office draws. His body of work includes acclaimed films like Ali, The Pursuit of Happyness, and Independence Day, each of which alone could cement his status as a cinematic legend. Even when Smith appears in a less successful project, it rarely tarnishes his enduring reputation.
Reflecting on his career, Smith spoke to The Telegraph about his experiences making the 2016 fantasy drama Collateral Beauty. Directed by David Frankel, the movie stars Smith as a bereaved advertising executive who seeks answers from the forces of Love, Death, and Time. Despite eventually turning a profit, the movie was absolutely ripped to shreds by critics, but it offered its star a vital insight into the world of grief.
“Having to face my father’s impending death while working on the struggles of my character helped us to connect,” said the star. Smith’s father, Willard Smith Sr, was diagnosed with cancer soon after he signed onto the film. He was given six weeks to live, and sadly, he passed away in November of 2016. Smith explained that playing a grieving character allowed him to connect more with his terminally ill father. “I wasn’t scared to ask any questions, and he was responding, and we were able to talk about the difficulty and the pain and the fear,” he said. “It was a beautiful way to prepare for a movie and an even more majestic way to say goodbye to my father.”
Collateral Beauty, featuring an ensemble cast including Edward Norton, Kate Winslet, and Helen Mirren, premiered in the United States in December 2016. Despite its star power, the film struggled to gain traction, debuting with the lowest opening of Smith’s career. While it eventually grossed $89million at the box office, it faced significant criticism for its unconventional approach and polarising narrative, leaving audiences divided.
Like his character in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Smith was born and raised in West Philadelphia. His father served in the Air Force before finding work as a refrigerator engineer. According to his son, Willard Sr was prone to violent outbursts against his wife, Caroline, and his four children. In his memoir, Will, Smith Jr recounts one incident that has stayed with him ever since. “When I was nine years old, I watched my father punch my mother in the side of the head so hard that she collapsed,” he wrote. “I saw her spit blood. That moment in that bedroom, probably more than any other moment in my life, has defined who I am.”
Willard and Caroline split when their famous son was a teenager, officially getting divorced in the year 2000. “Daddio didn’t have $140,000, and Mom-Mom was unwilling to make any concession whatsoever,” he wrote over a fight his parents had over child support. He eventually found the money, becoming, in Will’s words, “the first person in the history of Pennsylvania to pay their own damn child support.”
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