The actor who transformed Will Smith into a movie star: “The first person to really explain it to me”

Before Will Smith went around slapping people, he was easily one of the most beloved figures in Hollywood. He might not have commanded the same type of reverence that Daniel Day-Lewis does or earned the favour of filmmakers like Martin Scorsese or Paul Thomas Anderson, but he was an absolute professional at the art of being a celebrity. Like Jennifer Lopez, he had (and probably still has) enough charisma to fill the Las Vegas Sphere, even if his track record as an actor has been a little less electrifying.

Smith started out as a rapper, of course, and leveraged that popularity into the hit sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. As the titular prince, Smith soaked up every minute of the spotlight and thrived on the comedy. He was an absolute natural in front of the camera, and the show shot to the top of the charts because of it. But movie stardom is a whole other ballgame, and it took Smith some time to adapt. One aspect of the job came naturally to him, though, and it was an established star who helped him recognise it.

Speaking to Film Ink in 2023, the actor revealed that it was Arnold Schwarzenegger who taught him what it takes to become a movie star. “He was the first person to really explain it to me,” Smith said, remembering a conversation he had with the Terminator star in which all was made clear. “I told Arnold: ‘I want to do what you’re doing,’” he recalled. “‘What advice would you give me if I want to be the biggest movie star in the world?’”

In response, Schwarzenegger told him that he couldn’t just aim to be a star in America. He had to “go to every country in the world”, meet people and build connections with fans. “If your film is only successful in America,” Schwarzenegger concluded, “You are not a movie star.”

The Austrian bodybuilder-turned-movie star-turned-governor was a surprisingly perfect mentor for Smith. He became a celebrity in his small circle of bodybuilding before taking on Hollywood without so much as an acting coach to shield him from his dramatic instincts. And yet, thanks to some mysterious form of innate charisma and obvious willingness to work and adapt, he learned on the job.

Smith, in comparison, became relatively well-known in the music world before trying his hand at acting on a network television show. He also had to learn on the job. While he was able to skate through Fresh Prince on his charm, he had to learn the craft of getting into character as he was making movies. He never became the greatest actor of his generation (though we’ll see where the coming years take us), but he certainly cultivated his fanbase by being an accessible celebrity.

Many actors have fallen short when trying to make the leap from television to movies, but Smith clawed his way into movie stardom inch by inch until Independence Day put him over the top. He even bested his mentor by winning an Oscar, though it seems highly unlikely that he’ll set his sights on the governorship until a few news cycles have gone by.

Related Topics

This post was originally published on here