Will Smith has spoken about his shock after a co-star in his newest film Emancipation spat on him during an ad-libbed scene.
Smith reflected on the experience during a conversation on Red Table Talk this week alongside his three children, Willow, Jaden and Trey Smith. (His wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, usually co-hosts the show alongside her mother, Adrienne Banfield-Norris, and Willow.)
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The Oscar-winner admitted that the ad-libbed scene from Emancipation, which follows a man escaping slavery, left him at a loss for words.
“As the years have gone on, I’ve gotten more and more locked into these characters for longer periods of time,” he said. “And it’s just the weight of this story, the weight of these experiences — the quality of these actors. It was emotionally, it was physically, it was spiritually taxing.”
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He continued: “One of the first days on set, there is a scene with one of the actors, and he leans down in my face and says, ‘You a cold one, ain’t you?’ and then he ad-libbed…”
After re-enacting the spitting, all three of his children burst into laughter.
“I was like, ‘Makeup!’” Smith recalled. “No, but it was like … I was like, ‘Whoa’. Every actor on this set was taking it really, really seriously.”
Released on December 9, Emancipation tells the story of a slave named Peter (played by Smith) who embarks on a journey to gain his freedom following the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. The film is inspired by the famous 1863 photo of “Whipped Peter,” an enslaved man who joined the Union Army in hopes of being reunited with his family.
The movie marks Smith’s first starring role following his infamous slap of Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars in March. The incident led to Smith being barred from the Academy and its events for 10 years.
After taking a few months off, the former Fresh Prince star returned in with an apology video in July addressing the incident.
“Disappointing people is my central trauma,” he said in the almost six-minute clip. “I hate when I let people down. It hurts me psychologically and emotionally to know I didn’t live up to people’s image and impression of me.”
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He continued: “I made a mistake, and I’m trying not to think of myself as a piece of shit, so I would say to those people, I know it was confusing, I know it was shocking, but I promise you I am deeply devoted and committed to putting light and love and joy into the world. If you hang on, I promise we’ll be able to be friends again.”
