Will Smith Reveals He Had To Be 'Convinced' To Do 'Men In Black'

Actor Will Smith is well-known for appearing in many blockbuster films and "Men In Black" often ranks at the top of the list for many fans.

Although the actor has starred in many movie roles throughout the years, "Men In Black" and its sequel still continue to be a favorite among fans. However, in a new interview with his friend and comedian Kevin Hart, for his Peacock show "Hart to Heart," the "Bad Boys For Life" actor admitted that director Steven Spielberg actually had to convince him to take on the role.

Actor Will Smith recently sat down with his friend Kevin Hart on his Peacock show "Hart to Heart" in order to discuss his biggest movie roles. Smith credited film producer James Lassiter as being the "arbiter of taste" and credited him for convincing him to take on "the ten movies I made at the top of my career," which Smith referred to as his "heyday," in comments transcribed by Entertainment Weekly.

"He just had an eye. I didn't want to make Pursuit of Happyness, I didn't want to make Ali," Smith recalled, although both films garnered him Best Actor Oscar nominations. He revealed that Lassiter was also the one who "picked" Men In Black for him. Smith recalled, "I kinda understood Men in Black like a little bit, but I didn't want to make Men in Black — that was the next year after Independence Day. So I didn't want to make two alien movies back to back."

When Hart asked why Smith changed his mind, the actor revealed that Steven Spielberg sent out a helicopter to bring Smith directly to his house to have a chat about the movie. After that, it was hard to say no. As Smith explained, "Steven Spielberg sent a helicopter for me," adding, "To talk. It landed at his house. And he had me at 'Hello.'"

Smith remembered the exchange well, recalling that "It was the first time I ever had lemonade with carbonated water." Hart joked, "Yeah, you can't say no to that, adding, "And you had to act like you had it before."

Although Smith did end up playing the role, he revealed that Spielberg said the "coldest s---" to him and directly asked him, "Tell me why you don't want to make my movie..." Smith went on to joke, "He put the ellipses at the end... If he had continued, he woulda said, 'Joker, you know I made Jaws, right? You know I made E.T.'"

The Oscar-winner received critical acclaim for his role as the homeless salesman Chris Garden in the 2006 film "The Pursuit of Happyness," which is directly based on Gardner's own memoir. No one had to "convince" Smtih to take this role. Instead, he saw a 20/20 piece on Gardner after reading the script, which he said helped him find the structure of the film. He also met Gardner himself in order to prepare for the role.

"There's something about human beings who have suffered. And overcome. Chris Gardner is one of those people," Smith told Hart. "He took me to the bathroom in Oakland where he had to sleep with his son. I stood in that space with him and it was like the ghost jumped in my body and then I was like, 'Got it.'"

Smith went on to say that he believes that "people who have suffered to that level have a secret" and that he "could tell" Garnder had a secret for him to learn while he was making "The Pursuit of Happyness." Smith went on to say, "At that point in my career, I had discovered that I don't work for money, I work to learn," adding, "I work to grow. I work to meet people. I work to expand and to evolve."

Smith's career has been continuing to grow as he continues to work on projects like "Bad Boys 4" and a remake of "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles," which also stars Hart. Even though some thought that Smith would fade into obscurity after the infamous Oscars slap, it seems that Smith's career continues to thrive even despite the incident.

Fans will have to tune into Smith's episode on Kevin Hart's "Hart to Heart" to see if he discusses the slap and his relationship with Chris Rock during the season finale, which airs on August 3 on Peacock.